The past weekend was an exceptionally busy one for the competitive dancers of Resovia Saltans. During the National Polish Dance Tournament “For the Lasowiak Heart” held in Stalowa Wola, couples representing the University of Rzeszów achieved an impressive four podium finishes!

Zuzanna Krupornicka and Michał Deręgowski danced their way to first place in the finals, winning the gold medal in age category IVB. This is undoubtedly the pair’s greatest success to date – especially considering they only began their competitive dancing journey earlier this artistic season!

Jakub Zwolak and Katarzyna Momola advanced to the finals in both the VB and V OPEN categories after competing in two semi-finals. They secured third place in both categories, bringing home two bronze medals!

Michał Nawojski and Barbara Wojtak also reached the finals and earned third place and a bronze medal in category VI.

All Resovia Saltans couples competed on the dance floor against dancers from both academic and non-academic dance centres across Poland. Performances of traditional Polish dances – the krakowiak, oberek, kujawiak, and mazur – were judged under the skating system by licensed adjudicators of Polish dances in ballroom form:

• expert judge Mariusz Krupiński (Folk Ensemble “Warmia”, Olsztyn),
• consultant judges Katarzyna Bilska (Folk Ensemble “Młody Toruń”, Toruń) and Milena Jurczyk (Folk Ensemble “Jantar”, University of Gdańsk),
• and judges Adrian Kulik (Folk Ensemble “Dobczyce”, Dobczyce) and Katarzyna Hajdasz (“Maki i powoje”, Kraków).

The high rankings achieved by our couples are a richly deserved reward for their hard work during countless, often exhausting and demanding training sessions – especially during the busy assessment and exam periods. The dancers train under the watchful eye of their coach and choreographer, Dr Jadwiga Bär, a two-time Polish national champion in ballroom-style Polish dance.

It is also worth emphasising that the participation and success of Resovia Saltans’ competitive couples in such events serve as an outstanding promotion and showcase of the University of Rzeszów among other academic institutions in Poland.

We warmly congratulate all the dancers and wish them continued success in this beautiful form of dance, which so eloquently promotes Poland’s national heritage.