A step in time

 Polish National Association dancers mark 44th year at Plymouth Fall Festival

    It’s about tradition and heritage and when the Polish National Association Centennial Dancers (PNA) take to the Kellogg Park stage during Fall Festival this year, they bring centuries of history with them.
    The twirling skirts and festive ribbons that adorn the bright costumes are symbols of a treasured ethnic heritage being passed from generation to generation through dance.

    Marie Boyle, director of the group, noted that the 44-year long history of the PNA dancers at the Fall Festival has been helpful in allowing the group to continue to preserve their heritage.
    The PNA Centennial Dancers are a children’s Polish folk-dance ensemble serving the Polish American communities in Wayne, Oakland and Livingston counties. Formed in 1980 by the Polish National Alliance (PNA) Lodge 53, formerly PNA Lodge 3240, the dance ensemble has been educating students, ages 3-18, and sharing Polish heritage and culture through music and dance for four decades.
    Boyle, who has been involved with the group for 32 years, danced with the troupe herself from the age of 3 until she was 18 and now her daughter Gabriella, 5, has joined the dancers. Her tiny costume includes the same traditional skirt Boyle wore when she danced on the Kellogg Park stage. Boyle said many families in the group even pass down the costumes which are authentic to their Polish heritage. She added that her youngest daughter, Hannah, who is 2, is eager to start dancing with the group this year.

    “Each year our dancers learn both regional and national dances of Poland as well as Polish American polkas. Our co-choreographers are Pani Paulina Kowalczyk and Pani Natalia Jackson, together they choreograph nearly 15 dance numbers a year and teach them to our more than 60 dancers. We also offer beginner Polish language classes for children ages 6 and older which are taught by Pani Ania Doman,” Boyle explained. She added that this year the dancers are a mix of both girls and boys.
    “The boys have their own traditional unique steps in the dances,” she said, “Authentic Polish dances are partner dances, so it’s good to have the boys.”
    In addition to the colorfully clad dancers performing on stage at the Fall Festival every year, the group hosts the famous Polish Kitchen, usually at the corner of Main Street and Penniman, where genuine Polish recipes are available for sale. The families all volunteer at the booth which is the main fundraiser of the year and supports the group’s operating budget and ability to buy and create new costumes for the dancers. Boyle said her husband, Andrew would be manning the booth with the other volunteers.
    “It’s critical for us, so we are very grateful for the ways the community comes out to support us each year,” Boyle said. “I also would be remiss to not thank our food supplier, Srodek’s Quality Polish Food. They have been a wonderful partner with our organization for many years,” she added.
    “We are so grateful to the Fall Festival,” Boyle said. “We love being there.” She added that some of her happiest childhood memories are of performing on the Kellogg Park stage.
    “There are several families in the group who have passed down the traditions,” she said. “We have a corps of alumni families like my father, John Stawasz and Ron and Barb Martin, who have been mainstays of the group for years. They play such a critical role in our group, but now they are trying to pass the responsibilities on to the next generation,” she said.
    The dancers will appear on the Kellogg Park stage at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept.7 during the three-day Plymouth Fall Festival which begins Friday, Sept. 6.