Product Description Performed by: Tracks 1-6: Feliks Dzierzanowski's Polish Folk Band / Tracks 7-11: Tadeusz Wesolowski's Accordions Ensemble / Tracks 12-17: Stefan Maciejewski's Clarinets Ensemble / Tracks 18-23: Karol Namyslowski's "Wloscianska " Orchestra Review Oberek, also known as obertas (common in the 19th century), or ober (the name used less frequently), is - in its stage versions performed by Polish folk dance ensembles - the most vivacious and acrobatic of the so-called five national dances (with polonaise, mazur, kujawiak, krakowiak). The oberek originated in the villages of Mazowsze in central Poland; it is danced by couples to instrumental music in triple meter. The name oberek is derived from the verb "obracac sie" (to spin). The dance's main movement is rotational: the dancers spin and twirl around the room. The term obertas appeared for the first time in 1679, in a book by Korczy?ski, Lanczafty. Oberek belongs to the group of dances which feature the so-called mazurka rhythms (see the entry on Mazur for an explanation of this pattern and an example). The dances include kujawiak (the slowest), mazur or mazurka (in a moderate tempo), and oberek (the fastest dance of this group). All three dances are of peasant origin, but due to contract with town people and the nobility, they all underwent considerable changes, especially the mazur and kujawiak. The lack of clarity in the definition of the oberek and its differentiation from related dances was further increased by a variety of names that had been used in reference to it. In addition to obertas and ober, the dance was also called: obertany (from "turn"), wyrwas (from "pull out"), wykretacz (from "turn"), drygant (related to "move"), zwijas, zwijacz (from "roll" or "twist"), drobny (from "small or "minced"), and okragly (from "round"). These names reflect the fast tempo, circular movement, and the whirling character of the dance. In central Poland, the music for the oberek was typically performed by a small village band, kapela, dominated by the violin. The size and exact make-up of the kapela depended on the part of the region from which it originated. The accompaniment for the dance was inseparably connected with singing. The musicians respond to the init --the Polish Music Center (USC)