Lutoslawski described the Dance Preludes as his "farewell to folklore"; in the middle 1950s he stopped writing works inspired by Polish folk music (like the Concerto for Orchestra), and adopted a more dissonant style informed by the European avant-garde. Written over the years 1954 and 1955, the Dance Preludes were premiered in Warsaw on February 15, 1955. Lutoslawski subsequently rearranged them twice: in 1955 for clarinet, string orchestra, harp, piano, and percussion, and in 1959 for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, and string quartet.

The five Preludes are uniformly light-hearted and melodic, each of them only a minute or two in length. The first, third, and fifth are quick and lively, whereas the second and fourth are slower in tempo and more melancholic in tone.

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