Music for download - „Ogrodnik”

Ogrodnik (the Gardener) originates from Krościenko region and is considered to be one of the main dances of the Pieniny highlanders. It can be danced in any number of threes, with the male dancer positioned in the middle – between two female dancers. Due to the number of dancers, the gardener is often compared to the traditional Silesian trojak. Nevertheless, the music, which accompanies each of these dances is very different. The melody of the gardener has two parts accompanied by a chant that has a variable metre and tempo. The 1st part of the melody has a triple meter of ¾ and is played at a moderate tempo, while in the 2nd part of the melody has a double meter of 2/4 and a significantly faster tempo.

The dance opens with the call: “Gardener!” – this is the signal for the music band to start playing the music and for the dancers to begin. The shift from the 1st part of the dance to the 2nd one is accented by dancers with a double or a triple stamp. The threes dance moving “po kole” (around a circle), “w krzyż” (across), “w gwiazdę” (tracing the lines of a star) or forwards and backwards, usually with small steps. In the 2nd part of the dance, the dancers also tend to use the obyrtany step (revolving step).