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Celebrating over 40 years in the world of folklore, this dynamic director has been teaching dance every week for more that 30 years. He is admired and praised for his work as Artistic Director of major International Folk Concerts in Montreal, Canada, where he resides. His experience, organisation-skills, patience and diplomacy have brought success to every producer he has been contracted by. Involving thousands of dancers from many cultural backgrounds, Richard manages to make the experience for all an enjoyable one. Having begun his dancing career in 1966 when he joined the children’s group of The Podhale Folk Dance Company, in Montreal, Canada, he soon became the principal dancer and complimented his artistic talents with music lessons enabling him to interpret the measures and rhythms with ease. In 1980, at the age of seventeen he took on the role as assistant choreographer and began learning the intricacies of teaching folk dancing from his long time mentor and teacher Leokadia Magdziarz (Pani Lodzia), renowned Polish choreographer from Rzeszów, Poland, who was hired as Artistic Director of Podhale from 1973 to 1990. Pani Lozia soon recognised the talent of her young protégée and turned to her peers in Poland for him to study under them. As a specialist on National dances and folklore from Rzeszów she taught him everything she knew and then he complimented his studies by travelling extensively to Poland to study under many of that country’s specialists - Broda and Budzinski (Podhale), Korytek (Kurpie), Kujawski (Kaszuby), Marcinek (Cieszyn and Śląsk), Marek (Wielkopolska, Lachy Sądeckie), Mazurkiewicz (Opoczno and Łowicz), Nachszter (Sieradz), Pogonowski (Podlesie), Stepowicz and Wachowiak (Lublin). Many of these great Masters have now passed on, but their knowledge and expertise live on with Richard and he is forever grateful for his time with them. While studying, he continued to dance and participate in numerous festivals and competitions around the world and as his reputation grew, this trilingual speaking (English, French and Polish) instructor was soon being invited to teach and choreograph for numerous folk ensembles in Canada and the United States, as well as at international folk dance camps. His ability to teach the basic steps in detail and his extensive knowledge of Poland’s regional and national dances, along with his innate vision for building authentic compositions, led him to take over the reins as Artistic Director of Podhale from 1990 to 2010. Under his leadership, the company expanded its repertoire and has been seen by millions of people through their performances in full-length concerts across Europe, Asia and North America, including Disney World, Florida, International Folk Festivals in Canada, Mexico, USA, Europe and China. Richard has also been hired as a consultant for many types of events, including trade-shows, weddings and television productions.
In 2008, in partnership with the
"White Eagle Society", Richard created the "WHITE
EAGLE ACADEMY", with experienced folk dancers from the
Montreal area who have already received acclaim for their new and technically-challenging
repertoire. In the same year, Richard also accepted the position as Artistic Director and
Choreographer for the Polish Folk Song and Dance Ensemble TATRY of
Oshawa, Ontario. As a Master teacher of Polish Folk, Richard's attention to detail is greatly appreciated by all instructors who take his courses. From the way he explains the history and specifics of his dances to the exactness of his dance notes, Richard gets an A+ every time from the people who are in charge of checking, editing and publishing syllabi. This past April, he was invited to Portland, Oregon to teach at a weekend workshop in conjunction with the NFO`s (National Folk Organization - USA) Annual Conference and the request from the organisers was for non-couple dances. This is not an easy feat with Polish folklore as most dances are done in couples. Richard, however, always up for a challenge, came to Portland that weekend with 10 new choreographies for individual dancers and everybody in attendance thoroughly enjoyed their experience. Richard has taught at workshops and seminars all over North America including three times at the Stockton Folk Dance Camp in California, New Mexico, Florida, Oregon, in his hometown of Montreal and this August at the Mainewoods Folk Dance Camp. When requested, Richard also leads two-week Folk Tours of Poland in partnership with Jim Gold. Ten years ago Richard was presented with "The Lifetime Achievement Award", which of course was an honour, but in hindsight seems to have been a bit premature. This year marks his 30th year as a teacher of Polish folklore and there are no signs that he will stop any time soon. Tens of thousands of students have learnt from him and have come to know and fall in love with the beauty and majesty of Polish culture. His creations are always thoroughly researched and original and he is considered one of the best choreographers of our time. If you haven't had the opportunity to work with Richard, then what are you waiting for? Hope to see you at the next event! STO LAT!
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