SANDRO BARBOSA (2010-present)

Sandro Barbosa was born in Santa Mariana, Brazil, and began dancing in Curitiba, Brazil with the Junak Polish Dance Ensemble and with the professional Studio D Ballet School. In 1986, he performed with the Junak Ensemble in the International Festival of Polish Folk Ensembles in Rzeszow, Poland. From his performance in the festival, Sandro was awarded a scholarship by the Minister of Culture and Education to study Polish culture and folk dance in Poland. Sandro completed a four year program in Ethnography at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, and a four year scholarship program in choreography at the Marie Curie University of Lublin. Sandro also studied with the Igor Moisseyev Ballet and the State Ensemble Beriozka Teachers Program in Konin, Poland and Moscow, Russia.

Sandro began dancing in Poland with the "Nowa Huta Dance & Song Ensemble" under the direction of professor Anatol Kocylowski and began his professional dance career with the State Folk Ensemble "Slask" under the direction of Professor Stanislaw Hadyna. Sandro remained with "Slask" for seven years and during this time he was also Artistic Director and Choreographer of the "Czestochowa Song and Dance Ensemble. While under his direction the ensemble won the Gold "Peacock Feather" in Tarnow in 1993 and the first place in the "Earthen Fug" Festival in Poland in 1994. Sandro was presented with an Achievement Award from the city of Czestochowa, for the research and reconstruction of the "Czestochowa Wedding".

Sandro has instructed dance courses in Poland, conducted workshops and has prepared choreographies for ensembles throughout Europe, South America and North America.
 

In Canada he has directed the Sokol Polish Song & Dance Ensemble and the Sokol School of Dance in Winnipeg. Additionally, he was the Artistic Director and Choreographer of the Polish Folk Dance Ensemble SPK Iskry from march 1999 to 2007.

In 2002, Sandro's choreography of the Haunted Manor (Straszny Dwor) mazurka, won first place in the Rzeszow International Dance Festival in Poland.

In August of 2010, Sandro became the Artistic Director of the "Polanie Polish Song and Dance Association" in Calgary, Alberta.

After dance Sandro's big passion is Photography. You can see his work at www.sandrobarbosa.com

To contact Sandro e-mail artisticdirector@polanie.ca

  PREVIOUSLY:

 EWA PIORKO  (2009 - 2010)

Ewa has spent the majority of her career as a Polish dancer with Pomorze Polish Folkdance Ensemble in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Joining in 1991, Ewa quickly moved into an instructor role for the Pomorskie Krasnoludki and Male Pomorze group children’s groups. After 1998, Ewa took time to off to travel and pursue her education. Ewa returned to Halifax in 2003 and became co-Artistic Director of Pomorze until her departure in 2007. Throughout her career, Ewa has fostered her love of dancing and performing by exploring the world of jazz, modern, latin and social dance forms through various organizations.

As Artistic Director, Ewa’s vision, like her predecessors, is to preserve the unique style and artistic tradition of Polanie, while simultaneously challenging the dancers with new techniques. Ewa is committed to highlighting the talent and varied strengths within the organization through emphasis on singing as well as dancing.

                     MAYA SKALINSKA (1997 -2004, 2009)

PATTI CZERSKI (2005 - 2009)

After two decades of artistic directorship under the Skalinski family, Polanie emerged into a new era, a fresh and exciting time of leadership that evolved from the ensemble itself. 2005 was the year for new beginnings as well as continued traditions, when the reigns of the Artistic Director were passed on to Patti Czerski- a former dancer, instructor, and a leader in Polanie since 1991.

Patti’s love and passion for Polish dance began at a young age, when she immigrated to Canada from Poland in 1985. Growing up in Calgary, Patti has studied and fostered her love and appreciation of Polish folklore and dance ever since, through a continued commitment to dancing and performing not only in Polish ensembles, but also exploring the world of Ukrainian dance, ballet, jazz, funk, and contemporary dance forms through the University of Calgary, Tryzub Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks. Patti has performed at countless festivals in Poland, the United States, and Canada, as well as stages at the Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show, Canada Day, Heritage Day, and various other public celebrations. Patti is also no stranger to the theatre stage, and has performed in full-length productions and in collaborative, multi-disciplinary shows, as well as assisted in producing them since the mid-nineties.

In 1996 Patti’s role in Polanie expanded when she became a dance instructor for the ensemble- the first dance instructor to be brought up from the ranks of Polanie dancers. She has been passing on the art of Polish dance since then, and also initiated the greater development of dance technique and exploration of different dance styles by arranging special workshops with guest artists of various dance disciplines. Patti’s dedication to and knowledge of dance on a larger scale has fostered higher levels of artistic integrity and appreciation within the ensemble.

As an Artistic Director, it was Patti’s vision to achieve a balance between preserving the unique style and artistic tradition of Polanie, and evolving into new and fresh artistic approaches. With her passion and long standing dedication to the art of Polish dance, as well as her extended experience in the dance genre overall, Patti was leading Polanie in a direction of heightened artistic abilities, higher standards of technical merits, increased presence in the artistic and public realms, and greater artistic integrity.

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MAREK SKALINSKI (1985 -1997)

Dr. Marek Skalinski has been the Artistic Director and Choreographer of "Polanie" Polish Song and Dance Association since 1985. Through his unique choreographic style of delicate balance, authenticity of tradition and enhanced theatrical vibrancy Skalinski has elevated "Polanie" to the ranks of the best ethnic dance ensembles in Canada. He promoted the beauty of international dances by producing various multicultural shows, such as "European Folklorama" (1996), "The Moment in Motion" (1997) and "In the Spirit of the Youth" (1999).

Skalinski's stage productions have not been limited only to folk dance presentations. For example, the memorable concert "In the Spirit of Polonaise," celebrated the Bicentennial Anniversary of the Polish Constitution.   This production, presented at the Jubilee Auditorium in 1991, excelled in originality as it demonstrated a well-balanced fusion of classical music, folk dances, songs, and presentation of Polish 18th and 19th-century visual arts. The "2000 Steps and Notes from Poland" echoes on a much greater and more original scale due to the idea of combining classical music and folk dance  in partnership with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and guest artists.  Hence, this emphasizes the unique and interconnecting inspirations that drive Polish artists for centuries.

Dr. Skalinski immigrated to Canada in 1984.  In his native Poland, he was involved, as a dancer and the chairman, in the university-sponsored Song and Dance Ensemble "Krakus" in Cracow.

 For his outstanding achievements in those capacities, he was awarded the Order of Merits in Culture Promotion by the Minister of Arts and Culture in Poland (1974). In Canada, he was a recipient of Silver and Gold Orders awarded by the Polish Canadian Congress (1997 and 2000), and the prestigious Immigrant Distinction Award in the Arts Category (1997).

In his professional career, Dr. Skalinski is a petrophysicist with Chevron and an internationally-recognized specialist in the area of formation evaluation.

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SISTER ALOJZA (Krystyna Cichowicz)

Founded 'Polanie Polish

Song & Dance Association' in 1977.

Her contributions and support over the

 past 30 years are invaluable to Polanie!

She was awarded the 'Order Usmiechu'

(Order of the Smile) in May of 2006

 for her contributions to the polish community in Calgary.

For more info on the reward

 click here to visit 'Wirtualna Polska'.