Fans strive to keep polka hoppin’

Lively dance form is at a crossroads, younger fans sought

	Leann Lohman dances a polka with Robert Polenska at Art's Concertina bar in Milwaukee. A fragmented effort is under way in the polka community to make sure the dance doesn't die _ through festivals, use of more modern instruments like electric guitars and teaching it in elementary schools.
Morry Gash / AP

updated 12:50 p.m. ET March 15, 2006

MILWAUKEE - Three nights a week at Art’s Concertina Bar you can step back to a time when couples went out to dance the polka and listen to the sounds of a concertina.

But now owner Art Altenburg wants to sell his polka bar — which is the last in Milwaukee and bills itself as “The Only Concertina Bar in the U.S.A.” — and he doesn’t know if the new owners will keep it as a polka haven.

“That would be fantastic if it could be kept up that way, but I have no idea what is going to happen if I leave,” said Altenburg, who tells everyone he’s 81, but won’t reveal his real age.

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Like the tavern, polka itself is at a crossroads.

A fragmented effort is under way in the polka community to make sure it doesn’t die — through festivals, use of more modern instruments such as electric guitars and teaching the dance in elementary schools. Enthusiasts say their efforts are working with younger people, particularly on the East Coast, Midwest and in Texas.

“I believe polkas are going to keep growing, mainly because I think the younger people are very, very tired of the ... bar scene with the rap music and the loud rock music,” said Barbara Haselow, president of United States Polka Association in Cleveland, Ohio.

Polka started from Bohemian folk music in the 1850s and soon spread around Europe, said Cecilia Dolgan, president of the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame in Euclid, Ohio. Countries including Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Germany then put their own touch on the music and dance.

Immigrants didn’t pass on the dance
Immigrants brought it to the United States, where its heyday was in the 1940s to 1960s. Frankie Yankovic, who died in 1998 but is considered the polka king, popularized the genre with songs such as “Just Because” and “Blue Skirt Waltz.” But as immigrants and their children aged, they didn’t introduce it to their kids, said Ray Zalokar, director 247Polkaheaven.com, the world’s first 24-hour polka Web site.

“The heritage gets washed out with each generation,” he said.

Ken Irwin, one of the owners of Rounder Records, which has two polka artists, said polka devotees need a central source to promote and educate people on their music.

Irwin said the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou” changed people’s attitudes about bluegrass. Polka needs something similar that shows the music and culture in a positive light, he said.

“I think it is really infectious music,” he said. “There is a great amount of talent out there. People, when exposed to it, seem to really enjoy it.”

At Art’s, 70 concertinas — some date to the 1800s — are scattered around the room. Three dozen line the wall behind the long bar along with concertina-themed gifts he’s received, including a winged-bear playing a concertina. Framed newspaper articles about the bar and photos of its performers adorn the walls.

Altenburg regularly pulls out a concertina — a small hexagonal accordion with buttons for keys — to demonstrate for visitors. On one recent Saturday night, he was playing with a tubist and drummer.

CONTINUED : Are you ready for Polkapalooza?

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