Current issue:
EVENTS - 05.2008
New coins from the National Bank of Poland
After issuing a series of collector coins on the theme of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the National Bank of Poland has released another series. This time, it is devoted to Siberian deportees, Poles who were sent to terrible, distant Siberian Russia. According to the tradition, Siberian Russian is associated with imprisonment. Poles were sent there as early as in the first half of the 17th century, as prisoners of war. The real story of such deportees begins in the 18th century, however, when Poland lost its sovereignty. Russian tsars, who conquered part of our country, sent stubborn and ‘inconvenient’ Poles to Siberia. But the greatest tragedy came during Stalinist times. Thousands of Poles ended up in Siberia for no other reason than being Polish. The National Bank of Poland has commemorated this dramatic chapter in Poland’s history with beautifully designed coins, which pay tribute to the Iberian deportees - those who have died and those who survived the nightmare of Siberia.
Bob Dylan in Warsaw
On the 7th of June, Bob Dylan will perform at the Stodoła club in Warsaw. It will be a small concert by the great legend of American music. It will be Dylan’s second visit on the Vistula. The artist appeared in Poland for the first time in 1994. Bob Dylan is one of the greatest composers, singers and poets. He alludes to many varieties of music in his compositions and brings them together in his music in an unrepeatable way. Dylan has sold 90 million albums altogether, and has been artistically active on the scene for more than 40 years. He also performed in the Vatican for Pope John Paul II.
The most beautiful underground station in the world
The underground station at Warsaw’s Plac Wilsona has been acknowledged as the most beautiful station in the world. This decision was made at the Metrorail conference in Copenhagen, which was devoted to the development of underground systems. For the occasion, specialists in the construction and operation of subway systems from around the world convened in the capital of Denmark. The station at Plac Wilsona was opened in 2005 and was immediately regarded as very functional and the most attractive of those built in recent years. The station had also received honors twice before, for instance, in Mexico during a competition promoting architectonic constructions made primarily of cement. The Warsaw Metro system received yet another award at the Copenhagen conference - Robert Jaryczewski was honored as the best underground engine driver.
The light of the moon on the Vistula
Young Varsovian artists and architects are trying to add color to their city with their art and bold ideas. One of them, which has become something of a symbol of Warsaw, is the fake palm tree that stands at the De Gaulle Roundabout. Varsovians have come to like it and consider it a humorous accent in the city, where trees like that cannot grow because of the climate. The pink deer next to the University Library on the Vistula River were just as favorably received. Recently, a young graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, author of a diploma project titled ‘1.2.3 Vistula. Recreation on the left bank of the Vistula’ presented her idea for utilizing the river bank. The idea was to put lamps like PowerMoon balloons which have a moon-like light, over the banks and piers, and a riverside made of wood. Will the authorities in Warsaw who are planning the utilization of the banks of the Vistula take an interest in her idea?
Warsaw, the city of Chopin
Warsaw will have a new source of pride. It will be... Frederic Chopin. London has the Queen, Prague has Kafka, and Vienna has Mozart. Warsaw also has someone to boast with. Chopin is one of the best loved composers in the world, and a great Romantic artist. He was born outside of Warsaw, in Żelazowa Wola. His genius is inseparably connected to our city. He was raised here, took up his studies here, and gave his first concerts here, too. And in Warsaw, in the church of the Holy Cross, his heart was laid to rest. There are many places associated with Chopin in Warsaw. The Bureau for the Promotion of Warsaw is preparing a new concept to promote our city. Chopin is going to be one of its symbols. A competition has been organized to gather memorabilia associated with Chopin. Soon, it will also be possible to listen to Chopin’s music while looking at the memorabilia collected.
100 years of Warsaw’s tramways
It was exactly one hundred years ago, in 1908. As the Warsaw newspapers wrote, at 9:35 in the morning, engineer Boulanger turned the crank. And the first electric tramway in Warsaw started up. It was numbered 3 and on its first day, from 7:00 am, every three minutes, it traveled to the northernmost part of the city. The law determined its speed: 16 km an hour. It was supposed to be even lower ‘on the busy streets of Bielańska, Bagno, Graniczna, Nowy åwiat, Tr’backa, and Karmelicka’. Today, none of those streets have tramway lines. In addition, instructions for engineers stated at the time that ‘at the sight of an army platoon, or church procession’ it was necessary to stop. Now, there is nearly nothing left of these original tramways. There are a few remaining cars which usually serve as museum pieces. When one of them rides on Warsaw’s streets on a special occasion, Varsovians are truly pleased to see them.
International Folk Dance Ensemble in Warsaw
The American group ‘International Folk Dance Ensemble’ will perform in Warsaw on the 15th of May, at 7.30 p.m., at Józef Sowiński Park, 17 Elekcyjna Street. The event has been organized by the Ochota Cultural Center and the S. Żeromski Cultural Center.
Combining ethnic traditions with exquisite costuming, Brigham Young University’s International Folk Dance Ensemble showcases the dance styles of the world and features the traditions of the United States at international folklore festivals. Over the past decade, the Ensemble has visited 29 countries spanning four continents. As an emissary of the United States and American traditions, the group has become internationally famous at the most prestigious folk dance festivals abroad, where it performs with many of the world’s finest dance companies. The Ensemble was founded in 1956, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006.
The troupe boasts 47 musicians, singers, dancers, and technicians, who work together to form one of the most unique groups of performing artists in the United States. IFDE’s musical ensemble, Mountain Strings, not only provides accompaniment for the dancers, but also performs show-stopping traditional music.
Edwin G. Austin Jr. is the artistic director of IFDE. His extensive experience began more than 30 years ago, when a passion for international dance and music led him to study with a variety of international artists. He began dancing with IFDE as a performer in 1976, and later returned to BYU as a member of the dance faculty in 1984. Now, he is beginning his 19th season as the troupe’s artistic director. Austin has also served as President of the National Folk Organization of the United States (NFO).
Austin is supported by a production team of seasoned professionals: Delynne Peay and Jeanette Geslison, world dance specialists and choreographers; Benjamin Sanders, technical director; Mark Geslison, director of the Mountain Strings folk music ensemble; and Colleen West, wardrobe supervisor and costume designer. In addition, specialists from around the world bring new elements of choreography each year to enrich the group’s diverse repertoire.
Brigham Young University was founded in 1875 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is now one of the nation’s largest private universities with an enrollment of 30,000 students from throughout the United States and 120 foreign countries.
In Warsaw, the group will present, among others: Texas Fandango - A humorous characterization of the American cowboy in the south-western United States. The Gathering - Simply stated, these are the dances of the pioneers as they crossed the plains to settle the Western United States. Gaelic Rivalry begins with a friendly contest of double jig rhythms and steps that culminates in an exciting collaboration of energetic footwork performed to reel time. (Western) Wildfire Ridge is a precision form of Appalachian clogging óAmerican step dance with European roots. Clogging was originally influenced by the dance steps of Native Americans and black slaves. More recently, we have seen the influence of American tap dance and the French-Canadian jig to our north.
After issuing a series of collector coins on the theme of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the National Bank of Poland has released another series. This time, it is devoted to Siberian deportees, Poles who were sent to terrible, distant Siberian Russia. According to the tradition, Siberian Russian is associated with imprisonment. Poles were sent there as early as in the first half of the 17th century, as prisoners of war. The real story of such deportees begins in the 18th century, however, when Poland lost its sovereignty. Russian tsars, who conquered part of our country, sent stubborn and ‘inconvenient’ Poles to Siberia. But the greatest tragedy came during Stalinist times. Thousands of Poles ended up in Siberia for no other reason than being Polish. The National Bank of Poland has commemorated this dramatic chapter in Poland’s history with beautifully designed coins, which pay tribute to the Iberian deportees - those who have died and those who survived the nightmare of Siberia.
Bob Dylan in Warsaw
On the 7th of June, Bob Dylan will perform at the Stodoła club in Warsaw. It will be a small concert by the great legend of American music. It will be Dylan’s second visit on the Vistula. The artist appeared in Poland for the first time in 1994. Bob Dylan is one of the greatest composers, singers and poets. He alludes to many varieties of music in his compositions and brings them together in his music in an unrepeatable way. Dylan has sold 90 million albums altogether, and has been artistically active on the scene for more than 40 years. He also performed in the Vatican for Pope John Paul II.
The most beautiful underground station in the world
The underground station at Warsaw’s Plac Wilsona has been acknowledged as the most beautiful station in the world. This decision was made at the Metrorail conference in Copenhagen, which was devoted to the development of underground systems. For the occasion, specialists in the construction and operation of subway systems from around the world convened in the capital of Denmark. The station at Plac Wilsona was opened in 2005 and was immediately regarded as very functional and the most attractive of those built in recent years. The station had also received honors twice before, for instance, in Mexico during a competition promoting architectonic constructions made primarily of cement. The Warsaw Metro system received yet another award at the Copenhagen conference - Robert Jaryczewski was honored as the best underground engine driver.
The light of the moon on the Vistula
Young Varsovian artists and architects are trying to add color to their city with their art and bold ideas. One of them, which has become something of a symbol of Warsaw, is the fake palm tree that stands at the De Gaulle Roundabout. Varsovians have come to like it and consider it a humorous accent in the city, where trees like that cannot grow because of the climate. The pink deer next to the University Library on the Vistula River were just as favorably received. Recently, a young graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, author of a diploma project titled ‘1.2.3 Vistula. Recreation on the left bank of the Vistula’ presented her idea for utilizing the river bank. The idea was to put lamps like PowerMoon balloons which have a moon-like light, over the banks and piers, and a riverside made of wood. Will the authorities in Warsaw who are planning the utilization of the banks of the Vistula take an interest in her idea?
Warsaw, the city of Chopin
Warsaw will have a new source of pride. It will be... Frederic Chopin. London has the Queen, Prague has Kafka, and Vienna has Mozart. Warsaw also has someone to boast with. Chopin is one of the best loved composers in the world, and a great Romantic artist. He was born outside of Warsaw, in Żelazowa Wola. His genius is inseparably connected to our city. He was raised here, took up his studies here, and gave his first concerts here, too. And in Warsaw, in the church of the Holy Cross, his heart was laid to rest. There are many places associated with Chopin in Warsaw. The Bureau for the Promotion of Warsaw is preparing a new concept to promote our city. Chopin is going to be one of its symbols. A competition has been organized to gather memorabilia associated with Chopin. Soon, it will also be possible to listen to Chopin’s music while looking at the memorabilia collected.
100 years of Warsaw’s tramways
It was exactly one hundred years ago, in 1908. As the Warsaw newspapers wrote, at 9:35 in the morning, engineer Boulanger turned the crank. And the first electric tramway in Warsaw started up. It was numbered 3 and on its first day, from 7:00 am, every three minutes, it traveled to the northernmost part of the city. The law determined its speed: 16 km an hour. It was supposed to be even lower ‘on the busy streets of Bielańska, Bagno, Graniczna, Nowy åwiat, Tr’backa, and Karmelicka’. Today, none of those streets have tramway lines. In addition, instructions for engineers stated at the time that ‘at the sight of an army platoon, or church procession’ it was necessary to stop. Now, there is nearly nothing left of these original tramways. There are a few remaining cars which usually serve as museum pieces. When one of them rides on Warsaw’s streets on a special occasion, Varsovians are truly pleased to see them.
International Folk Dance Ensemble in Warsaw
The American group ‘International Folk Dance Ensemble’ will perform in Warsaw on the 15th of May, at 7.30 p.m., at Józef Sowiński Park, 17 Elekcyjna Street. The event has been organized by the Ochota Cultural Center and the S. Żeromski Cultural Center.
Combining ethnic traditions with exquisite costuming, Brigham Young University’s International Folk Dance Ensemble showcases the dance styles of the world and features the traditions of the United States at international folklore festivals. Over the past decade, the Ensemble has visited 29 countries spanning four continents. As an emissary of the United States and American traditions, the group has become internationally famous at the most prestigious folk dance festivals abroad, where it performs with many of the world’s finest dance companies. The Ensemble was founded in 1956, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006.
The troupe boasts 47 musicians, singers, dancers, and technicians, who work together to form one of the most unique groups of performing artists in the United States. IFDE’s musical ensemble, Mountain Strings, not only provides accompaniment for the dancers, but also performs show-stopping traditional music.
Edwin G. Austin Jr. is the artistic director of IFDE. His extensive experience began more than 30 years ago, when a passion for international dance and music led him to study with a variety of international artists. He began dancing with IFDE as a performer in 1976, and later returned to BYU as a member of the dance faculty in 1984. Now, he is beginning his 19th season as the troupe’s artistic director. Austin has also served as President of the National Folk Organization of the United States (NFO).
Austin is supported by a production team of seasoned professionals: Delynne Peay and Jeanette Geslison, world dance specialists and choreographers; Benjamin Sanders, technical director; Mark Geslison, director of the Mountain Strings folk music ensemble; and Colleen West, wardrobe supervisor and costume designer. In addition, specialists from around the world bring new elements of choreography each year to enrich the group’s diverse repertoire.
Brigham Young University was founded in 1875 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is now one of the nation’s largest private universities with an enrollment of 30,000 students from throughout the United States and 120 foreign countries.
In Warsaw, the group will present, among others: Texas Fandango - A humorous characterization of the American cowboy in the south-western United States. The Gathering - Simply stated, these are the dances of the pioneers as they crossed the plains to settle the Western United States. Gaelic Rivalry begins with a friendly contest of double jig rhythms and steps that culminates in an exciting collaboration of energetic footwork performed to reel time. (Western) Wildfire Ridge is a precision form of Appalachian clogging óAmerican step dance with European roots. Clogging was originally influenced by the dance steps of Native Americans and black slaves. More recently, we have seen the influence of American tap dance and the French-Canadian jig to our north.
Found in our archive:
Information published at 18 May 2008
