What is "polonaises"

n. (plural of polonaise English)

Most of Frédéric Chopin's polonaises were written for solo piano. He wrote his first polonaise in 1817, when he was 7; his last was the Polonaise-Fantaisie of 1846, three years before his death. Among the best known polonaises are the "Military" Polonaise in A, Op. 40, No. 1, and the "Heroic" or "Drum" Polonaise in A, Op. 53.

There is also the Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E, Op. 22, for piano and orchestra, which also exists in a solo piano version; and the Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3, for cello and piano.