Enthusiasts Trying to Revive Polka

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060310/ap_en_mu/dance_polka_crossroads;_ylt=Aqj7Ls3a3zNIk9PtWgNeRRWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-

Enthusiasts Trying to Revive Polka

By CARRIE ANTLFINGER, Associated Press Writer Fri Mar 10, 10:35 AM ET

MILWAUKEE - Three nights a week at Art's Concertina Bar you can step back to a time when couples went out to dance the polka and listen to the sounds of a concertina.
........

A fragmented effort is under way in the polka community to make sure it doesn't die — through festivals, use of more modern instruments such as electric guitars and teaching the dance in elementary schools. Enthusiasts say their efforts are working with younger people, particularly on the East Coast, Midwest and in Texas............


Polka started from Bohemian folk music in the 1850s and soon spread around Europe, said Cecilia Dolgan, president of the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame in Euclid, Ohio. Countries including Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Germany then put their own touch on the music and dance.

Immigrants brought it to the United States, where its heyday was in the 1940s to 1960s. Frankie Yankovic, who died in 1998 but is considered the polka king, popularized the genre with songs such as "Just Because" and "Blue Skirt Waltz." But as immigrants and their children aged, they didn't introduce it to their kids, said Ray Zalokar, director 247Polkaheaven.com, the world's first 24-hour polka Web site......

[rodeodance]

1. btw-Tommy Thompson, as Gov. made the polka the WI official dance

a few years back.

[acmejack]

2. Add this to the list of his crimes.

Aggravated auditory assault (accordion)

[rodeodance]

4. i am no Tommy T. fan. (just an intereesting factoid)

[Lindsay]

3. The polka is actually great fun to dance.

My dad did his best to kill my interest in the music by forcing me to watch "Polka Varieties" on TV when I was a kid. He said it was my heritage - although my ancestors were Irish, Pennsylvania Dutch and Czech. But we lived in Cleveland, so I guess he was right. (I also lived in Euclid for years - and only about a mile from where Frankie Yankovic lived.)

But then in college I took a Social Dance class (beat heck out of whatever else they were offering for PE that quarter) and learned to dance the polka. Amazingly fun and bouncy and energetic.

Who knew?

[acmejack]

5. And what is Polka without BIER?

Beer, no matter how you spell it goes with polka. More you drink the better you get. Bet you didn't know we polkaed(?) in Texas! Probably not so much any more though.

[WePurrsevere]

6. I agree, it is fun to listen & dance to once in a while. There used to be

... a local radio station in Amsterdam, NY (which had a rather large Polish population) that played Polka music.. every Sunday I think it was. It was better then listening to the local *Zzzz* church shows or sports so I'd turn that on and get my daughter (then just about 4 yrs) laughing and dancing along to the bouncy music... our favorite was "Here Kitty Kitty". :D

Gosh I hadn't thought of that nice memory in years... I wonder if she remembers that at all now that she's in her late 20's and about to be a "Mommy" herself?

Unfortunately although I know how to dance the Polka unless I'm having a really good day I don't think I could any longer. :(

[lumpy]

9. Polka is better than Pilates.

Best excercize ever and lotsa' fun.

[mcscajun]

7. Jimmy Sturr and crossover audiences...

Last summer I attended a "Cajun Polka Fest" in Pine Island, NY -- a stone's throw from Sturr's hometown of Florida, NY. Jimmy Sturr was the polka headliner, naturally, and one of the finest Cajun bands around, Steve Riley and Mamou Playboys, were the other half of the musical attractions. The audience was split between those who'd come for one type of music vs. the other, but by the end of the afternoon, pretty much everyone was enjoying both bands, and ever trying to dance the other's music.

There were a couple of instances where members of one band played with the other; those were funny and exciting. :)

I'll tell ya', though, Polka needs a bit more energy than even the most energetic Cajun two-step. Whew!

Fifteen-time Grammy winner Jimmy Sturr is also modernizing his music. His two most recent CDs — "Rock N Polka" and "Shake Rattle and" Polka — feature rock 'n' roll songs made into polkas.

He's also involved in Polkapalooza, which has toured the country for nine years.

Organizer Gus Kosior said some areas of the country have stronger interest than others in the festival, such as the Midwest, Texas and East Coast, but overall the crowds have increased over the last three to four years.

Kosior, vice president of United Polka Artists Inc., based in Florida, N.Y., believes that polka is "one hit song" away from being in the mainstream.

[Demeter]

8. Polka Never Died--Ask Laurence Welk!

Still seen in syndication---