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lasowiak

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The culture of Lasowiaki, a group inhabiting Puszcza Sandomierska, was closely connected with forestry and rafting, but their songs and dances also displayed influences coming from the neighbouring Małopolska (Lesser Poland) and the Lublin region. The lasowiak is a partner dance set to a folk song. Its main steps are gallop and canter, as in the krakowiak, accompanied by jumps on two legs and three stamps in place when dancers change the direction of whirling.

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The dance got its name from Lasowiaki, an ethnic group living on lands formerly occupied by Puszcza Sandomierska, between the Vistula and San rivers. It was danced in pairs in a circle, or – when there were many pairs and a lot of space – in two concentric circles. It had a fast tempo and 2/4 metre, and consisted of two distinct parts. In the first one boys and girls danced in open pairs, with hands on their hips, around the hall against the sun, and the basic step is a side gallop (as in the krakowiak). After the galloping, dancers would spring in the air from both legs and land on both legs. The same sequence is then repeated, only in the opposite direction – with the sun. This part of the dance is accompanied by the song Oj nie widać, oj, nie widać mego Lasowiaka..., (Oh, my Lasowiak, I can't see him) sung in turns by the girls and the boys. In the second part of the dance the pairs dance in a closed position and turn in place, counterclockwise, in a small gallop, ending the turns with three accented steps. After these accented steps (stamps) they change direction. Sometimes, especially during weddings, the lasowiak was led by a dance leader, who urged the dancers to perform particular figures and showed them the direction they should turn.

 

Haszczak, Alicja. Folklor taneczny Ziemi Rzeszowskiej. Warszawa: Centralny Ośrodek Metodyki Upowszechniania Kultury, 1989.

Haszczak, Alicja. Tańce lasowiackie. Warszawa: Polska Sekcja CIOFF, 2006.

Haszczak, Alicja. Tańce rzeszowskie. Rzeszów: Zespół Pieśni i Tańca „Połoniny”, 2012.

Kotula, Franciszek. Lasowiak – pierwotny taniec ludowy. „Nowy Tygodnik”, nr 8, s. 2, 1952.