"When I moved to Warsaw I immediately wanted to find my fellow Belarusians," recalls Natalka Hapanovich, a Belarusian engineer who fled Minsk in the wake of violent crackdowns following the country's disputed 2020 election. "I felt sadness for my homeland."
Hapanovich is a co-founder of the School of Belarusian Traditional Culture in Warsaw. She explained to RFE/RL's Belarus Service how the organization was founded one year ago.
"We started getting to know other Belarusians during rallies [of Belarusians in Warsaw protesting the violence in their home country]. Then I went to a Christmas event organized by émigrés. I met some girls there and after the party was over we just stayed on and played songs, and such a warm community was created."
As Hapanovich and others sang and danced during the impromptu after-party, pipers playing traditional bagpipes then joined in.
That was the moment, Hapanovich said, "we decided, 'Let's open a school.' And we began to develop and grow followers.... People wanted to volunteer to help."
The school, teaching Belarusian singing, dance, clothes making, and how to play the country's traditional bagpipes, opened on September 11, 2022. "I hope we bring joy to people," Hapanovich said.
More than 50,000 Belarusians are resident in Poland, a number that has more than doubled since 2020.
Five volunteers work on organizing the school. "We do all this in our spare time," Hapanovich told RFE/RL's Belarus Service. "The most difficult thing is that we are often exhausted. I'm eager to do all of this but I have very little energy after work. But somehow we back each other up and try to coordinate things."
Hapanovich says the dance classes in particular are of interest to Poles.
"Many guys come to the dances now, both to bond with each other, and to find a Belarusian girl. When [Polish] people come, they say: 'Oh, wow! I didn't know Belarusian dances are like that. I thought it was some turns and that's it, but actually they are very complex....' Traditional Polish dances, such as the mazurka, are simpler in terms of movements, so our dances are very interesting for [Polish visitors to the school]."
Singing classes, she says, serve as a kind of therapy for some.
"Singing, especially folk songs, gives relief through the body, in particular, it reduces tension," Hapanovich claimed.
As for whether it's necessary to have talent or prior knowledge of singing and dancing, the school's co-founder says that "you only need to have the desire. I've yet to meet Belarusians who can't dance, or who sing badly. Everyone can sing, everyone has the opportunity to learn to dance. We're not trying to win any contests or to train professionals. Our goal is only to support our traditions."
The lessons are run on a shoestring budget. In bagpipe classes, students are required to bring their own instruments, or they can take turns with an instructor's bagpipes. In the clothes-making lessons, students bring their own material, which they learn to cut and stitch into traditional Belarusian shirts, skirts and belts.
Classes are held in a Warsaw museum, as the school does not yet have its own premises.
"We have plans to acquire our own space and to provide materials for the students, but for this we need financing," Hapanovich said. "We applied for some grants, but so far we haven't had any success. But we're staying positive, Belarusian and Polish associations help us a lot."
The unpaid work, Hapanovich says, is worth it when she sees the positivity it provides other people.
"Like me, they arrive after work burdened by worry and stress and dragging their feet, then after dancing for two hours, you prance home satisfied, all your worries disappear."
"I didn't expect this, but I feel that the more I immerse myself in Belarusian culture, the more it gives me strength," she said.
"We were told that Belarusian culture is somehow backward, ugly, and inappropriate, that we don't need it. But when you start to delve into it all, you understand who you are, who your ancestors were, who your relatives are, what they could do, what they achieved. And that gives me strength."
