The mazurka is a Polish folk dance. Several classical composers have written examples, with the best known Fryderyk Chopin's for solo piano. In the 1920s, Karol Szymanowski wrote a set of twenty for piano.
In Swedish folk music, the quaver or eight-note polska has a similar rhythm as the mazurka, and the two dances have a common origin.
The dance was also common as a popular dance in the United States in the late 19th century. In the U.S. Southern States it was sometimes known as a Mazuka.
