Polonaise through the White House receiving line. Sousa wrote it in 1886 at the request of President Chester A. Arthur who died before it was performed. Tchaikovsky's opera "Eugene Onegin", an adaption of Alexander Pushkin's novel in poetry verse, includes a famous polonaise. The polonaise is a Polish dance and is one of the five historic national dances of Poland. The others are the Mazurka (Mazur), Kujawiak, Krakowiak and Oberek, last three being old folk dances. Polonaise originated as a peasant dance known under various names – "chodzony" ("pacer"), "chmielowy" ("hops"), "pieszy" ("walker") or "wielki" ("great"), recorded as early as the
Polonaise (clothing) such example was the witzchoura, a fur-lined cloak with sleeves sometimes described as being "à la Polonaise". In May 1868 the "Ladies' Monthly Magazine" published a coloured fashion plate showing a green silk dress with an asymmetrically opening front described as being made "à la Polonaise", along with a pattern for making it up. During the very late 1860s references to historical dress became fashionable, including draped overskirts loosely based on the 18th century "robe à la polonaise". In 1871 "Peterson's Magazine" stated that the polonaise was an overdress based on the 18th century sacque, with the bodice cut in