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Wieczysty
is not only the name that signifies the social dance in communist Poland - it's an "institution". He seized his
place in history as the founder of artistic social dance in our country, which has existed here for over 30 years and is still developing.
Marian Wieczysty (1902 - 1986)
was born in Lvov and it was there that he put his first steps in dancing: first in Stanislaw Faliszewski's ballet school,
then in Antonina Wendl de Lehenstein's dance school. Since 1029 he worked individually as a dance teacher in Lvov.
In 1935 he founded The Polish Professional Trade Union of Dance Teachers. His activities in this sphere are inerrupted
by II World War but successfully develop in communist Poland. Immediately after the War he creates his own school in Cracow
and starts training tournament pairs. In 1948 a Polish couple takes part for the first time in the European Championship
tournament and gets to the finals. In 1956 Marian Wieczysty leaves his own dance school and devotes all his attention
to the popularization of the social dance in Poland. Having founded the first dance club in Poland
in Cracow's Institution of Culture, he teaches tournament couples, works for the Polish Dance Club and the Federation
of Dance Clubs Associations in Poland (Polish Dance Society is their successor), he teaches dance teachers and writes.
In 1978 he is awarded by the city of Cracow for his remarkable achievemnts in spreading the culture,
and in 1981 he becomes the Honorary Chairman of the Polish Dance Federation., and finally in 1982 he receives
the greatest dance award - Carl Alan Overseas Award 81.
The above biographical note is from the book by Marian Wieczysty "Anybody Can Dance" (1981 edition),
which was first published in 1974.
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Click at the photo to get it enlarged
Starting from the left they are standing in the following order: Prof. Marian Wieczysty, Alicja Gorska, Maria Nowak, Kazimierz Michlik and Malgorzata Igielska. On the stage: Tadeusz Krupinski
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Years ago I used to write a diary to be able to recall the period in my life when I was a dance teacher.
Here I would like to present one of its pages from December 1985. I want to explain to the younger dancers that once a year
in December Polish dance teachers used to meet in Cracow at the anual meeting and tournament called "Professor Marian Wieczysty Cup".
I recollect those meetings with great sentiment and I regret that today's pace of life does not allow us to find a moment,
at least once a year, for such a gathering.
Initiating with the article Recollecting Professor Marian Wieczysty a series
SAVING FROM OBLIVION, I would like to provoke the participants of those meetings to share - in the TWIST SERVICE - their recollections.
Having in mind the saying "A nation without history dies", let's create the history of our dance movement
and remember its great people.
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