krakowiak

The mazurek in its primitive form and as the common people dance is only a kind of krakowiak, only less lively and less sautillant.

Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician Niecks, Frederick 1888

The krakowiak [says Albert Sowinski in chant polonais] bubbles over with esprit and gaiety; its name indicates its origin.

Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician Niecks, Frederick 1888

Thus much of the krakowiak; now to the more interesting second of the triad.

Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician Niecks, Frederick 1888

The krakowiak resembles in its figures a simplified polonaise; it represents, compared with the latter, a less advanced social state.

Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician Niecks, Frederick 1888

For completeness 'sake I shall preface the description of the mazurka by a short one of the krakowiak, the third of the triad of principal Polish dances.

Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician Niecks, Frederick 1888

Often also the krakowiak represents, in a kind of little ballet, the simple course of a love-affair: one sees a couple of young people place themselves before the orchestra; the young man looks proud, presumptuous, preoccupied with his costume and beauty.

Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician Niecks, Frederick 1888

Carpathians call the mazurek danced by the inhabitants of the plain but a dwarfed krakowiak.

Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician Niecks, Frederick 1888

When the rhythm picks up, quasi-krakowiak, the mutual filigree between piano and inflamed orchestra becomes dramatically intense, certainly on a par with the classic collaborations by Brailowsky and Rubinstein.

Audiophile Audition Headlines 2010

Chopin based much of his music on some of the same dances this company has performed in 50 countries around the world - dances such as the mazurka, the krakowiak and the polonaise.

Thestar.com - Home Page William Littler 2010

Dancing with the troupe’s young people, including three of her own grandchildren, makes her feel like a girl again in the village of Rabka, learning the steps to the krakowiak and mazur.

One Big Table Molly O’Neill 2010