glazyr polka

Music for download - „Glazyr polka

Glazyr polka (grazir polka; the name can be translated into English as “Glaze polka”) is one of many varieties of polka popular in many regions. Glazyr polka is characteristic for czadecki highlanders. It is danced in couples, around a circle, facing the sun. It has a very fast pace and is played in 2/4 meter. Despite its quick pace, Glazyr polka was performed with flat steps, without skipping, hence its step was called a glazing step (in the Polish jargon the verb glazirować stands for – to glaze or smooth/gypsum finish).

The origin of the dance is also worth mentioning. Glazyr polka is an example of a dance characteristic for the group of highlanders described in the literature of the subject as czadecki highlanders, although they should, however, be more appropriately described as Bukovina highlanders. Nevertheless, the highlanders themselves tend to directly refer to this name (e.g. “Watra” ensemble from Brzeźnica), as well as to the names derived from the names of the places inhabited by their ancestors before 1945–46 (e.g. the so-called pojańczycy – Poiana highlanders). 

This community is of Silesian-Maltese origin, and a significant part of it settled for some time in the valley of the Kysuca and Pohorele in the territory of present-day Slovakia, and then, as part of the Habsburg colonisation action at the beginning of the 19th century, was resettled in the Romanian Bukovina.  This community is of Silesian and Małopolska (Lesser Poland) origin and a significant part of it for some time inhabited the valley of Kysuca and Pohorele in the territory of present-day Slovakia. At the beginning of the 19th  century, within the framework of the Habsburg colonial policy, this community was resettled to Romanian Bukovina.

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After World War II, some of the Bukovina highlanders have undergone voluntary repatriation and settled in several villages in the historical Lower Silesia region. The time that the members of this community have spent in the multi-ethnic environment of Bukovina, left a significant mark on their traditions, turning them into a fascinating combination of the elements of Carpathian culture, mixed with the elements of dances characteristic for several communities of emigrants that arrived to Bukovina from different parts of the Habsburg Empire. Glazyr polka is a good example of a dance that was brought to Bukovina and is originally known from several regions in todayʼs Romania.