Krzysztof Kurlej started as a performer with Mazowsze before becoming the ensemble’s managing director Mazowsze

Krzysztof Kurlej started as a performer with Mazowsze before becoming the ensemble’s managing director  Mazowsze

The managing director of Mazowsze speaks about Poland’s tradition of folk music and dance, the group’s repertoire and touring the world with eight tonnes of costumes.

With his ponytail and cool demeanour, Krzysztof Kurlej looks more like a veteran guitar hero (Francis Rossi of Status Quo springs to mind) than the man in charge of Poland’s most famous folk dance and music troupe. Indeed, the managing director of Mazowsze says that as a kid he was “just a regular teenager listening to the rock music” and he confesses that the last time he was in Luxembourg was to watch ZZ Top at the Rockhal.

Now he is back in the grand duchy preparing Mazowsze’s Kaleidoscope of Polish Colors show at the Luxembourg City Conservatoire on 11 November--the culmination, on Polish national day, of the celebrations marking 100 years of relations between Luxembourg and Poland.

But when he started to study at university Lublin one of the activities he took up was to join a folk group. “Because you know, folk dances in Poland are very popular. And there are a lot of regional groups and student groups.” After two years, Krzysztof wanted more and joined another, more professional company. His ambition, though, was to join Mazowsze. “But it was very hard. It is still very hard…because we organise auditions that are, let's say, very cruel.” Although he failed, Krzysztof persisted and he started to dance and sing in the musical theatre, where he stayed for six years before deciding to try again in 1992. “My audition was very good,” he says with a smile. After nine years, having already done some administrative duties, Mazowsze made him an offer to be the  company’s manager. “So I tried this as a trial, and after three months, I said, okay, I can do this. So, that’s 20 years ago.”

The company consists of three elements, the symphonic orchestra, the ballet, and the choir. Each has their own artistic director under the general director, Jacek Boniecki. “We are in a very good position, because he is the first director and conductor since founder Tadeusz Sygietyński, who died in 1955,” Krzysztof explains.  Sygietyński was also a composer and had what  Krzysztof calls “very high symphonic skills. He created the Philharmonic Hall in Dubrovnik.” The advantage Boniecki has is that he understands artists. “People feel that he's one of them,” says Krzysztof. “For me also, it’s sometimes it's easier to work with the company because when I negotiate the contract, I negotiate first as an artist, not as a business.”

Eight tonnes of costumes

Krzysztof has toured the world with Mazowsze--including stints in Japan, North America, China. Brazil, the European Union and the former Soviet Union--and has experience of how different audiences react to the show. He recalls the first time in China, where the audience would applaud enthusiastically but only for a very short time. “It was like, three seconds and then let’s get on with the next number, because the audience wants to see more.” In many countries the audience is made up of a good mix of locals and Polish expats or second or third generation Poles. “So we can feel the difference because the people from Poland show more enthusiasm, because they know most of the songs and dances.”

He has also had his fair share of logistical challenges, including the weight of the costumes. Mira Zimińska-Sygietyńska, the wife of the founder and the company’s director insisted that the costumes be authentic and not created especially for the stage. Each costume can weigh up to 14kg. “So, for our partners abroad, every time it is like a disaster. For example, when we go to United States, we take only the costumes with us but it’s like seven to eight tonnes, just in costumes,” Krzysztof says.

Since 2009, Mazowsze has had its own theatre, which has allowed it to create more than the traditional folk show. They have created a Polish opera, a Christmas show and educational shows for children. “The orchestra also plays symphonic music together with some very famous Polish conductors, not only our director, but one of the one of the most famous Polish conductors,” Krzysztof says.

The choir and orchestra also has a repertoire of sacred music, which they will perform in Luxembourg’s Notre Dame cathedral on Friday 12 November at 7pm, the day after the Conservatoire spectacular.