traditional dances    /    nonstylized dances    /    partner dances

równy pogórzański

nonstylized dancesmap

Równy from Krosno area has the same name as a dance from Wielkopolska region, but they are very different. Ethnographers believe that the dance from Krosno area imitates the regular moves of reapers working in the field, hence the dance’s long steps and rhythmic turns.

> Read more

Like nearly all the dances from Pogórze region, równy consists of two parts, a slower one and a faster one with 3/4 metre. In villages near Krosno, it was also called koszony or gospodarski. It was performed mainly by elderly villagers who danced in pairs at weddings and village parties. The dancer who ordered the dance would give a cue to the musicians, singing the accompanying song (przyśpiewka): Ej, cztery mile lasu, samej ostrężyny, ej, jesce drugie tyle do mojej dziewczyny. In the first part, pairs move forward slowly against the sun (counterclockwise) along a circle line. The man amply and dynamically brushes the floor with alternating feet, with slight knee bending, as if imitating the moves of a working reaper. Meanwhile, the woman keeps walking from one side of the man to the other, making dynamic turns with her hips, closing feet, with slight lift and sinking on the feet. In the second part, the pairs whirl with small steps to the right, or rotate around a common axis in place. The end of a turn is accented with a strong stamp with alternating feet, on slightly bent knees. After stamping, the dancers straighten the knees and start to rotate to the left (in place or moving along a circle line). Each rotation ends with a double stamp.

Dąbrowska, Grażyna W. W kręgu polskich tańców ludowych. Warszawa: Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, 1979.

Haszczak, Alicja. Folklor taneczny Ziemi Rzeszowskiej. Warszawa: Centralny Ośrodek Metodyki Upowszechniania Kultury, 1989.

Szmyd, Józef. Pieśni i tańce ludowe z okolic Krosna. Warszawa: CPARA, 1961.