The
Polka is a Central European
dance and
genre of
dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in
Bohemia, now part of the
Czech Republic. Polka remains a popular folk music genre in many European countries, and is performed by folk artists in the
Germany,
Austria,
Czech Republic,
Croatia,
Slovenia,
Switzerland, and, to a lesser extent, in parts of
Poland (
Clarinet Polka),
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Netherlands,
Hungary,
Italy,
Ukraine,
Romania, and
Slovakia. Local varieties of this dance are also found in the
Nordic countries,
United Kingdom,
France,
Ireland,
Latin America, the
French Antilles and in the
United States.