Dr. hab. Klaudia Carlos-Machej is a Professor and has served as Dean of the Faculty of Dance at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw (UMFC) since 2019. She holds dual doctorates as Doctor of Humanities and Doctor of Musical Arts, and is an accomplished dancer and choreographer specializing in Polish national dances. Her academic foundation includes a degree in ballet pedagogy from UMFC (1995), postgraduate studies in journalism at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (2001), and Postgraduate Studies in Cultural Management at the Polish Academy of Sciences (2017). As a lecturer at UMFC since 1995, she served as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Choral Conducting, Music Education, Church Music, Rhythm and Dance from 2012-2019 before becoming Dean. Professor Carlos-Machej's research focuses on dance education, Polish national dances, and the historical relationship between music and dance. Her work explores dance as cultural heritage, particularly during Poland's partition era, examining how traditional forms like polonaise, krakowiak, kujawiak, and oberek functioned as expressions of national identity. She has documented the influence of Russian classical dance traditions on Polish ballet education and investigated the philosophical dimensions of dance in antiquity. Her publications from 2014-2024 demonstrate consistent scholarly output, with her most recent work examining the relationship between dance and music during Poland's loss of statehood (1795-1918). She has also edited significant dance publications including comprehensive guides to Polish dances. As an educator and administrator, she has been conceptually responsible for the Polish Dance Forum since 2014, an important periodic event at UMFC that serves as a platform for dance scholarship and performance in Poland. Her professional background includes extensive performance experience as a dancer with the T. Sygietyński State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble 'Mazowsze' (1990-1995) and as a mime dancer and dance teacher at the Warsaw Chamber Opera (1996-2011), where she performed solo parts in numerous productions including works by Mozart, Telemann, Monteverdi, and Tchaikovsky. Additionally, Professor Carlos-Machej has maintained a parallel career in media since 1994 as a journalist and TV presenter across multiple Polish networks, creating programs that promote dance and music, including the Baletownik series on TVP Kultura featuring prominent Polish dancers.
