Ewa Chrzanowska
Director Ewa discovered her passion for dance when she was part of the Krakowiak Dance Ensemble in San Antonio, Texas. After moving to San Diego she invited her friend Mrs. Barbara Bojar to join her as Polonez's first choreographer. Soon she was able to gather a group consisting of friends and family, including her husband, Ryszard. She founded Polonez in 1989 and has continued to dance Polish folk dances ever since. Natalie Barnas
Choreographer/Artistic Director/ Dancer Natalie joined Polonez San Diego in 2009 when she was only eight years old and was taught by Ewa Stanislawska. Along with traditional Polish folk dancing, Natalie's been trained in a variety of styles including Ballet, Ballroom, & other competitive dances. In 2016, Natalie took over the role of choreographer and she feels honored to be able to lead the team. She especially loves the bond the team shares amongst each other and enjoys teaching them & finding ways to make practices fun. On the outside, Natalie is an SDSU graduate who loves her faith, enjoys hanging out with friends, and pursuing her career in business! Daniel
Dancer/ Singer Daniel first started dancing with Polonez back in 2009. He recently returned to the group after taking a break to start a family. Polonez has allowed him to share his love for Polish culture via artistic expression. He really enjoys coming to practice each week and the feeling of satisfaction after a successful performance. Besides dancing, he likes to sing, read, hike, and play with his kids. Kinga
Dancer Kinga joined Polonez after she saw them performing at the Polish Festival in San Diego. It was love at first sight. She couldn't take her eyes of the beautiful costumes and decided to join. The practices were lots of fun and the group amazing. Kinga also used to dance in PAFDC in New York and Resovia Saltans in Rzeszow for a couple of years. Natalia
Dancer Natalia has grown up in the Polish community, and has loved sharing Polish culture in San Diego, including reading at the Polish church and being the Queen of the House of Poland for three years up until she graduated high school last year. Out of her love for her Polish heritage, she joined Polonez in 2018 and has been dancing since. Her time in Polonez has also fostered great friendships and weekly dance practices have become the highlight over her week, with her favorite dance being Lowiczanka. Outside of Polonez she is also pursuing a degree in Computer Science at the University of San Diego. Bartek
Dancer Bartek has been involved with Polonez since September of 2022. After moving to San Diego over a decade ago from Bydgoszcz, he never had a change to get involved in his community. Since joining Polonez, Bartek was able to grow closer to his culture, make new friends, and become an active member of San Diego's Polish community. Ania
Dancer After dancing for two years in Maly Polonez, this is Ania's second year in the Polonez Adult Group. She takes pride in representing Polish culture among her friends, family and being involved in the community. She also enjoys dressing up in pretty costumes and learning new dances. |
Oscar
Dancer Oscar approaches Polonez practices and performances with military dedication. He loves that he can represent his Polish heritage while also getting a great workout. His favorite dance is Zbojnicki that is a 2 minute dance performed by males that includes endless jumps and tricks. It is also one of the audiences favorite at all of our performances. Julia
Dancer Since she was a little girl, Julia has loved dancing, training in various styles from hip-hop to salsa and burlesque. Upon moving to San Diego, missing her home more than ever, she found out about the Polonez dance group through Facebook. She was thrilled to join and represent her culture. Julia's favorite parts besides dancing are the beautiful costumes and sharing her Polish heritage with others. Gabi
Dancer/ Social Media Gabi joined Polonez because her sister convinced her to do so. At first, she was shy but after few practices she was more than happy to be part of it. The team was very welcoming and she made new friends and even met her future husband. Now, they are dancing together and are happily ever after. She loves to dress up in the beautiful costumes and represent our culture. Her favorite dance is Krakowiak. Kuba
Dancer Kuba joined Polonez in 2022 shortly after moving to the San Diego area from his hometown of San Francisco. It was in San Francisco where he was previously involved in a Polish folk dance group, as a child. When he's not practicing the Kujawiak or Krakowiak he's indulging in his other hobby- home brewing beer and kombucha. Austin
Dancer Austin grew up in San Marcos California. He enjoys working out and spending time with his family and his beautiful girlfriend. He is currently in College at California State University San Marcos majoring in Business. Austin is in the U.S. Army Reserves as well as R.O.T.C. under Aztec Battalion. He was introduced to Polish culture by his girlfriend Natalia. He is enjoying getting to learn and explore Polish culture more and more every day. Although he has never danced before this, he has really enjoyed learning a new skillset. Austin can't wait to see you all on the stage. Olivia
Dancer Olivia loves being involved in the Polish community started by representing the House of Poland as the Queen. She later joined Polonez and loves how it allowed her to meet so many life long friends with a similar background. Olivia was honored to represent Polonez along with other members in the show finale of Shameless. Michael
Dancer Michael has been involved in Maly Polonez when he was younger. He joined the older group over a year ago because he wants to represent his Polish culture and improve his dancing skills. Michael is looking forward to many more performances in beautiful Polish folk costumes. |
Michal
Dancer Michal is a new resident to San Diego after living for over 20 years in the New York City metro area. He had strong ties to the Polish community there and participated in events such as the Pulaski Day Parade and attended Polish school on Saturdays until senior year of high school. Since moving to San Diego, he wanted to find and engage with the Polish community as well. His involvement started by joining the Polonez Dance Group and discovering that the enjoys folk dancing. Aside from dancing, he is an avid road bicycle rider, skier, car enthusiast, and traveler. |