Polka Dot Polka

Jan 22

Polka Dot Day

Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day

Polka Dot Day

Polka Dot Polka

Today's Musings, History & Folklore

"But the thing that led to love
Was her polka-dotted glove
When the band played the Polka Dot Polka!"

~ The Polka Dot Polka, 1943

Do you polka? Fond of polka dots? Need a dance for just 5 dancers?

This five person 32 bar reel (arranged in a polka dot pattern of course), has an interesting literary tie to author Thomas Hardy!

After publication of the dance, the devisor received an interesting bit of information and writes:

"Although I was completely unaware at the time I made up the dance, I have been told very recently that there is actually a traditional 5-hand reel dance mentioned in one of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex novels. As he was an accomplished fiddle player, playing for village dances, I suspect that the 5 hand reel was a genuine dance though whether it survived and the notation was ever ‘collected’ I don’t know.”

Thomas Hardy fans, any comments? Several of his Wessex novels contain detailed dance scenes, but the strongest candidate for a reference to a five-hand reel might be Under the Greenwood Tree (1872). This novel is steeped in rural music-making and communal dancing. Hardy describes informal village dances where numbers are fluid, musicians improvise, and figures adapt to whoever happens to be on the floor.

While he does not explicitly use the modern term “five-hand reel,” scholars have long noted that Hardy depicts odd-numbered and asymmetrical sets!

And while polka dots became popular during Hardy's time, they would not necessarily have been referred to as such. Authors of the period often described fabrics and clothing with terms like "spotted," "dotted,", "sprigged" or "figured".

By the time the polka dance craze swept through Europe, entrepreneurs capitalized on "polka mania" by creating a range of polka-themed products, though only the polka dot clothing trend endures today, helpfully popularized by Minnie Mouse’s signature look!

But here’s the real question: would you dare to mix polka dots with tartan? Or perhaps even pair polka with paisley? Boldy polka on, dancers! 🤪 🔴 🟠 🟡 🟢 🔵 🟣

Polka Dot Polka

Polka dots became common on clothing in the late nineteenth century as a result of the polka dance craze introduced in Europe in the 1840s.

The "polka" dance and music craze originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic, and reached its height of popularity beginning in the 1840s and lasting through the 1860s. There was a proliferation of polka sheet music and merchandising - polka cloth, bonnets, shawls, hats, polka suspenders and even polka pudding! As the dance craze waned, the polka dot fabric pattern remained popular.

Traditionally polka dots have been used in the clothing of flamenco dancers and performers. And perhaps surprisingly, in 1962, DC Comics introduced minor villain Polka-Dot Man with irregularly-sized and differently coloured dots who battled Batman and Robin.

An original recipe for polka pudding from 1917 called for:

POLKA PUDDING

Half-pound of suet,

1/2lb of raisins,

1/2lb of treacle or golden syrup,

1/2lb.of flour,

1/2lb mashed potatoes.

Stone the raisins and stick them over a well-greased pudding basin or mould.

Mix the other ingredients well together and pour in.

Boil four hours and serve with custard sauce.

For a more colorful updated cake version using the same dotted concept, click the cake below.

Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!