Between eggshells, coleslaw, hairpins and fork rolls
12th World Folk Festival Review INTEGRATION 2012 in Poznan / Polen
Thanks to a personal invitation from Dariusz Majchrowicz, Artistic Director of the Poznań Festival, our long-established ensemble traveled to Poland from 12 to 20 August 2012. He had been impressed by the ensemble’s artistic performance at the 2011 International Folklore Festival in Katowice.
This time around 300 dancers and musicians from five countries – Poland, Canada, Serbia, Romania, Venezuela and Germany – came together for an eventful week. We were able to present our current repertoire to audiences in Poznan and various other Polish locations as part of six joint performances. Between rehearsals and performances, costumes had to be prepared, props built, hair braided, stage make-up applied and processions danced to. The coach became the living, sleeping and party space for us 23 dancers and six musicians of the ensemble for a week. On the journeys to the various performances, all participants learned a Polish song for the final concert with the help of the Polish guides. During a meeting with students from both Polish groups, we were able to hand over information material about studying at the TUD.
After the successful performances, the long nights in the student club ended with sociable country evenings. Polish dances with “kisses”, lively Serbian step sequences, lively samba rhythms and cheerful fork roll games got everyone sweating again. Despite language barriers, the encounters with the dancers and musicians from all over the world were very impressive. Every minute, even the rides in the always overcrowded elevators to the 10th floor of the student residence, was used for flirting, talking, making music and singing. After a final concert, our ensemble traveled back to Dresden, exhausted but happy. We would especially like to thank the Society of Friends and Sponsors of the TUD, the Studentenwerk Dresden and the Technische Universität Dresden for their support. Without them, the ensemble’s participation in the festival would not be possible. …..Incidentally, an eggshell is the bottom petticoat of the dancers.
Anna Hederich & Anke Schroiff
