The dance group was originally known as "Die Holzhacker Tanzer" (The Woodchopper Dancers).  Its first performance was in Wausau, Wisconsin as part of the Wausau Log Jam festivities.  Being a German group, they were attired in Bavarian dress—lederhosen and dirndl dresses.  The group performed dances from various parts of Germany including three different forms of the "plattle" (leg slapping and kicking up of heels)—primarily Bavarian (Southern Germany) dances.

In 1994, the Pommerscher Verein of Central Wisconsin organized.  It was then that we learned that we really were Pomeranian Germans; thus, the switch to Pomeranian dress and dances.  After a six-year Tracht (authentic costume) search, we began our next journey as the Pommersche Danz Gruppe in 2000.

The Pommersche Danz Gruppe has performed in New York City’s Central Park and participated in the German-American Von Steuben Parades in New York City and Philadelphia.

The dancers perform German folk dances from their homeland, a German province named Pomerania, most of which was absorbed into Poland in 1945 at the end of WWII.  The dancers' enthusiasm and love of music and culture have made them a distinctive and popular group.

The brilliant colors of the Danz Gruppe’s authentic costumes, the "Jamunder Tracht," catch your eye as they perform such numbers as the Putt Yenter and Sauerlander Quadrille.  The Quadrille depicts the workings of a cuckoo clock.  As with many dances and customs, Quadrilles first became popular at the royal courts and then adopted by the general public.  Later, Quadrilles became unique to northern Germans.  Each area developed their own versions, as well as their own descriptive names.  The dancers do a number known as "Schwartzbrot" (Black Bread)—a type of quadrille that may have been done in the royal courts.

They perform both couple and group dances in a varied program.  Of particular interest is the Wadmal, an interpretive dance of a weaving loom.  The four dance parts consist of threading the loom, weaving (as a shuttle), stretching the yarn, and winding the yarn into a ball, and concluding with the unwinding of the ball.  Most folk dances have their own meaning and tell a story.

The Danz Gruppe’s repertoire also includes the Stettiner Kreuz (Stettin Cross)—a very elegant dance, first performed by the royal courts as mentioned above.  In contrast to the Stettiner Kreuz, is the Hammerschmidt's Gesell (Blacksmith's Journeyman).  One of the most important men in the old world was the village blacksmith.  The name implies that the dancers are journeymen smiths, in a broader sense the word "Gesellen" means buddies or companions.  One member of the dance group hammers on an anvil, keeping the beat, as the dance is performed.  This number is not done with finesse, but rather, they appear to be "klutzy" (clumsy).

Wherever the Danz Gruppe appears, their musical performance strikes up a happy feeling with all people—Gemütlichkeit!

In 2025, Danz Gruppe founder, instructor and director DuWayne H. Zamzow stepped down as director and was succeeded by Jane Braatz.

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