The Polka Mazurka…I haven’t thought about this musical form in almost 18 years  since my undergraduate days on the BA(Hons) Art and Teaching of Ballet at the Royal Academy of Dance. I found a useful exemplar on YouTube (yes, it does come in handy!).

This Poutiatine Project has taken me into forgotten, rediscovered and new areas, always surprising me at every corner. Just the other day, I was browsing through Jane Pritchard’s Anna Pavlova (2012), and realised that the last unmarked/untitled photograph from the Poutiatine memorabilia is most likely to be ‘Columbine’ from The Nutcracker, performed at the Royal Opera House (Valletta) in 1930. Every turn, new discoveries, serendipitous connections.

Back to the Polka Mazurka. Our pianist Anthony decided to match up one of the centre practice exercises with a ‘polka mazurka’. Somehow it was a good match. Nevertheless, I am mindful that this choice was part of ‘our’ decision-making process, governed by notes from Poutiatine’s 1953 class for advanced students. There is an element of creativity, desire to bring this class to life, amidst the issues of time, interpretation and margin for ‘error’. At each step of the reconstruction process, I re-read Poutiatine’s notes, written in the now-familiar handwriting.

If I were a time-traveller, I’d go back to ask so many questions on musical choices, pedagogical emphasis, … and would she have considered the ‘Polka Mazurka’?