Saturday, February 24, 2007

Mazowsze on PBS





We received the following email, reproduced below, earlier this week. Check your local PBS Station for scheduling!

Dear Friends,

An exciting new television production celebrates Polish culture and heritage this March - The Music & Dance of Poland: Mazowsze. This high-energy performance by the world famous troupe at the Polish National Opera House will premiere on Public Television March 1 throughout the country (http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder).

A program like this is more than a television broadcast – it is a means of preserving and promoting cultural legacy to the young generation of Polish Americans and connecting them to their family history. The performance special also provides a rare opportunity for American audiences to experience the incomparable Mazowsze troupe, and share the beautiful and unique artistry of traditional Polish music and dance.

I hope you will join us and help spread the word about the television special’s debut, and make the show a success so that all the PBS stations will want to air it. Many programmers have never heard of Mazowsze and don’t realize what a large fan base they have, and how many Polish Americans they have in their viewing area who will want to see this.
Public television stations will air this show as a fundraiser, and if the stations recognize that there is a good response to the show with many contributions coming in, they will be more likely to air it. A list of the stations that have reported their intention to air follows below.

How it works: stations will offer a DVD and VHS of the Mazowsze performance with bonus material not available anywhere else. This thank you gift is an incentive for people to contribute to their PBS station and tell the programmers that there is a demand for Polish programming. Viewers will get the DVD or VHS when they donate $90 to their station. This may seem like a lot of money to buy a DVD but it is not a regular retail purchase, this is an investment in cultural programming. Your contribution counts as a vote of “yes” for Polish programming. Any dollar amount counts towards the overall goal, but a minimum of $90 gets you the DVD or VHS.

Please tell your family, friends and associates around the country to look out for this program and join our community outreach to preserve this great cultural heritage. You can send this email to anyone you’d like, and we also have printed flyers we can mail you if you belong to an organization or know of a store or restaurant that would post this information.

I thank you in advance for your support in our efforts. We had a great success with our documentary “The Polish Americans” thanks to community members like you, and I hope we can count on you again.

Dziekuje,

Susan Susan HellmanDirector of Communications & Station Relations
WLIW New York

The Music & Dance of Poland: Mazowsze
TV Schedules as of 2/15/07
Alaska One – Saturday, 3/3 at 2:30 pm
Buffalo NY - WNED Wednesday, 3/7 at 7:30 pm
Chicago IL - WTTW Sunday, 3/11 at 6:30 pm
Cleveland OH - WVIZ Saturday, 3/10 at 5:30 pm
Denver CO - KRMA Sunday, 3/11 at 1 pm
Johnstown PA - WPSU Saturday, 3/17 at 11:30 am
Los Angeles CA - KCET Sunday, 3/11 at 1:30 pm
Minneapolis MN - TPT2 Saturday, 3/3 at 4:30 pm
Nebraska Network - Sunday, 3/18 at 2 pm
New York tri-state area – WLIW21 Thursday, 3/1 at 8 pm
Pittsburgh PA - WQED Tuesday, 3/20 at 8 pm
San Antonio TX - KLRN Sunday, 3/18 at 4:30pm
San Francisco CA - KRCB Monday, 3/5 at 7 pm
Seattle WA - KBTC Wednesday, 3/7 at 9 pm
Springfield MA - WGBY Monday, 3/5 at 9 pm

Visit http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder to search for contact information in other cities.

THE MUSIC & DANCE OF POLAND: MAZOWSZE is a thrilling kaleidoscopic display of dazzling movement, vibrant color and stunning beauty. The incomparable Mazowsze (Mah-ZOV-sheh) performance troupe whirl and leap, stamp and glide in a glorious outpouring of sound and motion, rhythm and music that celebrates the cultural legacy of Poland. Polish-American entertainer Bobby Vinton narrates.

While the choreography and musical arrangements represent 39 distinctive ethnographic regions of Poland with traditional performance styles, the appeal of Mazowsze’s dynamic stage show goes beyond audiences of Polish descent. An ensemble of 65 dancers and singers are arrayed in a seemingly never-ending series of handmade traditional costumes -- more than 1,000 in total, one more dramatic and colorful than the next and some weighing as much as 30 lbs., making their energetic gravity-defying leaps, twirls and lifts even more impressive. A full 23-member orchestra performs music ranging from Chopin to simple folk melodies beloved by the Poles for centuries. Strategically mounted high definition cameras and microphones capture this stellar performance, recorded live at the Polish National Opera House in Warsaw, Poland.

Mazowsze is internationally recognized as Poland's cultural ambassadors. In the last 50 years they have performed more than 6,000 shows in cities around the world. The troupe’s founders, singer/actress Mira Zimiñska and conductor/composer Tadeusz Sygietyñski, dedicated themselves to preserve the rich music and dance traditions of Poland after the devastation of World War II.

Produced by WLIW New York. Executive Producer/Director: Roy A. Hammond. Producer/Editor: Roman Brygider. CC and ST.

Program
“Kolem, Kolem”
“Piekna Nasza Polska Cala”
Tramblanka Polka
Oberek
“Co Ja Mysle” – w strojach Kurpiowskich
Karnawal w Wilamowicach
Krakowiaczek
Krakowiak
Piesni i Tance z Jurgowa na Podhalu
Bamberki
Przyspiewki i tance z Podegrodzia
Winobranie w Lubuszu
Tance Goralskie z wysokich Tatr
Zywiec – Taniec z Chusteczka i chodzony
“Cyt, Cyt” w strojach Lowickich
“Furman” solista: Stanislaw Jopek
Tance z Lowicza
Tance Sannickie
Final


Comments:
The June 2007 issue of the Polish American Journal had an article indicating Mazowsze would go on a North American tour in November/December 2007. The tour is largely in response the highly favorable reception of this program.

Details are not yet posted on Mazowsze's website, but should appear as they are finalized.
 
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