This year, the "Bolesławiec" Song and Dance Ensemble operating at the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre celebrates its eighteenth birthday (in fact, it is not celebrating at all because it has no sponsor). In 1975, the "Andromeda" ensemble, founded by Wanda Patora, was established at the Youth Cultural Centre; a year later, simultaneously with its move to BOK, it adopted its present name.
On the occasion of its 18th birthday, we asked the ensemble's current instructor (and de facto manager), Elżbieta Tor, who has been associated with the ensemble since its establishment (she also danced in "Andromeda"), for some information. Here is a brief summary:
-The longest-serving members of the ensemble are, apart from Ela Tor: Andrzej Posacki, Arieta Ochryniak and Basia Boruta;
-The ensemble's managers were: Wanda Patora, Wiktor Sędziński, Cecylia Patora, Leszek Kasprzycki (twice), Franciszek Uściński and Władysława Bachor. Bandmasters: Wiktor Sędziński, Krzysztof Kucharczak, Józef Dolecki, Franciszek Bachor and Zdzisław Maniak. Dance instructors: Cecylia Patora, Elżbieta Andrusieczko, Bronisława Ziobro and Elżbieta Tor. The choir was led by Bernard Cichorzewski (as there is no vocal group anymore);
-The ensemble has costumes from the following regions: Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia, Łowicz, Kraków, Greater Poland and Lublin;
-The ensemble's nearly two-hour programme includes the following "sets": Lublin, Lower Silesian, Upper Silesian, Masovian and Greater Polish, as well as the national dances krakowiak and mazur;
-On average, around 20 people join the ensemble each year, while 5 leave;
-The ensemble's achievements include more than 100 performances, including in Yugoslavia, Germany, Spain, France, Bulgaria, the former Czechoslovakia, Belarus and throughout the country, from Olsztyn through Warsaw to Nowy Sącz;
-The best period for ZPiT (plenty of money, many performances, good equipment, costumes and instruments, and its own coach) was the period when it "belonged" to the Manufacturing Cooperative, where it was the "apple of the eye" of President Olgierd Mancewicz;
-The most difficult period for the ensemble to "survive" was 1990–92, when it was suggested here and there that ensembles cultivating folk folklore and national culture were relics of communism and should be disbanded. Credit to BOK for "preserving" the ensemble.
-A considerable number of marriages resulted from the friendships and shared interests of members of the "Bolesławiec" ensemble. The first child—the offspring of one of these marriages—is already dancing in the ensemble;
-The ensemble's needs: a vocal instructor, performance opportunities and funds to purchase ribbons, costumes, artificial flowers, etc. (Oh, a sponsor would come in handy!);
-The ensemble's immediate plans: concerts in Denmark.
Ela Tor asks all former members to get in touch and provide their current addresses.
The editorial team of "Głos Bolesławca" and the TMB Board (once the ensemble's patron—now a staunch supporter, because it has no money itself) congratulate the "Bolesławiec" ensemble on reaching adulthood and wish it a hundred years of promoting Polish and regional folklore throughout Poland and the world.