The Director of the "Mazowsze" Ensemble

  The founder of the "Mazowsze" was the superb connoisseur of folklore and composer, Tadeusz Sygietynski (1895-1955), who, during his entire lifetime, collected the texts of old songs and wrote down their music. He decided to present all this to his compatriots. Thus, in 1949, the "Mazowsze" Song and Dance Ensemble was created and made a great contribution in saving traditional Polish culture during the time when communism ruled in Poland.

  After the death of Sygietynski, his work was taken over by his wife, the famous actress Mira Ziminska-Sygietynska, who dedicated her own great artistic career to the continuation of her husband's work. Under her direction, which went on until her death in 1997, the "Mazowsze" spread its wings and became the major ambassador of Polish culture throughout the world. Thanks to it, the Polish folk song "Kukułeczka kuka" (The Song of the Cuckoo), discovered and developed by Tadeusz Sygietynski, was sung everywhere and became a real Polish hit.

  When, in 1989, the political situation changed in Poland, as well as in all of central eastern Europe when the soviet bloc fell, the "Mazowsze" ensemble began to experience financial difficulties. The young democratic Polish state had other problems and the fashion for folklore declined, but fortunately not for long. Soon folklore came back into favour again and is even fashionable now. Many popular, young pop music ensembles have been created, which referr to folk traditions. Again the time has come for the popularity of the "Mazowsze".

  We asked the director, Włodzimierz Sandecki, a man who has dedicated all of his working years to Polish culture, what the situation of "Mazowsze" is at present and who listens to it. We should add that Sandecki at first was active in students" artistic movements, later he was director of the popular artist's agency "Pagart", then the assistant director of Warsaw's Great Theatre and finally cultural consul at the Polish Embassy in Moscow. Thus, he is the right man in the right place. We sat down to have a conversation in his office, located in the headquarters of the "Mazowsze" in a 100-year old palace in the locality of Karolin, outside Warsaw.

  - Our "Mazowsze" ensemble, after a few years when interest in it diminished in our country, now is again, due to very dynamic political events in recent times, attracting the public, among them the very young. Everywhere it is received with standing ovations. I try to preserve all that is most valuable in the "Mazowsze" and that which has increased its international fame, namely beautiful, original Polish folklore. I am keeping the tradition that served this ensemble best, one that was worked out by Mira Ziminska-Sygietynska. Of course, times change very quickly and one has to adapt to them. At the moment, we have over 30 regions of Poland in our repertoire and we are working on others. In the warehouse of the ensemble, we have collected over 16 thousand costumes. Everything in the "Mazowsze" is original, even the materials that are used to sew the costumes. Thus, for example, the costume for the dancer of the ˇowicz region weighs 14 kilos.

   For the new times, we have new initiatives. We want to organise in Karolin a branch of the European Home Association, which operates in many countries. There will be seminars, courses and sessions on the topic of folk culture, not only European after all. For example, in Japan dozens of centres of folk dance operate under the name "Wisła". A group of Japanese visited us here and we will organise for them a cycle of courses in Polish folk dances, which they are very interested in, just as they are in the music of the great Polish composer Frederic Chopin.

  - Since you have already mentioned the Japanese, it's easy to notice a dancer in the "Mazowsze" ensemble, who comes from this country. Perhaps this is something rather out of the ordinary

  - That's right. At the beginning, it was a shock that a Japanese would dance in the traditional Polish ensemble. This talented young dancer studied in Warsaw and danced earlier in a folklore school ensemble. He dreamt that one day he would be a member of the "Mazowsze". I invited him to an audition; he was accepted and became a part of our ensemble. Apart from him, we also have a Brazilian and a Ukrainian. Though, of course, we don't want to make the "Mazowsze" an international ensemble because that's not our artistic idea.

  - Is the management of the "Mazowsze" ensemble after the legendary Mira Zimi'ska-Sygiety'ska, a kind of challenge and obligation for you?

  - Certainly it is a very interesting occupation and a very difficult one. Ms. Zimi'ska-Sygiety'ska, whom I knew very well from the time when I worked in the Pagart agency, was a very demanding person, who held the position of director of the ensemble with an iron hand. But she was still not able to do many things because the times were different. Now we must find some money to build a new hotel for the members of the ensemble, for renovation work and for modernisation of the entire object in Karolin, that is - the palace, as well as the out buildings and the large 12-hectare park. We already have some proposals and I hope that out plans will be successful. All the more, since thanks to the president of the Mazovian voivodeship, Mr. Adam Struzik, we have obtained the whole property as our own, which has made all our activity much easier. And thanks to all this, the condition of the creative work of our 100-person ensemble has improved considerably.

  - What artistic plans does the "Mazowsze" have for the near future?

  - In autumn of last year we began a tour of Germany, which will continue until the middle of April this year because they like us so much there. At the end of this tour, we will perform in Brussels. As well there will be no lack of many concerts in Poland, to which I cordially invite the readers of "Welcome to Warsaw".

  - Thank you for the interview.