SIEMIENIEC – performative lecture, ritual exercises and ceremonial practices

About the event

This is an event in three parts that complement and explain each other, and it is simply best experienced in its entirety. Maciej Filipczuk invites you to a performative lecture, during which he will present the results of his research on the ‘siemieniec’ – a ceremonial dance of a magical and agrarian nature, performed during Shrovetide or on Ash Wednesday. The second stage of the event is a short dance workshop, while the final, culminating moment of the day will be a joint dance to music played live by Kolektyw Obrzędowy.

The siemieniec was a procession dance performed by young men behind closed doors and curtained windows. It had the characteristics of an All Souls’ Day ritual, a male initiation, a matrimonial marketplace, a dance for a hemp harvest, and sometimes just plain fun.

As part of the Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, I delved into this ancient ritual and the music associated with it, and I would like to share the results of my research with you in the form of a performative lecture. I am attempting a reconstruction to identify the forms of dance and to understand the symbolism and meanings inherent in the old siemieniec celebrations.

In this attempt, it is impossible to overlook the much broader context of Shrovetide, in which the siemieniec ritual is one of many significant elements of a ritual-magical nature. The cyclical nature of time, the roles we assume or reject, changes in status, acceptance within the community, the presence of strangers and masquerades during the Shrovetide period, the ceremonial commotion and anti-music, the podkoziołek, and finally the siemieniec itself will be the subjects of my reflections and questions about what we understand of the ritual today and what may still be alive and relevant.

I invite you to an event that will include a summary of the theory and knowledge I have gathered, but also practical participation. I hope that the lecture, exercises and fun – as a whole – will allow us to gain a new perspective and to experience SIEMIENIEC deeply, together and individually.

– Maciej Filipczuk extends an invitation.

Programme in three parts

I – Siemieniec – performative lecture | Maciej Filipczuk

When: 29 November 2026 (Sunday), 18.00-19.00
Where: Workshops of Culture in Lublin, Grodzka 5a, auditorium, 2nd floor
For: adults
Admission: free, limited number of places, first come, first served

Realised with the support of a scholarship from the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage.

II – Siemieniec – dance workshops | Kolektyw Obrzędowy

When: 29 November 2026 (Sunday), 19.00-19.30
Where: Workshops of Culture in Lublin, Grodzka 5a, auditorium, 2nd floor
For: adults who attended the previous lecture

III – Siemieniec dance party | Kolektyw Obrzędowy

When: 29 November 2026 (Sunday), 19.30
Where: Bałagan, Grodzka 5a
Free admission

For the siemieniec party, music will be provided by the Obrzędowy Collective, featuring:
prof. Osieł – violin
Diabeł – second violin
KSIĄŻĘ ZAPUST – basses

Accessibility

• The event takes place on the second floor without a lift (lecture and workshops) and on the raised ground floor with stairs (dance).
• Noise-cancelling headphones are available on site during the lecture.
• Let us know about your individual accessibility needs using the form.
• Read the basic accessibility information about the Workshops of Culture.
• Check out how to get there – the auditorium and Bałagan.

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Graphic design – Anna Kaźmierak