Polka-mazurka Polka-mazurka The polka-mazurka is a dance, musically similar to the mazurka, but danced much like the polka. Many polka-mazurkas were composed by Johann Strauss II and his family. Johann Strauss I did not compose any of this type of music; the first polka-mazurka example written by the Strauss family was in the year 1854 by Johann Strauss II, entitled La Viennoise op. 144.The polka-mazurka was not credited to the Strauss family alone, as many Viennese composers in the 1850s era also wrote many examples. This variant of the polka was seen as cross-cultural, as many of its influences can be
Polka in the United States Polka Festival, SloveneFest, and Tony Petkovsek's Thanksgiving Polka Weekend. Beginning in the early 1970s, the phenomenon of "polka masses" began appearing. Polka masses are usually held by members of the Roman Catholic Church who consider the polka an important part of their ethnic heritages. The first polka mass was created by Father George Balasko in 1972 and the idea was spread by Father Frank Perkovich throughout the '70s and '80s. Both were polka musicians. In composing a polka mass, a musician either alters the lyrics of polka pieces to become more appropriate for a spiritual setting or creates an entirely