Polka Dance Guide: How to Dance Polka

Originating in the Czech Republic, Polka is a popular folk dance form that is performed all over the world. The basic polka step consists of one step followed by two half-steps. Polka routines are usually danced by a couple, rotating in a circle around the dance floor in the same direction, smoothing out any rough bounces in their quick steps. It is a fast-paced, upbeat dance meant to be danced with confidence and ease.

Before it became a popular competition ballroom dance, the polka was danced by people in Bohemia, located in the present-day Czech republic. The word Polka itself likely comes from the Czech word “pulka,” meaning “half step.” Polka is also the official state dance of Wisconsin, where there is a large Polish immigrant community.

Here is a brief overview of the history of polka dance.

• Origins in the nineteenth century: Polka dancing and its music emerged around the early nineteenth century in Bohemia, which was part of the Czech Republic. One common account purports that in 1830, music teacher Josef Neruda witnessed housemaid Anna Slezáková (born Anna Chadimová) performing an upbeat Bohemian dance—which she referred to as ‘Madera’— to a traditional folk song. Neruda wrote down the steps and began to teach others the steps to what became the popular folk dance.
• Dissemination across Europe: By the mid-1830s, the polka became popular amongst the poor and was then adopted by richer, upper-class Czechs. It only took five years before Polka dance music and its steps reached the ballrooms of Prague, eventually spreading to dance halls in other places such as Vienna, Paris, London, Russia, and Poland. As the popularity of the dance rose, companies leveraged the popularity of the dance by selling items with “polka dots.”
• Twentieth-century spread to the United States: Polka remained a popular dance until the 1920s when other dance and music crazes such as the two-step and ragtime took over. However, polka experienced a resurgence in popularity following World War II after Polish refugees and other immigrants from Europe relocated to the United States, bringing their culture with them. The dance became more popular as American immigrant communities like Dutch and Polish communities developed their own styles of the original polka. By 1986, Polka was so popular that a polka music artist, Frankie Yankovic (known as America’s polka king), won the first-ever polka Grammy Award for his 1986 polka album.

There are a variety of different North American Polka styles depending on the music and who is performing them. Here are some of the most popular styles of polka that developed in North America in the twentieth century.

1. 1. Slovenian-style Polka: This quick style of Polka features different accordions, such as the chromatic accordion, the piano accordion, or a diatonic button box accordion. It has a strong association with the city of Cleveland, along with other cities in the midwest with Slovenian-American communities.
2. 2. Conjunto-style Polka: This Polka style has roots in southern Texas and northern Mexico with distinct influences by German and eastern European immigrants.
3. 3. Dutchmen-style Polka: Also originating in the midwest, this Polka style usually features a banjo and tuba, and is considered smoother and less modern than other American-born Polkas. It is named after the American Polka band, The Six Fat Dutchmen.
4. 4. Polish-style Polka: This Polka dance originated in Chicago within Polish and Czech communities. Two subtypes of this dance style are The Chicago Push, which uses a variety of instruments including an accordion, bass guitar, concertinas, and two trumpets. The other subtype is called The Chicago Honky, which usually only features a clarinet or saxophone, along with a trumpet.

The Polka dance requires two dancers, and each dancer must synchronize their steps in time. The basic steps of Polka feature a triple step: one full step, followed by two half steps in a chassé, where one leg “chases” the other. Here is a basic tutorial on the proper footwork for the basic polka step.

1. 1. Grab a partner. While you can always practice basic Polka steps on your own, it is meant to be a partner dance. Facing your partner, clasp your left hand with their right hand and hold them together at an angle at shoulder level. Keep your backs straight with your free hands resting on each other’s shoulder blades or shoulders.
2. 2. Start off with the long step. Starting with your left foot, take a hop step to the right. If you are not the lead, you’ll start with the right and mirror the steps of your partner.
3. 3. Follow up with two half-steps. After you land on your left foot, bring your right foot in for a half step, followed by another half step with your left foot, so that the first dance steps are left-right-left.
4. 4. Switch to the other foot. The last half step with your left foot should shift your weight to your left side, giving you the necessary leverage to hop to your right foot and repeat the steps again. This time, you return to the long step with your right foot, following it up with two half steps of left then right, so that the second dance steps are right-left-right. (If you are not the lead, this will be the opposite.)
5. 5. Take it on the move. Polka dancers often use their steps to move in a circular motion around the entire dance floor. Start moving forward with your steps while your partner starts moving backward, each of you still repeating the mirrored right-left-right and left-right-left patterns.

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