Lord Mayor's Parade 8/11/08
For the second year running Mazury took part in this colourful pageant alongside the Polish Tourist Office. Sadly the group was accompanied by heavy rain for most of the way but this did not dampen the enthusiam of the large crowds of spectators.
 
Ipswich Polish Festival September 2008
Mazury took part in this large festival promoting Polish culture.
 
Poland Tour 2008
The group were invited for the fourth time to appear at the Festival of Beskid Culture based in Wisla. The tour started with a memorable performance in the main market square of Krakow ( Rynek), in the shadow of St. Mary's Church ( Kosciol Mariacki). This was followed by shows in Wisla, Oswiecim, Szczyrk and Makow Podhalanski.
The set consisted of songs and dances of Krakow ; Kujawiak; Polonez; Oberek Lowicki and the stunning new suite of dances from Spisz, incorporating lively gypsy dances from that area.. In between the dancing the kapela entertained the crowds with well known Polish waltzes and tangos, supported vocally by enthusiastic and appreciative audiences
 
Lord Mayor's Parade London 10/11/07
A group of Mazury dancers and musicians took part in this very colourful annual spectacle around the streets of the City of London. They participated in conjunction with the Polish Tourist Office in London and LOT Airlines.
 
Memorial Mass for General Anders,Westminster Cathedral 13/10/2007
Mazury members in a variety of costumes played a very active role in this event. Artistic Director, Wlodek Lesiecki, was invited to be on the organising committee.
 
Maidstone Mela Festival September 2007
Mazury were invited to represent The Maidstone Polish Club at this annual multicultural festival held in Mote Park. Dances from Zywiec and Krakow were presented plus a polka from Lublin as an audience participation number. A warm reception from a large audience basking in glorious late summer sunshine was followed by an invite to return next year.
 
Annual Show 2007
This year it was decided to present the show over two performances at the London Oratory theatre. The highlight was the premiere of a suite of dances from the Spisz region of the Carpathian mountains. Incorporated into the suite were some dances from the Roma gypsies who live in that region.
 
Kaszuby International Folklore Festival 2006
Over 30 dancers plus the kapela represented Mazury at this festival, in which 22 groups participated. Apart from a number of local groups from the Kaszuby region of Poland there was also a group from Katowice representing Polish folklore. Other groups were from Bulgaria, Armenia, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia and Croatia, whilst South America was represented by groups from Mexico and Chile. As usual at these festivals there was a lot of hard effort involved but there was also a lot of fun to be had. Special mention must be made of the group from Katowice with whom Mazury performed jointly choreographed dances of the Beskid Highlanders, the 'Zywieckie', at the final concert and with whom very friendly links were forged. Mazury look forward to further meetings with Katowice in the not too distant future.
Annual Show 2006
Another full house greeted this year's offering from Mazury. A mixed selection of dances,songs and music featured the highly acclaimed Carpathian medley of songs and dances premiered at the HighWycombe festival.
 
6th Polish Folklore Festival, High Wycombe, February 2006
Mazury were represented by members of the middle and senior groups at this festival. The chosen presentation was a medley of songs and dances from various regions of the Carpathian mountains.
 
Pwllheli , October 2005
Members of the middle and senior groups made the long trip to North Wales to appear at the Town Hall theatre in Pwllheli in aid of the Polish residential home at Penrhos. A very varied selection of songs and dances was presented to a very appreciative mixed Polish/ Welsh audience. The weekend stay in a most beautiful part of the country was made all the more pleasant by warm and sunny autumnal weather.
 
Sherborne Festival ,June 2005
A first ever visit to this festival in the beautiful Dorset town of Sherborne. Mazury brought along part of the senior and middle groups plus the kapela and gave a 2 hour show , featuring a mixture of songs and dances from around Poland. This display complemented the efforts of the Polish Tourist Office, which was 'selling' Poland as a tourist destination worthy of attention by way of videos and other promotional material. The hall was sold out and there was standing room only for the performance. The sight of the dancers, presenting an array of varied dances in colourful costumes, provoked a very warm and enthusiastic response from an enthralled audience, many of whom had never seen this type of folklore before.
 
Annual Show 2005
As the Commonwealth Institute was no longer available this years offering was held over 2 nights at the London Oratory School Theatre. The concert included a very mixed bag of songs and dances from around Poland and proceedings were enhanced by the presence of a couple of very unorthodox singing firemen and their valiant attempts at saving a burning building.
 
The Mazury CD, November 2004
This has been recorded over the weekend of 20-21st November in the recording studio at Gunnersbury School. It was released on March 19th 2005. 
    
New Europe Festival 2004
( Pictures courtesy of BBC News )
Dozynki, Amersham, October 2004
Mazury participated in the traditional ceremonies of the Harvest Festival and presented dances from the Beskidy Highlands.
 
Antwerp Folk Festival, May 2004
Mazury took part in a fun weekend of folkdancing and socialising in Antwerp. It was the first visit to this particular festival and lots of new friends were made.
 
The New Europe Festival, April 2004
Mazury were invited to represent Poland at this event held at The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London to celebrate the expansion of the European Union. The theme of the event was ' Meet the Neighbours '. The highlights of this performance were Oberek Lowicki and extended Krakowiak and the wonderful audience reaction led to an extension of the planned program
Annual Show 2003
Krakow was the theme for this last ever pre Christmas annual show at the Commonwealth Institute in London. The building is being sold for redevelopment and so ends a tradition of Mazury shows here going back many years. The show itself, for which tickets were sold out well in advance, comprised of a variety of songs, carols and dances from various Polish regions and featured all three Mazury groups. It also marked the 30th anniversary of the artistic directorship of Wlodek Lesiecki. For the first time a suite of Jewish dances was performed, based on traditional music and steps from Kazimierz, the recently restored old Jewish quarter of Krakow.
 
Summer Tour 2003
Mazury were invited for the third time, a unique achievement for any group, to the prestigious Festival of Beskid Culture. This year marked the 40th anniversary of the festival and Mazury appeared to great acclaim at Zywiec, Makow Podhalanski, Szczyrk and Wisla. Although not officially taking part in any of the competitions the company were delighted to receive a number of special awards , including one personally requested by the major of Zywiec, to commemorate the wonderful audience responses to the performances. The tour ended traditionally in Krakow with an extended programme of songs, dances and music.
 
50th Anniversary of Polska Macierz Szkolna
Mazury's younger members appeared at POSK in Hammersmith in a performance to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Polska Macierz Szkolna on Sunday 18th May.
 
5th Polish Folklore Festival 'Croydon 2003'
Mazury participated in this festival, held for the first time in the London area ,over the weekend of 15th-16th of February. The group presented a suite of obereks from Lowicz and Opoczno.
 
Annual Show 2002
A sell out audience at the Commonwealth Institute was treated to a fast flowing mixture of songs, dances and Christmas carols performed by all three Mazury groups. Highlights this year were the Mazurka from the opera Straszny Dwor by Moniuszko and an extended medley of songs and dances from the city of Lvov.
 
Dozynki at Amersham. 19 October 2002
Mazury took part in the annual Dozynki celebrations at the Polish Club in Amersham, presenting songs and dances of the Krakow region.
 
POSK Function. October 2002
Mazury performed at POSK before a distinguished audience during the retirement reception for Inf. Stanislaw Swierczynski, the long standing Rector of the Polish Catholic Mission for England and Wales.
 
Polish Week, Ealing. April 2002
All three Mazury groups took part in a performance at Ealing Town Hall. This show was the culmination of Polish Week which is now a regular feature on the local calendar.
 
Annual Show 2001
Mazury continued their recent tradition of pre Christmas annual concerts with a revisit to the Commonwealth Institute, London.
A packed auditorium was treated to a mixture of old favourites and new items, ending with some traditional Polish Christmas carols. This year there was a strong input from the middle and junior groups. A new idea was some audience participation, dancing on stage to a medley of well known Polish waltzes.
 
Summer Tour 2001
Mazury took part in the Festival of Beskid Culture during the first week in August. The company's first appearance at this prestigious international event had been in 1996 with performances in Wisla, Szczyrk and Makow Podhalanski plus a guest appearance at the Highlander's Festival at Jablonkov in the Czech Republic.
This time the tour party consisted of about 40 members with 8 musicians and there were shows at Zywiec, Wisla, Oswiecim and Szczyrk, which was the group's base for the duration of the festival. Mazury's own folk band ( kapela ) was featured in it's own 45 minute show in the main square in Wisla. The tour ended with a performance in Krakow .
4th Polish Folklore Festival 'Manchester 2001'
Mazury took part in this festival, previously staged in Leamington Spa, which was held in Manchester over the weekend of 10-11th of February 2001 at the new Lowry Theatre. The Company presented dances from Zywiec during the first show and opened the second show with a combined Polonaise and Mazurka.
Annual Show 2000
After last year's extravaganza in the West End of London this year's offering was presented in the Commonwealth Institute, London. The 'Sold Out' notices were up well in advance and on the night of the show the auditorium was filled with a very noisy and enthusiastic audience. Mazury were delighted to welcome as part of that audience Mrs. Cherie Blair, wife of the Prime Minister.
The first part of the show was a mixture of old favourites and some new items including a spectacular Dozynki scene. The second half was a departure from established routines in that it featured exclusively Highland music and dances from the various mountain regions of Southern Poland. The theme of this sequence was loosely based on the poem 'Powrot Taty' by Adam Mickiewicz.
 
Mazury Costume Collection on TV
The extensive Mazury collection of costumes representing various regions of Poland was featured in a documentary in the ' Collectors Lot ' series screened on September 27th 2000 on Channel 4.
 
50th Anniversary Show, Her Majesty's Theatre on 19th December 1999
What a way to finish this very special year! A West End theatre, a sell out crowd ( over 1100 tickets sold) and a superb festive atmosphere all combined to produce an unforgetable evening. A varied programme of songs,dances and sketches was well received by an enthusiastic audience who spurred on the performers with endless vocal support. The memory of such an evening will undoubtedly remain etched in the minds of those present for a long time to come.
 
The Mazury 50th Anniversary Ball 1999
This major social event took place at The Moor Park Golf Club in Rickmansworth on October 22nd . All tickets were sold and this ensured a good atmosphere. It was nice to see so many ex-members present. Following a delicious three course meal and a wonderful opportunity for a gossip, the evening flowed until 1pm with a packed dance floor enjoying a wide variety of live music.
 
Hungarian Tour 1999
In August the Company travelled to Hungary for a number of appearances, including taking part in the 30th Flower Festival in Debrecen, capital of Eastern Hungary. This proved to be a hugely entertaining and very successful venture, Mazury performing to very appreciative audiences. The culmination of the trip was performing the Krakowiak in front of 30,000 spectators at the stadium in Debrecen and subsequently the award to Mazury of a special prize as the best dance group at the Festival. The PR masterstroke was the learning of a well known Hungarian folk song in the original language and performing it at various points during the festival procession and other shows. The crowds loved it and invariably joined in.
Change of Address 1999
The 50th anniversary year of Mazury, was a busy and eventful time. At the turn of the year, as part of the Polish YMCA, the move was made to new premises in West London and this involved transfering the vast array of costumes, instruments and other stage items to newly prepared rooms with purpose built facilities. Each item has now been given its own identity number and placed on a computer database to facilitate tracking it.