Even the young are returning to the ballroom dance floor!!! Reading my blog about an upcoming Ballroom Dancing event in the parish, a dear friend sent me short article she had written about Polkas. In light of the previous blog, I suspect you might get a sense of one person's love for dancing. You younger readers might also get a sense of this lady's loss at no longer being able to dance ... her legs just tired out from her walking around hospitals helping so many people. Enjoy the read.
Polkas
Hear a polka immediately the music invades the body. The sound permeates the whole person. It’s rhythm hypnotizes; blood tingles throughout the circulatory system. Every muscle and tendon is affected .The feet pick up the beat, the nerves become almost involuntary, a spontaneous urge to move to the magic sound occurs. This rhythm is happy felt from the heart .The surrounding folks are overcome by the spell. Not a soul in the vicinity is grumpy or grouchy. The place exudes an air of joyfulness. The dance begins. The floor of dancers becomes alive with spinning and twirls. Happy faces explode in merriment.
In my family if you could breath you could polka. You were born to the hop of this spirited music. It feels like a fast waltz. My sister and I often had the cancan and Strauss’s waltzes on the record player as we tried to clean the house. This was a way to make the chores less like work. Music and twirling filled the air. Mom would shout up to us,"are you girls doing your work, It sounds like you are playing?" "Mom it is getting done. Don’t worry."
When we went to our Lithuanian social club on Fridays,
we danced every polka, dancing and dancing until we were breathless. Oh! Those wonderful light-hearted days. Many of the polkas had words . We were quick to learn every word. On celebrations they became spontaneous out burst.
Some songs told of a difficult lover, and others of unhappy love affairs. Most poked fun at annoyances . One in particular was about a dumb person where all sorts of peculiar things occurred. These stories were much like country ballads, sung in Lithuanian, We learned the family language easily this way.
At a Lithuanian wedding reception the band plays a wedding polka. Older women serenade the couple and they pretend with knives to keep the couple from cutting the cake. Of course the Bride and Groom win. This ritual signifies all will not always go well in their future life together and difficulties must be overcome.
Polkas are time machines that bring days and nights gone by but not forgotten. Every tune recalls past fun –filled times.
Remember "The beer Barrel Polka and there is a Tavern in the Town". These had a terrific Hey-Day.
Polkas
Hear a polka immediately the music invades the body. The sound permeates the whole person. It’s rhythm hypnotizes; blood tingles throughout the circulatory system. Every muscle and tendon is affected .The feet pick up the beat, the nerves become almost involuntary, a spontaneous urge to move to the magic sound occurs. This rhythm is happy felt from the heart .The surrounding folks are overcome by the spell. Not a soul in the vicinity is grumpy or grouchy. The place exudes an air of joyfulness. The dance begins. The floor of dancers becomes alive with spinning and twirls. Happy faces explode in merriment.
In my family if you could breath you could polka. You were born to the hop of this spirited music. It feels like a fast waltz. My sister and I often had the cancan and Strauss’s waltzes on the record player as we tried to clean the house. This was a way to make the chores less like work. Music and twirling filled the air. Mom would shout up to us,"are you girls doing your work, It sounds like you are playing?" "Mom it is getting done. Don’t worry."
When we went to our Lithuanian social club on Fridays,
we danced every polka, dancing and dancing until we were breathless. Oh! Those wonderful light-hearted days. Many of the polkas had words . We were quick to learn every word. On celebrations they became spontaneous out burst.
Some songs told of a difficult lover, and others of unhappy love affairs. Most poked fun at annoyances . One in particular was about a dumb person where all sorts of peculiar things occurred. These stories were much like country ballads, sung in Lithuanian, We learned the family language easily this way.
At a Lithuanian wedding reception the band plays a wedding polka. Older women serenade the couple and they pretend with knives to keep the couple from cutting the cake. Of course the Bride and Groom win. This ritual signifies all will not always go well in their future life together and difficulties must be overcome.
Polkas are time machines that bring days and nights gone by but not forgotten. Every tune recalls past fun –filled times.
Remember "The beer Barrel Polka and there is a Tavern in the Town". These had a terrific Hey-Day.
