Wanda Kaniorowa Folk Song and Dance Ensemble “Lublin”

In 1948 the Young Spectators’ Theatre (Teatr Miodego Widza) was founded in Lublin as one of the first groups in post-World War Two Poland to feature folklore in its repertoire. In 1953 the theatre was transformed into the Lublin Region Folk Song and Dance Group. In 1959 it went on its first tour abroad; in 1984 the House of Folklore was established and in 1998 the group was renamed the Wanda Kaniorowa Folk Song and Dance Company “Lublin” (Zespół Pieśni i Tańca “Lublin” im. Wandy Kaniorowej). These were only a few of the milestones reached by the Company that is a phenomenon on national and international scale, a university of folk songs and dances and, in addition to that, a great sociological phenomenon, as throughout the years the Ensemble saw almost 40,000 members infected with folklore. Kaniorowcy, the popular term used to describe members of the “Lublin” Ensemble, derived from the name of its founder Wanda Kaniorowa, bind themselves to the Group for their whole youth, sometimes for a dozen or so years or even more than that. They learn here, grow up, and also have fun while advancing from children’s groups through youth groups to the 1st Representation. The repertoire they assimilate during their time in the Ensemble is exceptionally broad at present. It comprises pieces adapted by distinguished choreographers and musicians - mainly members of the group - folk melodies, songs and dances from almost all regions of Poland, from their native Lublin or nearby Rzeszów to Grater Poland in the west, from southern Nowy Sącz or Cieszyn to the latest from Kashubia in the north and dances of Eastern Krakowiaks, as well as national dances – The Polonaise, Mazur, Kujawiak, Oberek, and Krakowiak. The "Lublin" Ensemble is also the ambassador for culture of Poland and the Lublin region, presenting Polish folklore to people from many countries on nearly every continent, which the group visited during its frequent travels. It is also a prizewinner of countless national and international festivals. Everywhere they performed, the Ensemble was admired for its professionalism, freshness and verve always served with a smile. Since 1994, the date of another milestone in „Lublin’s” history, the Company has been the sole organiser of the International Folklore Meetings, which had been established 10 years earlier and held in Lublin. In 1997 the Meetings took the name of Ignacy Wachowiak, a student of Wanda Kaniorowa and her successor as a director and main choreographer of the Ensemble, who had died the year before, and since 2000 CIOFF - International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts took the Festival under its wings. The Song and Dance Company “Lublin” has received numerous commendations and awards from the Minister of Culture, Minister of Education, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Governor of the Lublin Province and the Mayor of Lublin.In 2008 the Company was awarded a prestigious Oskar Kolberg Award “for the most respected merits of Polish folk culture”. At present, the Company comprises 16 dance groups and 2 music bands and conducts classes for about 500 people, aged from 5 to 25-year-olds.