Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances were written at the request of famed German music publisher Fritz Simrock. The original set of eight dances was initially composed as a set of piano duets, but was then reworked for orchestra as a result of the popularity of the piece. Eight years after the first set of traditional Bohemian dances was published, Dvorak returned and composed a further eight dances. Both sets contain frequent use of traditional Czech dances such as the polka, kolo, sousedsky, and dumky.