An Evening of National Arts

28.07.2010

Tonight, at the children’s creative camp, we hosted an Evening of National Arts, where our guests from India and Bulgaria presented their countries, introduced us to their cultures, and performed some traditional dances. Judy Sri shared, “India is a land of vibrant colors, emotions, smiles, aromas, ancient traditions, incredible legends, and the mysteries of the East. Located in South Asia, it is the seventh largest country in the world by area and the second most populous, home to approximately 1.5 billion people. About one and a half billion people live in our country. India is a federal republic composed of 28 states, six union Territories, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The ritual dance art of India originated in ancient times and for a long time belonged to temple monks. Dance was considered a divine phenomenon, a gift from the gods to mankind. There are eight classical Indian dances in total. Among them: Bharatanatyam in the state of Tamil Nadu, Kathakali and Mohiniyattam in Kerala, Kathak in Uttar Pradesh, Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh, Manipuri in Manipur, Odissi in Odisha, and Sattriya in Assam. We come from the city of Kudankulam. We are very fortunate, because in our school, we study the culture and classical dances of all of India, as well as its western region. The dances of western India are very similar to modern European dances, but they still incorporate some classical movements. Today we presented four dances for you – one classical and three modern ones. Roje performed Bharatanatyam – the dance of God. Of all the styles of Indian classical dance, it is considered the oldest. Bharatanatyam is a prayer and a conversation dance, performed by devadasis in Shiva temples. The word “Bharatanatyam” itself translates as “Indian dance.” It is very complex, requiring years of training and strict adherence to ancient traditions, it takes several years to learn. As for Shiva, Kumar, and myself, we demonstrated dances from the Western India. The first was about a magical guardian who protects good people from bad deeds, the second about a lonely person who leads an idle life but deep inside wants to find his one and only, and my dance, the third one, was about a beautiful young girl and the wonderful world around her. We were very pleased to perform, all the kids really enjoyed our dances and everyone gave us a standing ovation again.” Victor from Bulgaria continued, “We come from the small but beautiful country of Bulgaria. In our national anthem, we sing about a paradise on earth – our beloved homeland, its majestic mountains and the blue Danube, Thrace and Pirin. Today we talked about Bulgarian culture and its traditions, historical and architectural monuments, summer resorts on the Black Sea, and winter resorts in Pamporovo and Bansko. We also spoke about traditional Bulgarian cuisine. You have to try it! We cook almost everything on low heat, which allows us to preserve all the nutritional properties of the products and achieve a pleasant aroma and original flavor combinations in our dishes. Everything is so delicious – you’ll long for more! Bulgaria is a multinational country, home to different ethnic groups, and our culture is quite interesting and diverse. We tried to present all this in our performance today. First, together with our chaperone Elvira Damyanova, we showed the Dunavsko Pravo Horo – this is a national Bulgarian dance that is well-known to everyone in our country, from young to old. Then we performed the Greek Sirtaki – after all, the Greeks are our southern neighbors, and we simply couldn’t help but introduce you to their oriental rhythms. We are very happy with the warm welcome we have received here. It’s very pleasant when the audience greets each of our appearances on stage with a standing ovation and applause.” The concert ended in a rather unusual way again. Just when everyone thought it was time to leave, the Bulgarian trio unexpectedly started dancing to the catchy hit We No Speak Americano. “These guys are completely uninhibited!” smiled Maxim Nedolechko, the project’s choreographer. “Just look at what they’re doing!” By this time, the entire audience was on stage. The children were smiling, laughing, hugging, and dancing, dancing and dancing. It was completely impossible to stop them!