Witold Gruca was born on August 15, 1927 in Kraków into a wealthy and eccentric family, especially for those times. Raised in the company of older sisters, he did not define toys or clothes through the prism of gender and willingly put on dresses, which, combined with his long, curly hair, meant that he was often mistaken for a girl, not a boy. – I loved dressing up, especially in my sisters’ dresses that fit me. Only later did the girls explain to me that I was a boy and should wear trousers, he said in one of the interviews.
He was the most famous ballet dancer and choreographer in Poland. This is how Witold Gruca started his career
He showed artistic talents from an early age. – Since I was a child, dancing has been an important element of my life – he said. However, he began taking professional ballet lessons only when he was 14, participating in secret classes. He quickly began performing at the Opole Land Theater, and then in the largest opera houses in the country. His popularity skyrocketed when, together with Barbara Bittnerówna, he created the duet “Arabeska”. Together they won the Dance Competition in Vercelli, receiving the Primo Premio Assoluto award, which became his ticket to a foreign career. He danced for many famous personalities, including: for the British Royal Family in Covent Garden, London. He was also the first to appear on Polish television and he also successfully fulfilled himself as an actor, playing in productions such as “I am a butterfly, or the romance of a forty-year-old” or . Later, he joined the cast of the capital’s Grand Theater as a soloist, and then began creating choreographies that delighted not only viewers, but also critics.
Nature gave him enormous talent and beautiful external conditions. All of his ballet creations were also wonderful dramatic or comedic roles
– Witold Sadowy wrote about him.
The actor, who was a decade older, was the love of his life. Then Gruca married a singer he met at the theater
Although Gruca had many admirers, he was in love with another man for years. He met Jerzy Pietraszkiewicz, who was a decade older than him, when he came to one of the Poznań Opera Houses, where he was performing at the time. Mutual fascination quickly turned into a hot feeling that they did not want to hide.
He was a beautiful, tall man with whom I was head over heels in love. He awakened me intellectually. He led tours of various theaters
– he recalled the beginnings of this friendship in the book “Grand jété, i.e. the great leap”. After moving to the capital, they lived together in Saska Kępa, but it is no secret that the actor was not faithful to him. he resented him for it, but he didn’t reproach him because he had already started dating Alina Bolechowska, a singer of the Teatr Wielki, whom he soon… married. Their marriage was not a successful one and quickly ended in divorce. Then he returned to Pietraszkiewicz, hoping that they would arrange their lives, but the initial idyll was gone forever. After some time, he reconnected with his ex-wife and they got married again. What’s more, the artist even became pregnant with him. He was happy because he dreamed of becoming a father and happily awaited the birth. Bolechowska, however, had a different vision of the future. – It ended badly. I went to a dance competition in Moscow, and when I came back, Alina was lying in bed and confessed that she had just had surgery. She was persuaded to have an abortion by the biggest lesbian in Poland, who was visited by various, sometimes outstanding, sometimes very famous women – he recalled years later, adding that after that he could no longer be with her. – I took my things. I told Alina that I couldn’t be with the murderer of my child, he added.
He thought that his broken heart would heal in Pietraszkiewicz’s arms, but Pietraszkiewicz did not take him under his roof because he was already sharing it with another man. After him, Gruca had several more partners, also abroad, but he could not find happiness with any of them. He also struggled with an alcohol problem for a long time. – This disease was nasty! I don’t even know how it started. I lost about five years. This is my only regret. Theaters closed to me because I was a drunkard – he talked about the most difficult moments. He spent the last years of his life in , where he died on July 11, 2009. If you feel like it, vote in our poll below.
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Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
