Polonaise

The polonaise (/pɒləˈneɪz/, French: [pɔlɔnɛz]; Polish: polonez) is a dance of Polish origin, in 3
4 time. Its name is French for "Polish."

The polonaise had a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin.

Polonaise is a widespread dance in carnival parties. Polonaise is always a first dance at a studniówka ("hundred-days"), the Polish equivalent of the senior prom that occurs approximately 100 days before exams.

Polish Noblemen dancing Polonaise, painting by Jan Piotr Norblin

Poles dance Polonez, painting by Kornelli Szlegel

Chopin's Polonaise - a Ball in Hôtel Lambert in Paris.

The notation alla polacca (Italian: polacca means "polonaise") on a musical score indicates that the piece should be played with the rhythm and character of a polonaise. For example, the third movement of Beethoven's Triple Concerto op. 56, marked "Rondo alla polacca," and the finale of Chopin's Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" both feature this notation. In his book Classic Music: Expression, Form, and Style, Leonard G. Ratner cites the fourth movement from Beethoven's Serenade in D major, Op. 8, marked "Allegretto alla Polacca," as a representative example of the polonaise dance topic (Ratner 1980, pp. 12–13).

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