The Górale (pronounced goo-rah-lay) Polish Folk Dancers got its start in the 1940’s after a Polish theater group decided that doing Polish theatrical shows was not enough. Rehearsals were held in the Polish National Alliance Council #6 Hall on Fullerton Avenue in Cleveland’s ethnic community called “Warszawa.” Today, it goes by the name of Slavic Village. Performances were done exclusively at the
PNA Hall. It wasn’t until later the PNA Council #6 Polish School and Dance Group ventured out to local festivals and church events throughout the Cleveland area. Under the direction of Wanda Hujarska, the dance group began to offer Polish language classes, singing, and dancing. Later, through the joint efforts of school’s director Irene Przysiezna and the dance group’s choreographer Stanley Filipkowski, more performances were initiated and more costumes were made and purchased. As the attendance of the school grew to approximately eighty students, the kids were divided to three levels. Irene Przysiezna worked diligently to publicize the name of the Polish school and dance group. About this time, she noticed a young boy who was instructing a Polish dance group on the Westside of Cleveland and asked him to join the dance group. A couple years later, he was invited to teach the dance group. Raymond Vargas accepted the position as the new choreographer and had a huge challenge ahead of him, ‘huge shoes to fill’ so to speak. Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Stanley Filipkowski, Ray along with Ala Fiodorowicz focused on booking more performances and acquiring costumes for the dance group. He also introduced the current name of the group, “Górale” Polish Folk Dancers of Cleveland. In 1998 the school and dance group, under the direction of Bernadette Zubel, changed patronage to PNA Górale Society Lodge 3274 Council #88. As the PNA Hall closed, the school moved around to several locations, including St. John Cantius and the Polish-American Cultural Center. With each move, the number of members dwindled and teachers changed. But since 2007, the school calls St. Mary’s Polish National Catholic Church on Broadview Road in Parma its home and the group is growing. The children are split into three levels of classes, with the youngest members being only 3 years old. The students come together every Friday evening for three hours composed of Polish language and history lessons, singing, and dancing. The school is now seeing a new generation of students, as mothers who danced with the group in the 1980’s and 1990’s are now bringing their own children to the school. Górale has a long history of accomplishments. The group has traveled four times to perform and study in Poland. They have traveled to Orlando, Florida and all parts of northern Ohio and Pennsylvania. As always, Górale Polish Folk Dancers are looking for more members to carry on the tradition and share in the joy of folk dancing.
Cleveland’s oldest Polish folk dance group is still going strong. By joining in with several Polish boy scouts, the dance group began.
