The oberek, also known as obertas or ober, is a lively Polish dance in

triple metre Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 ( compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , a ...

. Its name is derived from the Polish ''obracać się'', meaning "to spin". It consists of many

dance lift Dance partnering is dancing performed by two or more dancers (traditionally a male leader and a female follower, though forms such as Contact improvisation and Fusion dance have troubled this traditional dynamic), that strive to achieve a harmony ...

s and jumps. It is performed at a much quicker pace than the Polish

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

and is one of the national dances of Poland.

Polish oberek (folk)

The oberek, in its original form, is a Polish folk dance and is the fastest of the Five National Dances of Poland. The Five National Dances are: polonez (polonaise), mazur (mazurka),

kujawiak The kujawiak is a Polish folk dance from the region of Kuyavia (Kujawy) in central Poland.Don Michael Randel. ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music''. Harvard University Press. 2003. p. 449. It is one of the five national dances of Poland, the other ...

krakowiak The Krakowiak or Cracovienne is a fast, syncopated Polish folk dance in duple time from the region of Kraków and Lesser Poland. The folk outfit worn for the dance has become the national costume of Poland, most notably, the rogatywka peaked hat ...

(cracovienne) and oberek. The oberek consists of quick steps and constant turns. The beauty of the oberek depends on each individual dancer's talent of spinning at the fast tempo of the oberek, which shares some steps with the mazur. The music for the oberek was typically performed by a small village band, kapela, dominated by the violin in central Polan

Polish-American oberek (social)

The Polish-American oberek is a social dance, originally brought to America by Polish immigrants in late 1800s and early 1900s. This social dance derives from the folk dance oberek; however, the steps are slightly altered and the music is slightly different. Obereks are played by Polka bands throughout the United States. It is the second-most popular dance in

Polish-American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...

music, after the

polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...

References

External links

About oberek
{{Dance Polish dances Triple time dances

Polish oberek (folk)

Polish-American oberek (social)

See also

References

External links