Poland – "WARSZAWA"

The Folk Dance Group "WARSZAWA" of the Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education was created in 1970.

Since then, it has had 1200 members. They have given over 1300 concerts in Poland and in 23 countries on the four continents during 49 tournees. The group has travelled all over the world from the USA and Canada through many European countries and Siberia to Wladivostok and Tokio. Some countries have been visited by the group many times, like France, which has been the group's destination 15 times.

The present-day "WARSZAWA" consists of two dance and song groups which include students, the school's graduates, current and future PE teachers, coaches, sport and recreation instructors, sport and tourist managers and physiotherapists. They were brought together with the passion to cultivate Polish heritage and to present the beauty of folklore to people.

The Folk Dance Group "WARSZAWA" took part in 37 folklore festivals and it received many awards.

The greatest success of the group is the first prize received at the international folklore festival in French Dijon in 1985. The festival is sometimes called "the olympic games of folklore". It is remarkable that no other Polish group has won the first prize - "The Golden Necklace of Burgundian Princes" - before.

Inne znaczące sukcesy Zespołu to zajęcie III miejsca w Międzynarodowym Festiwalu Folklorystycznym w Yalova w Turcji i III miejsce w konkursie strojów narodowych w czasie trwającego równocześnie festiwalu w pobliskim Orhangazi (1998).

Other notable successes of the group are: 3rd prize at The International Folklore Festival in Yalova in Turkey and 3rd prize at the national costume contest held simultanously in the nearby Orhanganzi (1998). The group's director is Krzysztof Gąsiorek- the director and initiator of The International Folk Festival "WARSFOLK".