Top of page

Audio Recording Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 3

Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 3

About this Item

Title

  • Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 3

Names

  • Kalčik, Susan J. (Collector)
  • Siemaczko, Kanstanti (Interviewee)
  • Siemaczko, Colette (Interviewee)

Created / Published

  • Chicago, Illinois, June 3, 1977

Headings

  • -  Polish Americans
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Interviews
  • -  Illinois -- Chicago

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

Notes

  • -  Kanstanti & Colette Siemaczko, part 3
  • -  Part 3 of a 5-part interview with Collette and Konstanty (Konstanti) Siemaczko in their home; Konstanty Siemaczko is a well-known choreographer for several Polish American youth dance groups; discussion of teaching dance as part of Polish ethnic Saturday school activities, to Polish Scouts, and to prepare any group that asks for their help; the couple also teach a class in a school; segment of the recording made as the Siemaczkos show the fieldworker photographs and costumes; Silesian costume described, Collette Siemaczko is interested in the costumes and also in the music, how costuming has changed since they arrived in Chicago, they used to copy from costumes on display in a museum but this is not a good model because those examples had been prepared for stage plays; three vests they acquired; dance tradition is strong in Chicago, they could see at a parade this year how costumes had improved, more variety and representation of all areas of Poland, whereas earlier Chicago Polish Americans did not know much about regional differences because so many were from the Krakow area, as well as having lived in U.S. a long time and forgotten, a grandmother would remember what she had seen her grandmother wear in Poland and the costume would be reconstructed from this; beginning in about 1959, Polish dance troupes came to Chicago and people understood Konstanty Siemaczko had been telling them and they began to work on costuming, for the first time, Collette is working on a costume from the Krakow region because there are so many from that region in Chicago; most people like the sequins better than beading on the vests but the beading is older and more authentic; Collette shows a vest she acquired at a sale held by Polish veterans that she got cheaply because it was beaded; in the dance groups, the kids wear different costumes, most parents don't care about the regionality of the costumes so long as the children look good; the Siemaczkos take dance students from 3 years of age up, Collette hand makes parts of costumes; discusses costume making and beading, about Polish motifs, i.e. the rose, the poppy, oats; it was once very difficult to get the correct types of fabric but now easier; Collette Siemaczko shows a bolt of fabric that she calls “the genuine thing”; one of the couple’s daughters now teaches dancing too; the family works on the “Christmas Around the World Show” at the Museum of Science and Industry that many ethnic groups participate in; working on costumes is a continuous job as kids change size or drop out or are added, and new programs must be prepared for; story told about Konstanty’s costume being worn by a member of the Royal Ballet in 1957; Collette also sings and she was in the Polish mass for the Millenium Celebration (celebrating the Christianization of Poland, said to have occurred in 966); mention of the Polish Constitution Day Parade in Chicago (celebrates the 1791 ratification of the Polish Constitution); the Siemaczkos have a closet full of costumes, Collette shows another, handmade, from Poland, 50 years old, "the genuine article."; the Siemaczkos have a friend who looks for fabrics and other materials in Poland and found this costume, their older daughter wears it; one trick is to remove beading or embroidery from a worn costume and put it on new example; Collette shows and discusses appliqued beaded parts on a vest; Collette is going to college this fall and will work with folk materials. she has a National College of Education scholarship; the Siemaczkos show some photos of their Christmas production from last year; Collette uses the expression "reproduction" to refer to copies of costumes, not made in Poland; Konstanty describes Christmas traditions and the play done by the Polish Scouts (under the Polish Youth Association), King Herod’s speech is adlibbed each year and usually gets a big laugh; the wigilia (traditional Christmas Eve vigil supper) is also part of the production, they do two performances in one day, each one and half hours long, Konstanty directs the dancing; their youngest daughter goes to Walt Disney Magnet School, a multi-ethnic school, and the Siemaczkos volunteered to teach Polish dances there, where Collette is a volunteer; the family practices the Easter basket blessing and have it done at St. Wenceslaus church, which is "supposed to be a Polish parish,"; their 7-year-old daughter Nina is experienced enough to teach the dances; Konstanty has a large repertoire of dances but never gets to teach them all because each group goes at its own pace. He aims to have students learn at least 6 or 7 and be able to perform 3, his teaching routine starts with exercises adapted from ballet.

Medium

  • audiocassette, C-60

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Call number: AFC 1981/004: AFS 20792a
  • MBRS Shelflist: RYA 0790
  • Field Project Identifier: CH77-T267-C

Source Collection

  • Chicago Ethnic Arts Project collection (AFC 1981/004)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that some of the materials in this collection are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions, and are therefore free to use or reuse. For example, the fieldwork in this collection is in the public domain in the United States.

However, the Library has obtained permission for the use of other materials, and presents additional materials for educational and research purposes in accordance with fair use under United States copyright law. For example, some of the recordings contain copyrighted music, and not all of the performers and other individuals who were recorded signed releases for public use of their work.

In addition, the American Folklife Center and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance. Rights assessment is your responsibility. The written permission of the copyright owners in materials not in the public domain is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Permissions may additionally be required from holders of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights). Whenever possible, we provide information that we have about copyright owners and related matters in the catalog records, finding aids and other texts that accompany collections. However, the information we have may not be accurate or complete.

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Credit line: Chicago Ethnic Arts Project collection (AFC 1981/004), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

KalčIk, Susan J, Kanstanti Siemaczko, and Colette Siemaczko. Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 3. Chicago, Illinois, June 3, 1977. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20792a/.

APA citation style:

KalčIk, S. J., Siemaczko, K. & Siemaczko, C. (1977) Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 3. Chicago, Illinois, June 3. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20792a/.

MLA citation style:

KalčIk, Susan J, Kanstanti Siemaczko, and Colette Siemaczko. Interview with Konstanty and Collette Siemaczko in their home, Chicago, Illinois, part 3. Chicago, Illinois, June 3, 1977. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20792a/>.