On Sunday the 25th May 2025 at the Clocktower Centre in Moonee Ponds, the Melbourne Polish Folkloric Group “Polonez” celebrated its 60th anniversary with a spectacularly colourful concert. Those who were long-term fans of the group knew what they could expect, yet were still thrilled with new costumes, choreography and vocal performances. Beginning with the traditional namesake of the group, the graceful “Chodzony” polonaise, allowing the audience to be introduced to the dancers, it moved on to an old stalwart performance of “Czerwony Pas” by Ryszard Mataska, along with the latest iteration of “Dorotki” consisting of Zofia Kaszubska, Irena Gliwa Darcy, Liz Izydorczyk-Niemiec, Hania Terech – the audience naturally joined in on the chorus.

Jurek Ruta, Dorotki

Later in the program, the last remaining member of the original “Polonez” orchestra, Jurek Ruta, supplanted Ryszard at the keyboard, while Zosia harmonised with her daughter Gosia in a number of favourite pieces. Of particular note was Ryszard’s interpretation of the moving contender for Australia’s National Anthem “I Am Australian”, that nearly brought the house down.

Zosia and Gosia Kaszubskie

New backdrops brought village and town atmosphere into focus. New costumes replaced those that had become more fragile with each passing decade and even the youngest were remembered by the wardrobe mistresses, with banded rivulets of bright colours from Lublin, for which all can thank Jennifer and Andrzej Badzaj, along with Elżbieta Dziedzic and Helene Miałszygrosz. As usual, the hard working and invisible backstage crew ensured that the whole performance ran smoothly. They included Andrzej and Jennifer Badzaj, Peter Burghardt, Jacek Kuzior, Chris Peszek, and Belinda Szumny.

The occasional tear was shed during the tribute to the founders of the group in 1965. The current artistic director of the group, Barbara Czech, honoured her parents Janina and Zbigniew Czech, along with band leader Henryk Ruta, Andrzej Mielnik, and many others. Photos documenting the participation of Polonez in local and overseas festivities, such as Melbourne’s Moomba Parade, and their tours including Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania, were a testament to generations of support from “Friends of Polonez”, founded by Szymon Meysztowicz and whose current president is Elżbieta Dziedzic. Countless practices with oversight by w worthy cohort of instructors including Józef Pawlicki and Helene Miałszygrosz meant that the young men could all flawlessly perform the difficult tricks demanded by the Highland dances.

Fathers graced the stage with their children, remembering when they themselves had been coerced into attending practices by their parents. Michał Milewski proudly boasted of how his son followed in his footsteps and now dances with the Victorian ballet.

Thunderous applause greeted each appearance of the youngest members, from the first glimpse of the beginners group performing a harvest dance. The littlest girl could not stop dancing even during the final farewell, when the boys tumbled down with the last curtain, heir disembodied hands waving from beneath the crimson drapery until even they disappeared awaiting the coming PolArt Festival in Adelaide.

Ania Zamecznik

Obertas, a “Round dance” from Central Poland

Dances from Szamotuły in the Wielkopolska region

The Grand Krakowiak, a dance form city of Kraków, generally consdered to be th most representative of Polish dances