Balquemia / Poland
The band originates from the Warsaw balfolk community. It was created, at least according to its members, out of the need of the moment and the need to dance. The line-up includes instruments typical for this genre, such as diatonic accordion, violin and hurdy-gurdy.
The band originates from the Warsaw balfolk community. It was created, at least according to its members, out of the need of the moment and the need to dance. The line-up includes instruments typical for this genre, such as diatonic accordion, violin and hurdy-gurdy.
Balquemia plays dances from different regions of France, but the band does not focus strictly on any of them. That’s why the music played by the band is a colourful journey through different corners of France, a journey both in the light of the day and at night. The dances presented by the band are lively, energetic, wild and crazy, but they also offer – for the sake of balance – atmospheric ones, with a hint of melancholy and sensuality, like an alchemical dance of elements and their unexpected combinations.
Rafał Kwietniewski – accordionist, dancer, animator, teacher of traditional French dances, organiser of regular folk dance parties in Warsaw.
Dymitr Gierus – guitarist and bass aficionado, architect, fan of digital graphics and drawing, with a broad range of musical interests.
Anton Korolev – Ukrainian multi-instrumentalist living in Warsaw, fan of traditional dances, specialising in hurdy-gurdy, French bagpipes and violin.
Aleksandra Tykarska – an artistic soul, creator and co-author of many musical and dance projects. Her passions include violin, balfolk, American Tribal Style dancing and playing the daf.
The concert took place in 2018.