Staś Kmieć

Staś Kmieć (pronounced STAHSH KMYEHCH), American-born of Polish descent, is the foremost U.S. authority on Polish folk dance and culture. He is also a renowned theater and dance choreographer, specializing in a variety of styles of dance: theatre dance, character/folk, period/historical, social/ballroom, ballet, and concert dance.

Polish Culture and Dance

Staś Kmieć is one of the authors of the most comprehensive and definitive encyclopedias on Polish Dance in the English language, "Polish Folk Dances and Songs" (Hippocrene Books, 1997), and has appeared on television as PBS's resident Polish culture expert. He has been the culture editor for the now defunct "Polish American Magazine", and since 1987 is the culture editor of "The Polish American Journal".

It was his choreographic work and field research in Communist Poland, which has led to the acclaim of his stage productions of Polish culture and dance. In addition to his knowledge of Poland's numerous and varied ethnographic regions, Kmieć specializes in the folk culture of southeastern Poland’s Lublin region.

In 1989, Kmieć was honored with Poland’s most prestigious culture honor – "The Oskar Kolberg Award" for his propagation and promotion of Polish culture abroad. In 1977, when only in his teens, he founded the "The Lublin Polish Song and Dance Ensemble" ("Zespół Pieśni i Tańca – LUBLINIACY"). This was the first ensemble outside of Poland to present the songs and dances of the obscure Lublin sub-regions of Chełm and Biłgoraj. He brought his company to Poland in 1986 to tour and participate in the "International Folk Festival" in Lublin and the "World Festival of Polish Artistic Ensembles" in Rzeszów. The Polish press remarked that “This is the only Polonia ensemble that evokes true Polish style and character in their performance presentation.”

Incorporating over 250 performers (dancers, singers, and orchestra) in an outdoor extravaganza, Staś was the artistic director and choreographer of the 1995 and 1999 "Dożynki Harvest Festival" held in Orange County, NY.

Kmieć has created work for other Polish American groups including: The Alliance College "Kujawiaki", and Chicago’s "Lira Ensemble". He was also instrumental in the pre-production work of Lira’s "Zapraszamy" tour project.

Kmieć has a close association with and is considered the American cultural representative for Poland’s "Mazowsze Polish Song and Dance Company" (which was established in 1948), having appeared on PBS as the guest expert for the premiere airing of "The Music and Dance of Poland – Mazowsze" and subsequent airings on WLIW-New York and WHYY-Philadelphia. In addition he gave a pre-performance lecture on the company’s history, Polish dance and costume during their 2007 United States tour. His inside track to the history, inner workings and repertoire of this company has resulted in numerous articles and reviews.

He has taught technique to the "Ziemi Lubelskiej" Dance Company in Lublin and has been invited as the cultural representative from the United States by the company in 1997, 2002 and 2007 for their jubilee celebrations.

His choreographic work at "DanceBreak" in New York City and his expertise in Eastern European dance, lead Broadway director Scott Schwartz to engage him in as part of the creative team for his play adaptation of "My Antonia" – “a play with music,” which performed at the Los Angeles theaters: Rubicon Theater and Pacific Resident Theaters in 2008. The music was written by Broadway great, Stephen Schwartz.

Articles on Polish Culture:

"The Pilgrim Pope from Poland - The Legacy of Karol Wojtyla- His Holiness Pope John Paul II" by Stas Kmiec ©2005 http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/Papal_Polonica/Pilgrim_Pope/pilgrim_pope.htm

"The Mystery Behind the Polish American Polka Costume" by Stas Kmiec © 1999 http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/APHistory/CostumeMystery/costumemystery.html

"Szopka, A Fairy Tale Stable" by Stas Kmiec © 1997 http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/Holidays/xmasindex/xmas-creche/xmas-creche.html

"Polish Christmas Ornamanets - Traditional and Custom Creations of the Old World Christmas Tree" by Stas Kmiec © 2006 http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/Holidays/xmasindex/xmas-ornaments/xmas-ornaments.html

Choreography

As a choreographer, Kmieć specializes in a variety of styles of dance: theatre dance, character/folk, period/historical, social/ballroom, ballet, and concert dance. His choreography has been seen off-Broadway at La Mama E.T.C. and New World Stages, regionally at multiple venues, and on tour, including a national tour of "Me and My Girl". He has choreographed abroad, including the Irish premiere of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", and was the dance consultant/choreographer for Billy Crudup in the film “Trust the Man.”

In addition to musicals, Staś has also choreographed plays including "Thieve’s Carnival, Summit Conference, Jest, You Can’t Take It With You", and "Dead Souls" with Hank Azaria and Oliver Platt, "The Defense of Prague", and Scott Schwartz’s "My Antonia", a play with music by Stephen Schwartz.

He is the founding Artistic Director/Choreographer of the "Sarabande Repertory Dance Ensemble" (which exists to this day in Medford, MA) and The "Lublin Polish Song and Dance Ensemble", which has performed internationally.

Kmieć was selected by a panel of Broadway choreographers, directors, and composers for the Broadway industry showcase – "DanceBreak 2007".

Performance History

Staś Kmieć has danced with "The Boston Ballet" and "The Metropolitan Opera Ballet"; toured and performed on Broadway with both Rudolf Nureyev in "Don Quixote", and in "Lee Theodore’s American Dancemachine", where he was a featured performer. He was a lead dancer in two national tours of "Fiddler on the Roof" with Theodore Bikel; has danced on film in “Mona Lisa Smile” and “The Thing About My Folks,” and appeared in acting roles in Robert Redford’s “Quiz Show” and Woody Allen’s “Don’t Drink the Water,” and Todd Haynes’ coming-of-age film “Dottie Gets Spanked, ” which was featured at "The Sundance Film Festival" and on the PBS series, “TV Families.”

Education

Kmieć is a graduate from Tufts University (BA) and holds a degree (BA and MA equivalent) from the University of Marie Curie-Skłodowska – "Studium Folklorzystczne" in Teaching Methodology, Ethnography and Folk Dance.

Staś Kmieć is a member of "The Society of Stage Directors and Chorographers" (SSDC), "Actors Equity" (AEA), "Screen Actors Guild" (SAG), and "The American Guild of Musical Artists" (AGMA).

Links

Podcast: "NYTheatrecast.com - Choreographers' Roundtable" http://www.nytheatrecast.com/wordpress/archives/96; http://www.nytheatrecast.com/pcast/nythpod221.mp3

Theater Articles:"My Antonia – A Play with Music" http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=27599; http://www.playbill.com/news/article/117520.html

"DanceBreak 2007" http://www.dancebreak.org/past_performances/dancebreak-2007

"theAtrainplays" http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=19462

Categories: | Choreographer | American theatre actor | American musical theater | Polish Choreographer | Polish Culture | Polish American | Living people |