By 1950, „Mazowsze” was ready for its first performances inside Poland, and in the following year a troupe of eighty dancers, at the average age of sixteen, traveled to Moscow for Mazowsze’s first tour abroad. Since then, the group has literally toured all over the world, and the enthusiastic reviews could fill a very large book.

Repertoire

„Mazowsze” performs folklore which is artistically transformed and stylized. It is worked up in a form of a carefully staged spectacle of great tempo and dynamism. Integral parts of the show are costumes, in case of the Company exceptionally valuable. Collected throughout many years, made of pure wool, linen, cotton and silk, ordered especially from the best handicraft masters or just bought in the country, hand-embroidered, appliqué, coral bead and sequin ornamented. Some elements of the costumes are very old. There are even some which are a hundred years old.

For each tour, both home and abroad, „Mazowsze” takes around 1000 costumes, while most performers change from 7 to 9 times during the show, and each time it cannot take more than just few minutes.

The professional equipment taken on tours weighs at least 8.5 tons and the process of preparing the spectacle takes 6 to 8 hours.

Professionalism

About 90 % of young people engaged by the Company are graduates of ballet and music schools. It has been a long time since the Company lost its amateur character. Enrolment takes place every year. Each candidate is examined by the board judging her or his vocal, dance and acting skills as well as appearance. Hundreds of young people arrived in Karolin for auditions, trying to pass through a needle eye of detailed examinations. But only the best-prepared longed - for engagements which meant very intensive work every day and especially on tours, but also splendor and opportunity to see the wide world.

Jubilee

During its over 58 years of intensive and successful activity, „Mazowsze”, a real globe-trotter, seems to have broken all attendance records. It gave more than 6000 performances at home and abroad with the attendance of sixteen million spectators! They traveled 1,400,000 km by sea, air and land. They performed in 50 countries of the world, for crowned heads, presidents, and presidents of important international organizations: 1971 – at the UN seat; 1973 – Arthur Rubinstein in Spain; 1975 – President of the United States of America, G. Ford; 2000 – Pope Jan Paul II in Rome with concert for the audience of 70,000.

The Company paid a visit to the Queen of England.

In 1958 Queen of Belgium Elizabeth II visited Karolin and in 1963 so did the wife of the president of Mexico, Mrs. Lopez Mateos.

In the record year of 1982 „Mazowsze” gave 144 concerts abroad! Innumerable praises, tributes and eruptions of ecstasy, enthusiastic reviews: „immaculate delivery”, „perfect team- work”, „fabulous musicality”, „extreme artistry and performance mastery”, „the highest pitch of the folk art”, „charm, freshness, youth, temperament, grace, and joy of life”-here are just examples of countless superlatives used for years in reports on „Mazowsze”. Critics who tried to anatomize and understand the secret of this phenomenon emphasized remarkable qualities of Polish folklore, noticing that what is unique about „Mazowsze” is especially distinguished, almost refined character of its art, elegance of movements, gestures and costumes, intensified by charm and grace of the young performers.

For the first time in ten years, the world-renowned MAZOWSZE returns to North America this November for a tour of live performances, coordinated with major Public Television showings of the PBS special “The Music and Dance of Poland” (check your local listings) .

THE MAGNIFICENT MAZOWSZE is a thrilling display of dazzling movement, vibrant color and stunning beauty. The incomparable Mazowsze performance troupe whirls, leaps, stamps and glides in a glorious outpouring of sound and motion, rhythm and music that celebrates the cultural legacy of Poland.

An ensemble of 85 dancers, musicians and singers are arrayed in a seemingly never-ending series of handmade traditional costumes – more than 1,000 in total, one more dramatic and colorful than the next. Some weigh as much as 30lbs, making their energetic gravity-defying leaps, twirls and lifts even more impressive!

The choreography and musical arrangements represent 39 regions of Poland with traditional performance styles. A full 23-member orchestra performs music ranging from Chopin to simple folk melodies beloved by the Poles for centuries.

MAZOWSZE is one of the world's most famous ballet groups specializing in folk dance. It draws on the richness of national dances, songs and traditions. The repertoire of the group includes all most important historical areas of Poland , most notably the Mazovian region but also Małopolska, Pomorze, Wielkopolska, the Silesia and Podhale.

Unquestionably Polish, they are the roots of the nation and define its identity, continuity and development of its culture.

For Polish people living outside Poland, Mazowsze’s performances have provided the substitute for the motherland and for thousands of viewers all over the world they were the very first contact with the Polish culture. "If that's Poland”, the Swiss Gazette de Lausanne wrote, “then long live Poland!"

This colorful and energetic folk group was born in 1948 of two people’s dedication to the preservation of native folklore, dance, costume, and song in a rapidly industrializing post-war world. They were Tadeusz Sygietynski, a Polish composer and researcher of folklore, and Mira Ziminska, a famous actress and popular singer, who later became also a costume and stage designer. By 1950, Mazowsze was ready for its first performances inside Poland, and in the following year a troupe of eighty dancers, at the average age of sixteen, travelled to Moscow for Mazowsze’s first tour abroad. Since then, the group has literally toured all over the world, and the enthusiastic reviews could fill a very large book.

Historically, Mazowsze has its place among the greatest Polish artists who contributed to the image of Poland as perceived by the rest of the world. Jerzy Waldorff once compared Mazowsze to a gem in the crown of Poland. This comparison is more than adequate and it reflects the importance of the group that has been amazing Europe and the world for more than half of the century thus becoming an Ambassador of the Polish culture.

There are approx 1000 costumes, which travel with the company and during each show; the performers will change seven to nine times. Each costume change must not take more than a few minutes in order to maintain the timing on stage. Collected over many years, the costumes are made from pure wool, linen, cotton and silk, hand and custom-made, hand-embroidered, appliquéd, coral beaded and sequin ornamented. Some elements of the costumes are up to a hundred years old. Because of this, a wardrobe staff with very special skills and experience are needed to travel with the company to make sure that the costumes are transported, unpacked, cleaned, repaired and maintained in top condition.

About 90% of young people engaged by the Company are graduates of ballet and music schools. It has been a long time since the Company lost its amateur character. Enrolment takes place every year. Each candidate is examined by the board judging her or his vocal, dance and acting skills as well as appearance. Hundreds of young people arrived in Karolin for auditions, trying to pass the detailed examinations.

During nearly 60 years of intensive and successful activity, Mazowsze, a real globe-trotter, seems to have broken all attendance records. They gave 5,800 performances at home and abroad with the attendance of sixteen million spectators! They travelled 1,400,000 km by sea, air and land. They performed in 47 countries of the world, for crowned heads, presidents, and presidents of important international organizations: 1971 – at the UN; 1973 – Arthur Rubinstein in Spain; 1975 – President of the United States of America, Gerald Ford; 2000 – Pope Jan Paul II in Rome with concert for the audience of 70,000. The Company even paid a visit to the Queen of England.