Poland 's History, Culture, And Social Life

Moving History/Dancing Cultures is a collection of dance related essays and articles by various authors. The book was published in 2001. The article “Searching for Nijinsky’s Sacre” was written by Millicent Hodson. Hodson is a well-known choreographer and lecturer. She has also reconstructed multiple ballets; her most famous being Le Sacre du Printemps, originally choreographed by Nijinsky. As the title suggests, Hodson’s article is about her extensive research of Nijinsky’s Sacre, and the importance of remembering, preserving, and recreating such revolutionary ballets.

Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

However, the films also rely on the nostalgia shown for the “revitalization of Polish history”(168). The films gain nostalgia because they are portrayed as “courageous and deeply religious knights” who are “morally and intellectually superior” to those around them(169).This creates a sense of nationalism that boosts the film's success

One’s connection to a place greatly impacts on their sense of security and belonging. This idea is explored in Skrzynecki’s poems “Feliks Skrzynecki” and “St Patrick’s College”. In “Feliks Skrzynecki” the composer uses the metaphoric representation of the word ‘world’ to convey the thought of

Historically religion has usually been a large part of civilizations, states, nations, and cultures. In Poland the case is no different; religion has been engraved in the culture and history of Polish people. Since the introduction of Catholicism In Poland has grown largely and more homogenously Catholic. It can be argued that this was manufactured at the end of the Second World War; through the holocaust and forced migrations by the Soviet Union. The significance of Poland’s strong ties to the Catholic Church is that the church plays a large role in the structure of polish society. The Catholic Church has served as a protector and promoter of polish culture during the times Poland vanished off the map, to the struggles for democracy. As Poland fought to rid them of Soviet influence and become a free democratic society with free elections that Catholic Church played a key role in helping the fall of communism in Poland. However from an alternative angle it can be said that art a music movements were also a key fundamental influence in the fall of communism in Poland. Although entirely opposite, both artistic expression and religion were two institutions of culture that both played significant roles in Poland’s rise to freedom. However it is clear from the work of many musicians, poets and

“The Pianist” by Wladyslaw Spilman is a extraordianry story about a man’s survival in the holocaust in Warsaw, Poland. The book explains how Szpilman survives the holocaust in Poland by hiding, escaping, and with luck. Szpilman is important to society because he explains the following topics in his perspective for them not to happen again, religious discrimination, human rights, and punishment in crimes involving genocide. Many of the issues raised by the holocaust continue to have an impact on the world today.

The short folktale The Man Who Danced with the Rusalky tells the story of a man who dances with rusalky after being told not to and is punished accordingly. By analyzing the plot, the symbols, and characters in the story, one can see how the tale, while brief, argues for several codes of behaviour and beliefs.

In the first section, Desmond focuses on “movement style and meaning” (pg. 31). She explains how movement is learned through our communities. In some locations, some dances may be seen as proper because that is what they learned in their community, but if performed in another community, those people may see their dance as “improper.” Desmond provides the example of how in the nineteenth century the waltz was seen as “too sexually dangerous” when introduced in North America and Europe. Their reasoning

Peter Skryznecki’s persistent desire to connect/belong to his cultural heritage is carried forth in various poems, such as Feliks Skryznecki and Postcard. Cultural barriers determine whether the composer/responder is able to belong, and shows the ways in

The most memorable genocide constructed abruptly by German Nazis left both Jewish and German-Jewish residents of Poland in a whirl of destruction. 1933 had been the year that changed the lives of billions, but one young lady by the name of Stefania (Fusia) Podgorska managed to save thirteen, including herself along with her young sister. Upon moving to Przemysl and working a steady job as a grocer, ghettos in Poland had begun to be invaded, and her mother and eldest brother were not too lucky. Podgorska’s family had been sent to Germany for forced labor, like the rest of the Jewish community in that vicinity. While still without question, going through a rough patch at the grocery store, oddly enough, she had also been relieved simply because

Despite the dependability I have on my hometown of Calgary, Alberta it cannot surpass the overwhelming warmth and hearth which abundantly resonates within Warsaw, Poland. Perhaps it is simply the lasting effects of having first generation Canadian immigrants as parents who constantly reminisce on childhood adventures or just the inexplicable sheer bliss being in Warsaw has. Suffice to say, the sensation does not limit itself to the explicit ethos of Warsaw, but in fact compels me to miss the people – not purely family, but rather the inexplicably and enlightening aura of harmonized unity amongst individuals who retain some acknowledgeable altruism. I attribute the absence of this quality to be why I do not consider Calgary to be my primal landscape.

Christendom, is one of the foundational building blocks of the Polish identity and culture. Christianity is so deeply ingrained in Polish heritage and national feeling that it is a great tool to inspire people which Mickiewicz takes great advantage of. Mickiewicz appeals to this religious fervor and hopes that these powerful beliefs will stir up the polish people, and perhaps even provoke them into an uprising against evil foreign oppressors. According to Mickiewicz, the Polish struggle for independence is pure, just, and true when he writes “But the Polish nation alone did not bow down to the new idol, and did not have in its language the expression for christening it in Polish…….. The Polish nation worshiped God, knowing that he who honoreth God giveth honor to everything that is good. The Polish nation, then from the beginning to the end was true to the God of its ancestors.” Through such language, Mickiewicz is able to align the Polish struggle to that of a religious struggle. He does this by simply comparing Poland’s hardships to that of Christianity and Jesus Christ. By doing so, he gives the Polish movement for independence legitimacy in the eyes of god and this reassures Poles that their struggle is for a noble cause. This depiction of this struggle is unique and empowering as it validates their mission. In conclusion for Mickiewicz the struggle for Poland is a struggle for

The new culture of the Polish was a combination of the new (America) and of the old (back in Poland) that became from the industrial and urban communities.

“My experience has taught me that all of us have a reservoir of untapped strength that comes to the fore at moments of crisis.” - Gerda Weissman Klein. Imagine a person waking up thinking that today will be a normal day. In a more specific sense, that today will repeat that person’s normal cycle of activities. However, nobody knows the future. Nobody can truly predict their fate, and therefore when something goes awry, people are at the least, a little surprised. Nobody could predict that Germany was going to invade Poland on September 1st, 1939. And nobody could predict what hell they were about to go through. Especially the people who would have to wear a yellow Star of David. The people who would

‘The Pianist’ is a cinematic masterpiece by the Polish director Roman Polanski. One of the key ideas that appear throughout much of the film is that of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’. This idea is portrayed through Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish pianist, as he struggles for survival in Warsaw as everybody that he once knew and everything that he once had is lost. The idea of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’ is worth learning about as it allows the audience to realise the importance of hope in todays society – and to understand how Polanski uses music to symbolise ‘hope’ for Szpilman in the film. Polanski effectively utilises an array of visual and oral text features such as music, dialogue, and lighting to build further