Mazury was founded in 1949 on the initiative of Wieslaw Gasiorowski as the Dance Group of the Polish YMCA and today numbers over a hundred and twenty dancers, singers and musicians. It is the longest established Polish dance group in the UK and consists solely of enthusiasts who give up their time and efforts to maintain an enviable reputation in the field of Polish folklore, national dance and music. In the main members of the company are children of Polish ex-servicemen who came to Great Britain during and after the war to start a new life in a free and democratic country. The success of Mazury is founded on the desire of this new generation to preserve and represent Polish folklore, which is an integral part of their cultural heritage.
The original repetoire was created by Jan Cieplinski, a Polish choreographer and ballet-master of international repute, who was a specialist in the folklore of the highlanders of southern Poland. Prominent amongst the earlier leaders of the group was Irena Rozycka, who in her thirteen years in charge built up the repertoire, greatly extended and improved the costumes and encouraged the younger generation to dance and sing. She also named the group 'Mazury', alluding to the largest former Duchy of Poland and the generic name by which the Catholic Poles were known by their eastern neighbours.
The current artistic director and choreographer is Wlodek Lesiecki who took over the group in 1972 and added the word Company to the group's name. He began to extend and enhance the existing repertoire resulting in the Company now having at its disposal suites of dances from most regions within the current and also former borders of Poland. Touring abroad became a regular part of the Company's life and he restablished a junior and middle group to cater for all ages.
The band or 'kapela' was originally the idea of Janusz Pietraszewski in 1975. Subsequently the repertoire was expanded and reorchestrated by Andrzej Kotowicz. Today the musical director is Maryla Kolendo who has worked tirelessly to enrich the repertoire, train the singers and lead the kapela. The Company is regularly supported in performances by at least nine musicians.
The Company prides itself in producing many of its own huge range of costumes representing every major region of Poland. Members and friends have woven materials, embroidered costumes and made belts, ornamental axes and fine brooches. New costumes are continually being made and old ones renewed and the onerous task of looking after this huge artistic collection, for many years undertaken by Ola Folkierska and Ewa Holdanowicz, has currently fallen on Wisia Saller, who has supervised the computerised listing of all the items in the group wardrobe.
During their fifty years, Mazury have made numerous appearances on television, featured in a Ken Russell film and produced their own recording in 1981. The Company has participated in many prestigious festivals in Great Britain and abroad, performed before the Queen and entertained the Prince and Princess of Wales. In its London home the Company has appeared at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Sadler's Wells Theatre as well as being invited by the Ambassador to perform on several occasions at the Polish Embassy. Appearances abroad have included the Festival of the Pyrenees in Spain and France, the Festival of the Beskid Mountains in southern Poland as well as highly acclaimed performances in Warsaw and Krakow. In the summer of 1999 Mazury travelled to Hungary for a hugely successful tour during which they were presented with a special award as the best dance group at the Festival of Flowers in Debrecen. In the fiftieth anniversary year a special performance was held in December at Her Majesty's Theatre in the West End of London.