Polka

A lively Bohemian dance in duple time (2/4), originating in the early 19th century and characterised by a hop on the upbeat, light staccato articulation, and a brisk, cheerful character. The polka became the dominant social dance of mid-19th-century Europe and inspired a vast repertoire of salon and concert pieces for piano.

The polka emerged in Bohemia around 1830 and spread rapidly across Europe, reaching Paris ballrooms by 1840 and becoming a craze in London and Vienna. It is distinctly Czech in origin, and its association with Bohemian national identity made it a favoured form for Czech composers — Smetana included multiple polkas in his Ma vlast-era piano works, and the dance-character appears throughout Dvořák's piano output. By the late 19th century the polka had become a generic 'Czech' signifier in the same way the mazurka signified Polish character.