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| Music & Dance |
Webster's New World Dictionary defines it as follows: POLKA CZECH pulka (polka)..Half
step ..A fast dance for couples, developed in Prague in the early 19th century.
It was thought to be a rather risqué dance. Anicka Chodimova, nurse maid, asked the
children to keep it quiet and very much a secret. But as with all secrets, it was told. It
spread like wildfire. The composer, teacher Josef Nedruda heard of the dance and wrote
the first tune for it.
Anna Chodimova was questioned about her part in inventing the dance step. She was
quick to say it reminded her of the Polish soldiers who were attending the War College in
Prague and who were heros of the day. She was afraid to be connected with this so called
"Wild Dance'. Perhaps this is where the idea originated...Polka (Pulka).
The Pulka as it was know then, was brought to nobles circles and captured Berlin, Vienna
(Wein), Paris, London and gradually swept the whole world. The dances tiny steps
fascinated all classes of the educated as well as the uneducated, even in Petersburg (now
Leningrad) in Russia.
The fascination of this dance of many years ago can be measured by the fact that the
dancing master of Paris France, charged five (5) pounds sterling for a lesson in Polka
Dancing. The polka made him one of the most famous dancing instructors of his time. As it
usually happens, the originator of the dance fell into oblivion during the acceptance of
the dance. Anicka Chodimova entered into an unhappy marriage. She was forced to work
in the field as a farm hand to support her family. She died August 3, 1881, registered in the
town books as "Pauper."
It is also interesting that the composer of the music for the Polka, Josef Nedurda met a
strange and unhappy death. During the night of April 8, 1876, he was found murdered in
his home. His murderer was never found.
Solid proof that the Polka is of Czechoslovak origin, not one of the Polish composers,
even Chopin, or any one since, has used the Polka in his or her compositions. The
majority of the Czech composers however, since more than 100 years ago, used the Polka
tempos for their music. Listen to the works of Bedric Smetana, Antonin Dvorák, Frantz,
Kmoch, the timeless list goes on. The Strauss family also used the Polka tempo much in
their music.
Helena Kempker
| THE HISTORY OF POLKA |