The polka dance was first noticed in the 1830s in Bohemian villages, where ordinary people danced it at local celebrations and markets. Within a decade it had become a craze in the fashionable ballrooms of Prague, Vienna, Paris and London. Dance teachers rushed to teach it, sheet music was printed and sold, and polka-printed fabrics and hats became fashionable.
The basic polka step is a short hop followed by three running steps, repeated over and over in quick time. Couples hold each other and turn in a circle as they move around the dance floor — it is energetic and fun, and anyone can learn the basic steps in a few minutes.
The music for polka is played at a brisk pace, usually by a small band including an accordion, clarinet and drums. The rhythm bounces along in groups of two beats. Czech folk orchestras have been playing polka music at weddings and festivals for nearly 200 years.
Polka spread so far that it became part of folk traditions in countries as different as Mexico, Poland and Texas in the USA. Each country added its own musical flavour, but the bouncy energy of the original Bohemian dance remained the same.