Editing Polka (section)

== History ==

=== Etymology ===

[[File:Prague Street Musicians (Polka Band).jpg|thumb|Street musicians in [[Prague]] playing a polka|left]]

The term ''polka'' referring to the dance is believed to derive from the Czech words "půlka", meaning "half-step". 
Czech cultural historian [[Čeněk Zíbrt]] attributes the term to the Czech word ''půlka'' (half), referring to both the half-tempo {{music|time|2|4}} and the half-jump step of the dance.<ref name="zibrt">Čeněk Zíbrt, "Jak se kdy v Čechách tancovalo: dějiny tance v Čechách, na Moravě, ve Slezsku a na Slovensku z věků nejstarších až do nové doby se zvláštním zřetelem k dějinám tance vůbec", Prague, 1895 [https://books.google.com/books?id=uA47AAAAMAAJ&q=%22%C4%8Cen%C4%9Bk+Z%C3%ADbrt%22+polka+-wikipedia (Google eBook)]</ref> 

This name has been changed to "Polka" as an expression of honour and sympathy for Poland and the Poles after the [[November Uprising]] 1830-1831. "Polka" meaning, in both the Czech and Polish languages, "Polish woman".<ref name="OED">"polka, n.". Oxford University Press. (accessed 11 July  2012).</ref> The name was widely introduced into the major European languages in the early 1840s.<ref name="OED" />

=== Origin and popularity ===

[[File:Polka (NYPL b12147626-5094855).jpg|thumb|Polka, c. 1840]]
The polka's origin story first appears in the periodical ''Bohemia'' in 1844,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Andrew R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvb2DwAAQBAJ |title=Music around the World: A Global Encyclopedia [3 volumes]: A Global Encyclopedia |last2=Ph.D |first2=Matthew Mihalka |date=2020-09-08 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-499-5 |language=en}}</ref> in which it was attributed to a young Bohemian woman named Anna Slezáková (born Anna Chadimová). As told by [[Čeněk Zíbrt]], the music teacher Josef Neruda noticed her dancing in an unusual way to accompany a local folk song called "''Strýček Nimra koupil šimla''", or "Uncle Nimra Bought a White Horse" in 1830. The dance was further propagated by [[Josef Neruda|Neruda]], who put the tune to paper and taught other young men to dance it.<ref name=zibrt/> Some versions of this origin story placed the first polka as being danced in [[Hradec Králové|Hradec Kralove]], while others claimed it occurred in the village of Labska Tynica.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=MARCH |first1=RICK |last2=Blau |first2=Dick |title=Polka Heartland: Why the Midwest Loves to Polka |date=2015 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26389332 |journal=The Wisconsin Magazine of History |volume=99 |issue=1 |pages=50–53 |jstor=26389332 |issn=0043-6534}}</ref> Historians believe the polka evolved as a quicker version of the waltz, and associate the rapid bourgeoning in popularity of the polka across Europe in the mid-1800s with the spread of the [[Romantic movement]], which emphasized an idealized version of peasant culture.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gershon |first=Livia |date=2020-02-10 |title=The Rebellious, Scandalous Origins of Polka |url=https://daily.jstor.org/the-rebellious-scandalous-origins-of-polka/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=JSTOR Daily |language=en-US}}</ref>

By 1835, this dance had spread to the ballrooms of [[Prague]]. From there, it spread to classical music hub [[Vienna]] by 1839,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aboutdanceschools.com/dance/education/history/polka.asp |title=History of polka |publisher=www.com |access-date=24 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218232019/http://www.aboutdanceschools.com/dance/education/history/polka.asp |archive-date=18 February 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in 1840 was introduced in [[Paris]] by Johaan Raab, a Prague dance instructor.<ref name=":0" /> It was so well received in Paris that its popularity was referred to as "polkamania."<ref>"Polkamania ... has raged very fiercely amongst us, indeed all over London this year." Letter by E. J. Knox,14 August 1844: quoted in A. E. Blake, ''Memoirs of a Vanished Generation ...'', London (1909) viii, 217</ref> The dance soon spread to [[London]] in 1844, where it was considered highly fashionable, and was also introduced to America.<ref name=":0" /> It remained a popular ballroom dance in America, especially with growing Central, Northern, and Eastern European immigrant groups until the late 19th century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=March |first=Richard |date=2019-06-01 |title=American Polka in the Media: From Next to Nothing to 24/7 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/14042 |journal=Transatlantica. Revue d'études américaines. American Studies Journal |language=en |issue=1 |doi=10.4000/transatlantica.14042 |s2cid=241758865 |issn=1765-2766|doi-access=free }}</ref>

It may also be responsible for an increase in domestic popularity since the end of the 19th century, starting with the birth of recorded music, at first thanks to the many recordings provided by [[Berliner Gramophone|Emile Berliner's Gramophone company]], which provided several examples of popular music. Some of the more desired American recordings include Berliner 230 ("Commodore Polka", played by [[W. Paris Chambers]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=Berliner matrix 230. Commodore polka / Artists vary |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000147906/230-Commodore_polka |access-date=2024-03-02 |website=Discography of American Historical Recordings}}</ref> and the Berliner 3300s series (which include recordings like "The Signal polka" (BeA 3307) and "Exposition echoes polka" (BeA 3301), played by [[Arthur Pryor]]),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Berliner matrix 3307. The signal polka / Arthur Pryor |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000148782/3307-The_signal_polka |access-date=2024-03-02 |website=Discography of American Historical Recordings}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Berliner matrix 3301. Exposition echoes / Arthur Pryor |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000148776/3301-Exposition_echoes |access-date=2024-03-02 |website=Discography of American Historical Recordings}}</ref> though most early records are extremely scarce or nonexistent anymore due to their fragile nature.
[[File:Berliner Gramophone 3301Z.png|thumb|200x200px|Berliner 3301Z label]]