If the Sigismund Bell Danced
Move to the 16th century Wawel court and get to know the repertoire of dances of the era and the story of the Sigismund Bell
Kraków painted with the dance is cycle of productions by the Cracovia Danza Court Ballet created by Romana Agnel and presented during the Court Dance Festival. The dance performances are inspired by the most important elements of Kraków heritage and works of art, and they transport us to the most beautiful and cherished locations in our city.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
The art of bell founding has an extremely long and rich tradition in Poland. We know how bells are made, how they are produced, and how bells dance – this is what our story is about.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
The Royal Sigismund Bell, hanging in the defensive tower of the Wawel Castle, was funded by King Sigismund the Old in 1520. The bell was created in Krakow, in the workshop of the bellfounder Hans Behem, and first rang out on 13 July 1521.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
King Sigismund offered the bell to For God, the Best, the Greatest, for the Virgin Mother of God and for his Patron Saints. This is indicated by Latin inscription on the chalice and figures of St Stanislaus and St Sigismund placed below.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
The great royal bell, which took the name Sigismund from its funder, was intended in the first decades of the 16th century to be a testimony to the power of the royal Jagiellonian family and the importance of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
With time it became one of the symbols of national unity, and its sound today is inextricably linked with the most important events in the history of Poland.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
The Sigismund Bell together with all its instrumentation weighs 12 tonnes and 600 kilogrammes. At least twelve bell-ringers are needed to run the bell. It is said "at least" because there are 12 ropes, however, it's good when bell-ringers replace because the ringing usually lasts eight minutes according to the 1888 ordinance, and it's a lot of effort.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
Apart from being a musical instrument and a liturgical object, a bell is also a technical object – a machine. It is a sort of a double pendulum because one pendulum is the bell itself and the other is its clapper.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
The bell is mounted on bearings, has many technical elements and needs to be looked after like a machine. Care was provided at all times. The bell has lasted for five hundred years.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
The Cracovia Danza Ballet, founded by Romana Agnel, is the only professional Court Ballet in Poland, which specializes in Baroque and Old Polish dances. The repertoire, based on dance masters' treatises as well as on old iconographical sources, consists of dance performances spanning the periods from the Middle Ages to modern times. The Ballet participates in many prestigious events in Poland and abroad. Cracovia Danza has visited around 30 countries e.g. Morocco, France, Russia, Germany, China, Japan, Bulgaria, United States, India and Korea.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
Cracovia Danza performance When the Bells Dance is inspired by the Sigismund Bell and the story of its creation.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
The performance follows the convention of court ballets of the 16th century Europe. It tells the story when Hans Beham arrives at the court of King Sigismund I and presents a model of the Sigismund Bell.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
The performance features King Sigismund I, Queen Bona, the entire Wawel court as well as bell-ringers who present their dance with bells attached to their ankles – an allegorical ballet of bells.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
As in other performances of the 16th century, this performance presents the most important dance types of the era, which were included in the repertoire of dances at the Wawel court.
Kraków Painted with dances, When the bells dance (2021)Cracovia Danza Ballet
These dances include Italian dances such as passe mezzo, gajarda, bizzaria d'amore, as well as French style dances such as volta, gavotte and moresca. This performance also presents allegorical dances, whose repertoire and music are taken from the Queen's ballet of the 16th century: Aria de la campanella.
