{"id":4295,"date":"2012-08-07T18:14:51","date_gmt":"2012-08-08T01:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/?p=4295"},"modified":"2012-08-08T09:53:32","modified_gmt":"2012-08-08T16:53:32","slug":"paola-balkanic-eruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/2012\/08\/07\/paola-balkanic-eruption\/","title":{"rendered":"Balkanic Eruption"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fiery Fusion Flavors for Oriental, Tribal, and Gypsy Dance!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Placeholder\"<\/p>\n

by Paola Blanton<\/a>
\nposted August\t7,\t2012 <\/span><\/h3>\n

In 2007, I revisited the land of my birth, Macedonia, in order to revive my connection to its musical traditions and to produce a documentary film on the journey.\u00a0 Not only did I rediscover my passion for Balkan music and dances, but I began to fuse Balkan dance with Oriental, taking Balkan Fusion belly dance to various festivals such as WAMED, IBCC, and CID-UNESCO.\u00a0 The film, “Raq’n the Roots with Malesh Roma”, sparked a yearly festival in my hometown of Berovo.\u00a0 Now in its fifth year, the “Ethno Square” festival hosts musicians and dancers of world genres for a long weekend centered on Balkan culture –\u00a0 traditional, modern, and fusion.<\/p>\n

\"BalkanThe hot music of the Balkans has been steadily making its way into the World Music scene over the past decade, with bands like Balkan Beat Box, Slavic Soul Party, Gogol Bordello, Balkan Warehouse Orchestra<\/span>, and others showcasing its sounds throughout the underground music scene.\u00a0 These “globalized urban mashups” are a lot of fun to listen and dance to, and are gateways for some more “roots” Balkan artists to find wider appreciation.\u00a0 Goran Bregovic, Emir Kusturica, Dragan Dautovski, <\/span>Kocani Orkestar<\/span>, <\/span>Fanfare Ciocarlia<\/span>, and Boban Markovic<\/span> are just a few in a growing list of Macedonians, Serbs, Bosnians, Bulgarians and Romanians bringing the complex rhythms and celebratory spirit of this music to the world stage.<\/p>\n

When we hear the earthy drumbeats, lively melodies and evocative voices of Balkan music, we are musically transported into a Mediterranean hill culture of planting, harvesting, flocks and herds.\u00a0 The wheel of the year and the harvest are major cultural themes and the connection to the Earth’s cycles is evident in the dances, which emphasize stepping combinations in the circular format; the organic dance of communal celebration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bounty of the land bursts forth on Balkan tables, piled high with cheeses, fruits, wines, spirits and roasted meat.\u00a0 Celebrations, like weddings, are gastronomic, Dionysian affairs that go long into the night to the sounds of “tapan” drums, zurlas (a cousin of the mizmar), brass, accordions, kavals (flutes) clarinets, gajdas (bagpipes), tamburas, or violins depending on the regional influences.<\/p>\n

The Balkans are a major geographical crossroad that bridges Eastern and Western cultural influences \u2013 historically flavored by the Ottoman occupation, the amalgamation of Slavic peoples, the Romany Trail and the various European groups that traversed the region on a regular basis.\u00a0 A karsilama rhythm can pop up alongside Slavic accordion motifs or mournful gajda pipes before giving way to one of the complex local rhythms and then slowing down to Tchiftetelli.\u00a0 Or some pumped-up Gypsy Brass can spice up a traditional anthem with a DJ mixing in some ska or hip hop to make the whole thing a bit younger and clubbier, but still unmistakably Balkan.<\/p>\n

The Balkan spirit brings Mediterranean fire to Slavic earthiness to Byzantine mystery.\u00a0 Balkan music and dance weaves these elements together in the strong and purposeful rhythms and steps of the circles.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

There is hardly any upper body movement in a traditional Balkan “oro” or “kolo” \u2013 they are really foot dances.\u00a0 But the Balkan Gypsy varieties such as “chochek” bring Turkish and Greek inflections that could express through hands, shoulders, and improvisational arm attitudes that suggest ecstatic abandon and inebriation. <\/p>\n

The spirit is something quite apart from a technical consideration of the steps \u2013 it derives from a love of the music, the often bawdy lyrics, and the cultural theatricality inherent to the region.\u00a0 It’s hot, earthy, celebratory, and often tragic at the same time, just like the people, and the mood on the dance floor can often migrate through many emotions on one night.<\/p>\n

The more that Balkan music fuses to other forms, the more creative we can get with the dances.\u00a0 I like to choose music that transmits the celebratory, Dionysian mood of a wedding or drinking party \u2013 strong drums, brass, roots instruments and high spirited lyrics and voices.\u00a0 In my Balkan Fusion workshops, I feature brassy chocheks layered over heavy drums along with infectious DJ mashups that take the Gypsy to the streets with shades of hip hop, ska, or dancehall styles. <\/p>\n

The fundamental component is in the foot patterns that express the complex rhythms \u2013 to that are added moves from Oriental, jazz, tribal and other contemporary forms to interpret lyrics, melody or accents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The floor plans are based on the circular form in order to pay homage to this root, but can flow into various patterns used in folkloric troupe choreographies.\u00a0 When I go to Macedonia, I take lessons in Balkan dance and troupe choreography and observe professional folkloric troupes such as “Tanec”, the national folkloric dance troupe, in order to get ideas on how to arrange bodies in space.<\/p>\n

In a modernized version of a Balkan classic, such as a wedding chochek, we could hear Balkan drums, Turkish melodies and\/or darabuka, and Gypsy brass all in one song.\u00a0 My Balkan Fusion choreographies start with a traditional stepping combination for that particular song or rhythm, and then add hip accents, turns, stops, and arm or hand moves, if appropriate. I try to read each culture present in the song and respond to it in the choreography, but in a balanced, coherent way.\u00a0 Often I will interpret a bridge in the music with a short theatrical vignette which serves as the backdrop for interaction or improvisation.<\/p>\n

So, the base for my special mix are the footwork and floorplan that are unmistakably evident and Balkan-flavored. Spicy accent notes come from belly dance and Gypsy moves along with characterization from Greek and Turkish dances – echoing the cultural and ethnic mix of the region\u00a0 Topping Balkan Fusion off is a generous helping of high spirits evoking a balmy summer feast in the land that bridges East and West \u2013 spirited, spicy, and earthy!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n