WICI Song and Dance Company
WICI Song and Dance Company

The representative group of the Polish National Alliance

[WICI Picture]

WICI REPRESENTS PNA IN SONG, DANCE AND MUSIC

The WICI Song and Dance Company was organized in 1972 for the purpose of preserving and promoting Polish culture through song, dance and music. In 1983, it became the representative group of the Polish National Alliance, the largest Polish organization in the U.S.A. In the same year, WICI was incorporated as an Illinois charitable, nonprofit organization.

Over the years, WICI has performed at various local, city and state events, throughout Chicago's communities, numerous Illinois cities and towns, several states, as well as in Europe.

Well over 4,000 young people and adults have participated in the group's activities. WICI is divided into groups numbering over 160 dancers, musicians and artists. Currently, the ensemble has in its repertoire national dances (Polonaise, Mazur, Krakowiak, Kujawiak, Oberek) and suites of dances from eight regions of Poland, all based on authentic songs and melodies of the particular region. It boasts an enviable collection of handmade costumes imported from Poland, and performs with a live folk band.

In the last decade, WICI has had the honor of performing with the International Music Theater in "The Haunted Manor" and "Halka," two of Poland's greatest operas. WICI has also worked in cooperation with Twin Cities Ballet in Alexander Bennett's productions of "The Nutcracker", "Coppelia" and "Swan Lake" ballets, and with the Du Page Opera in the operettas "The Gypsy Baron" and "The Bat".

More recently, WICI has partnered with The Paderewski Symphony Orchestra of Chicago, and has appeared at outstanding venues including Chicago' Orchestra Hall and the John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. Portraying the opulent beauty of Polish culture, the WICI Song and Dance Company hopes to enrich the America culture with ethnic and classical art.

Contact:

Magdalena Solarz, Artistic Director, tel. (773) 777-8800 or
Jadwiga Bogdanowie Adm. Director, tel. (773) 421-1987.
www.wicisonganddance.com

From: Polish National Alliance Calendar 2006