Established in 1975 under the artistic direction and choreography of Mrs Krystyna Straszynski, Łowicz is a Melbourne-based Polish vocal and dance ensemble, striving to keep Polish performing arts and culture alive within Australia.

Łowicz boasts a vibrant and enthusiastic group of Polish-Australian youth, working together in the practice and promotion of Polish folk culture to a broader multicultural Australian audience. Originally starting with only eight members, the ensemble has seen a surge in numbers in recent years to become the inspiring and dedicated group it is today, performing at weddings, festivals, balls and dinner dances. Our group members’ ages range from 13 onwards, meeting on Mondays at 7:00pm. Adopting children’s group “Lowiczaki”, Łowicz has been able to further our objective in keeping our Polish heritage alive through passing it on to younger generations within the Australian-Polish Community.

With a repertoire of both national and regional songs and dances, our captivating dance, rich costumes and orchestral music have mesmerised audiences for over 45 years. Our first performance was that of the Fitzroy Festival of All Nations in November 1975. Throughout the years, we have performed at countless festivals and celebrations including Moomba, the Benalla Festival of Roses, and Australia Day events. Notably, we have been attending the triennial festival Pol-Art, since 1988. Pol-Art brings together Polish artists from around Australia and New Zealand to display the beauty of Polish heritage through visual and performing arts, and is a wonderful way of promoting the Polish language and culture.

Within current times, Łowicz regularly performs nationally, having toured to many major venues such as the Sydney Opera House, Hamer Hall in Melbourne, The Palais Theatre, Federation Square, Concert Hall in Hobart, Adelaide Festival Theatre, Perth Concert Hall, Federation Square in Melbourne and many other stages along the way.

The group organises various social activities throughout the year to ensure it’s not only a dancing ensemble but also a family and social environment, where everyone contributes, celebrates, shares with and helps one another.

Leadership

For many years the ensemble flourished, achieving greater and greater success under the tutelage and leadership of our founder, Mrs Krystyna Staszynski. Upon her retirement in 2005, Mirosław Kuśmider took over to lead Łowicz in a new creative direction.

Mirosław, himself a former dancer and soloist of the official Folklore Vocal-Dance Ensemble “Anilana” in Łódz Poland, used his vast knowledge and creative vision to present several new and exciting dances to the ensemble.

Under his direction, Łowicz performed at the annual Polish Festival at Federation Square, attended “Mound and Mount Kosciuszko Festival” in New South Wales and danced at Pol-Art in Hobart, Adelaide and Perth. During our semi-annual “Łowicz and Friends” concerts the group danced alongside a variety of ethnic and folkloric groups.

In 2013, Teresa Ceberek commenced in the role of Artistic Director to fulfill the vision set forth by Krystyna Straszynski and Mirosław Kuśmider. Teresa, an active member of the Polish community for over 20 years and part of the Łowicz family for over 15 years contributed a number of stunningly popular choreographies to the groups repertoire – the dynamic Kaszubski, and the lovingly cheeky Polka Lwowsko/Warszawska.

The fourth Artistic Director of Łowicz, Michal Dabrowski, brought his own unique style to the group with intricate choreographies that continue to be taught and appear in our program in 2018.

In 2018, Edith Drajkopyl became the fifth Artistic Director of Łowicz. Edith (Edyta) has been an active member of the Polish community for over 25 years and part of the Łowicz since 2006. With this year leading to PolArt – we can’t wait to see what she brings.

In 2016, the group introduced a new junior troupe, our very own ‘Łowiczaki.’ The group includes 5-12-year-old budding dancers. In 2016 and 2017, under the instruction of Barbara Pawlik the group surprised us with their entertaining debut of lively dances. Currently, the group is taught by Olivia Winczura, who actively brings a fun atmosphere to learning Polish song and dance. The junior group has performed at various functions and fundraisers with new choreographies from Krakow, Silesia and Podhale regions of Poland. ‘Łowiczaki’ meet every Monday at 6pm.