<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The mainstream fields of Polish dance research were defined
in 1818–1847 by Józef Elsner, Kazimierz Brodziński, Łukasz
Gołębiowski and Karol Czerniawski, who broadly characterized some
elements of the dances considered as national (the polonaise, mazur,
krakowiak and kozak). Oskar Kolberg knew very well the works of all
these authors and referred to them many times. However, he was unique
in his extensive documentation of dance melodies, information about
their geographic origin, and local terminology. He also characterized
the dances with regard to their sequence in the traditional context and
described the dance technique in an instructive manner.</p><p>
Oskar Kolberg’s documentation for quite a long time remained
outside the scope of mainstream research and publications about
dance in Poland. In the 1930s Polish representatives of the newly
defined field of ethnochoreology were the first to include examples
from Kolberg in their works on the ritual dances, regional dances
and characteristic dance behaviour types and forms. Kolberg’s works
increased in popularity after the World War II. Today the materials left
by Oskar Kolberg allow us to establish to a large extent the geographic
range and perspective on the changes of dance repertoire, both with regard
to choreographic technique and dance types, or a more detailed and critical
perspective on the problems of folk terminology in dance phenomena.
It may also serve as the point of departure for wider retrospective
or comparative studies – which may not be very fashionable today, but
which have never been adequately conducted in Poland.  </p></abstract>

The mainstream fields of Polish dance research were defined
in 1818–1847 by Józef Elsner, Kazimierz Brodziński, Łukasz
Gołębiowski and Karol Czerniawski, who broadly characterized some
elements of the dances considered as national (the polonaise, mazur,
krakowiak and kozak). Oskar Kolberg knew very well the works of all
these authors and referred to them many times. However, he was unique
in his extensive documentation of dance melodies, information about
their geographic origin, and local terminology. He also characterized
the dances with regard to their sequence in the traditional context and
described the dance technique in an instructive manner.
Oskar Kolberg’s documentation for quite a long time remained
outside the scope of mainstream research and publications about
dance in Poland. In the 1930s Polish representatives of the newly
defined field of ethnochoreology were the first to include examples
from Kolberg in their works on the ritual dances, regional dances
and characteristic dance behaviour types and forms. Kolberg’s works
increased in popularity after the World War II. Today the materials left
by Oskar Kolberg allow us to establish to a large extent the geographic
range and perspective on the changes of dance repertoire, both with regard
to choreographic technique and dance types, or a more detailed and critical
perspective on the problems of folk terminology in dance phenomena.
It may also serve as the point of departure for wider retrospective
or comparative studies – which may not be very fashionable today, but
which have never been adequately conducted in Poland.

The Importance of the Collection of Oskar Kolberg for Contemporary Choreological Studies

Institute of Musicology University of Warsaw

Musicology Today

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The mainstream fields of Polish dance research were defined
in 1818–1847 by Józef Elsner, Kazimierz Brodziński, Łukasz
Gołębiowski and Karol Czerniawski, who...

The Importance of the Collection of Oskar Kolberg for Contemporary Choreological Studies

Published Online: Dec 30, 2014

Page range: 13 - 22

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/muso-2014-0011

Keywords
Oskar Kolberg, dance documentation, etnochoreology

© 2014 Tomasz Nowak

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Importance of the Collection of Oskar Kolberg for Contemporary Choreological Studies

Published Online: Dec 30, 2014

Page range: 13 - 22

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/muso-2014-0011

KeywordsOskar Kolberg, dance documentation, etnochoreology

© 2014 Tomasz Nowak

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Oskar Kolberg, dance documentation, etnochoreology