Polish national dances: names and music

Which dance is which

If you only want to recognise them, use one clue each. These are the five that most sources count as Poland's national dances, whether you meet them in a ballroom, a concert hall or a restaurant. Their names change between languages, so you may see polonaise, mazurka or cracovienne in French or English. The polka, often confused with them, is not one of the five. Here is the one-line test for each.

• Polonez: couples walk in a procession, in three beats to the bar
• Kujawiak: slow, in a minor key, with a stretched, flexible pulse
• Mazur: lively, with a strong accent on the second or third beat
• Krakowiak: the only one counted in two beats, fast and syncopated
• Oberek: the quickest, with constant spinning, lifts and jumps

Polonez: the walking dance

The polonez is in 3/4 time. It began as a walking dance at weddings, recorded as early as the 15th century under names such as chodzony, which means a dance for walking. By the 17th century it was popular with the aristocracy and had reached the French court. Pairs march in rhythm as a procession, led by the first couple. It traditionally opens balls, school proms and New Year celebrations. UNESCO added the polonaise to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list on 5 December 2023.

Mazur: accents in unexpected places

The mazur has roots in Mazovia and was known in Poland by the 15th century. By the 17th century it was a popular court dance. It is in 3/4 or 3/8 time and described as lively and dynamic, with the stress falling on the second or third beat. The leader of the dance is called the wodzirej. Outside Poland the name became mazurka, and Chopin began writing mazurkas in 1824, drawing on the mazur, the kujawiak and the oberek. The rural dance called the mazurek is based on the mazur.

Kujawiak: slow and wistful

The kujawiak comes from Kujawy, in central Poland. Its name first appeared in 1827, and it is argued to have developed from the mazur between 1750 and 1830. It is in triple metre, usually in a minor key, which gives it a sentimental, melancholic sound. Players often stretch the bars, so the tempo bends and feels loose. That bending, called rubato, is the quickest way to tell it from the mazur. Dance suites sometimes combine the kujawiak, the mazur and the oberek.

Krakowiak: the one named for Kraków

The krakowiak comes from Kraków and Lesser Poland. It is fast, syncopated and in duple time, which makes it the odd one out among the five. The lead male dancer sings and calls the steps, and couples move in a file and then a circle. Its costume, with the peaked rogatywka hat decorated with peacock feathers, became Poland's best-known folk dress. In the 19th century the dance reached ballrooms in Vienna as the Krakauer and in Paris as the Cracovienne, and Chopin wrote a concert Rondo à la Krakowiak in 1828.

Oberek: the fastest of the five

The oberek is in triple metre and is the fastest of the five. Its name comes from the Polish obracać się, which means to spin. The dance is built on quick steps, constant turns, lifts and jumps, and it depends on how well each dancer can spin at speed. Village bands in central Poland played it, with the violin taking the lead. It shares some steps with the mazur. Because nothing is faster, it works as a finale in a programme, although a given show doesn't have to end that way.

Why these five are called national

Almost every region of Poland danced them, which is why they became national rather than regional. After Napoleon's armies spread across Central and Eastern Europe, French nobles imitated peasant dancing and added elements of ballet, and the dances moved into ballrooms. Chopin, who often used folk material, helped carry Polish folk music abroad. The polonez has a political side too: in the 19th century, when Poland had been erased from the map, the dance helped keep Polish culture alive. Today the dances are mostly performed at major events, on holidays and in places aimed at visitors. Professional ensembles such as Mazowsze and the Śląsk Song and Dance Ensemble keep the tradition going.

Hear them before you go

Chopin is the easiest way to hear all of this at home. His polonaises are the best known in classical music, and he began writing mazurkas in 1824 and kept going until his death in 1849. He also wrote a concert Rondo à la Krakowiak, published as Op. 14, and the last movement of his First Piano Concerto draws heavily on the krakowiak. These are concert pieces, not dance music, so they are slower to follow with your feet. They still show you the rhythms: the walking pulse, the odd accents and the bounce.

Hearing the difference

You don't need to read music to tell them apart. Count the beats: the krakowiak is the only one in twos, while the polonez, mazur, kujawiak and oberek are in threes. Within the threes, listen to speed and feel. The polonez walks at a steady pace. The kujawiak slows and bends. The mazur lands its accent on a beat you didn't expect. The oberek rushes ahead and keeps spinning. Violin usually leads in a village band, with other instruments beneath it.

What a folk dinner may show

The inn that hosts the Kraków folk dinner describes traditional Polish music, songs and dances by a Kraków folk ensemble. It does not publish a programme, so don't count on seeing all five, or in any fixed order. If the ensemble is from Kraków, the krakowiak is a natural choice, but that is a guess, not a promise. Treat this guide as a way to name what you see, and read the booking guide for dates and the bus.

Read next: Krakow folk show tickets: how to book

Who this isn't for

If you want a dance lesson, a dinner show is not the place, because the dancing is part of an evening built around a meal. If you want to see all five dances in a fixed order, no source we found promises that for this show. And if you want a concert-hall performance with a printed programme, the folk evenings at the inn are a different kind of night. For a dance-only evening, look for a folk ensemble concert instead of a dinner show.