Author: zaraAn

Country: Iran 

Director: Kazem Pahlavan Hamzanlouei

Hawalan in kurdish language and local language means friends. Kermanj is the name of a race and a part of the Kurdish culture that we live in Northeastern Iran. This group was formed in the year 94 in Bojnourd, the capital of North Khorasan province. The roots and the philosophy of our traditional clothing are derived from the culture, geography and beliefs of the mountain people. Due to the limitations for the number of people, we can perform only some parts of our traditional dances at the festival. Our dance and music are rooted in the culture of the mountain people. There is a feeling of fluttering and flying in our dance, it starts in slow rhythm and then ends in a slow rhythm. Our wind instruments are made of reeds and even eagle’s wing bones.

Media channels:

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/havalan.group/

Participation in the Solo/Couple category

Country: Indonesia

Director: Amanah Asri

Nona Asri Indonesia was founded in 2014 in Jaсkarta, the capital of Indonesia, and has participated in many  folklore festivals around Indonesia and abroad in Asia, America, Africa, and Europe.

Awards and distinctions (6 of the most prestigious awards at the discretion of the ensemble):

1. Finalist and Best Costume in Nomad World Folk Vision in Kyrgyzstan 2018
2. Best Culture in International Folk Festival in Nepal 2017
3. Best performance in Folk Festival Catalonia in Spain 2016
4. Best traditional dance music in International Festival in Poland 2016
5. Best traditional dance and music in Folk Festival in the Netherlands 2014
6. Performances in the presidential palace of Indonesia

Media channels:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nonaasriindonesiaculture/

Participation in the Solo/Couple category

Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Director: Milan Cvoro

Cultural Artistic Association “Mladost” came into existence in 1953 in Pale, a little town ensconced between the historical mountain Romania and the Olympic mountain Jahorina, recognized for the hospitality and cordiality of its inhabitants. The club’s mission is to uphold authentic folklore tradition and culture through dances, songs and folk costumes.

The club’s program objectives: promotion of folklore tradition, amassing and preservation of folk costumes, fostering of music culture and reclaiming the authentic popular songs and instruments from obscurity (guzzle, flute, twin-flute), formation of hobby groups, cultivating inter-city cultural exchange with the countries and friends of our peoples.

Cultural club “Mladost” Pale is the ambassador of culture of this Olympic and ecologically spotless part of the country. The club educates generations of folklore dancers, musicians and singers who are advancing our customs and promoting them with success at festivals around the world.

Media channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kudmladostpale/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kud_mladost_pale/

Participation in the Solo/Couple category

Country: Georgia

Director: Zurab Grigoriani and Dali Nalikashvili

In the Georgian city of Gori in 1995 Georgian National Dance Company “Shevardeni” was established. “Shevardeni” is distinguished by its diversity, high executive skills, which is evident by the many diplomas, awards or distinctions that have been awarded to the company and its managers over the years. The company follows the footsteps of the Georgian choreographic traditions and has an interesting repertoire that is as diverse as the Georgian nature. Some of the dances are: “Davlur-kartuli”, “Khorumi”, “Partsa”, “Samaya”, “Adjaruli”, “Mtiuluri”, “hevsuruli”, “kinturi”, “Kavkasiuri” and others.

“Shevardeni” has also had successful tours abroad – Romania, Poland, Turkey, Hungary, Germany, Egypt, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Poland.

In 2002, for the 10th anniversary of the founding and creative work of Shevardeni, the Ministry of Culture of Georgia awarded the troupe with the title of National Troupe and choreographer Zurab Grigoriani with the Order of Honor for their efforts in the development and popularization of the Georgian choreography art. The ensemble consists of 2 different age categories of dances: juniors 5-12 years and juniors group 13-17 years. The ensemble is also a laureate of republican and international festivals in Tbilisi and Batumi.

Media channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanceCompanyShevardeni

Participation in the Ensembles category and the Solo/Couple category

Country: Romania

Director: Iuliana Maria Dragos

The Transylvania National Folkloric Ensemble, based in Baia Mare, Maramureş County, was founded in 1959 as an integral part of the Professional State Ensemble and since 1970 as an institution with legal personality and a self-standing program.

The justification of its establishment lies in the valorisation of the rich folkloric traditions of the Romanian people, preserved from generation to generation, in a form unaltered to the present day.

The Transylvanian ensemble performs this holy mission, displaying high authenticity and spiritual fascination, roaming four of the five continents of the earth. Its whole activity is to capitalize on the traditional national folklore of the entire ethno geographical space of Romania, becoming the representative ensemble of this space.

The ensemble consists of:

– folk orchestra with a virtuosity of their instrumentalists in violin, accordion, clarinet, taragot, nai and other popular instruments

– a body of dancers fascinated by the force, authentic and choreographic sensitivity through which it valorizes the variety of dance of different ethno-folkloric areas of the country

– vocal soloists with a predominance of beautiful voices and the predominant style of the authentic zone that represents it. It is enough to recall that we also have laureates from world festivals.

A special note presents the costumes, which are the jewels of hand-made folk art through the chromatic footprint of the local folk-style, which is in full harmony with the repertoire. They shine through authenticity, color and elegance.

Those who see their shows, do not forget them. The evidence is their frequent appearance in public, on television, large-scale national events, radio recordings, discs, and popular CDs. The Transylvania National Folkloric Ensemble is more and more a representative of Romania in international, cultural and artistic events, which is a reason for pride and certainty of the value it represents.

Media channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ansamblultransilvania

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ansamblultransilvania/

Website: http://ansamblultransilvania.ro/

Participation in the Solo/Couple category

Country: India

Director: Dr. Davinder Singh Chhina

Punjab Cultural Promotion Council Folk Ensemble (PCPC)  led by director, Dr Davinder Singh Chhina, has mesmerized the international audience all around the world such as Europe, Australia, Doha, Qatar and South Korea since 2001. PCPC folk artists exhibit the most colorful and exotic folk dances from the folkloric state Punjab, north of India. Punjab is better known in the world for “the golden temple, amritsar”, the spiritual place of world harmony and multiculturalism. Its repertoire includes the vibrant bhangra folk dance, gidha dance, malvai-gidha, boliyan and folk instruments such as tomba, toombi, bugchu, dhadd, chimta and dhol. The Punjabi music and choreography is performed by boys and girls.  The folk ensemble has a record breaking 125 world folk participations, with the mission to encourage the culture of peace through its performances.

Media channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Punjab-Cultural-Promotion-Council-41539802431/

Participation in the Solo/Couple category

Country: Lithuania

Director: Darius Daknys

The folk ensemble “Salduvė” at Šiauliai City Culture Centre “Laiptų galerija” was founded in 1986. The ensemble was named after a historical medieval hill-fort called Salduvė Hill located on the eastern outskirts of Šiauliai city. Šiauliai is the center of the county whose territory embraces two bordering Lithuanian ethnic areas: Aukštaitija (Higher Lithuania) and Žemaitija (Samogitia).

Therefore, the repertoire of “Salduvė” consists mainly of songs, dances, instrumental music, games and story-telling originating from these two regions, as well as calendar songs, romances from other Lithuanian ethnographic regions, and contemporary folklore interpretations.

More than 20 participants play music, dance, and sing in the ensemble. Members of the “Salduvė” instrumental group play various Lithuanian folk instruments: violins, bandoneon, basedla (three-stringed folk double-bass), diatonic button accordion, goathorn, lamzdelis (a type of recorder), skudučiai (multi-pipes whistles), daudytės , ragai (wooden trumpets), birbynė (reed-pipe), drum, etc. Members of the folklore ensemble wear national costumes of the ethnographic regions of Aukštaitija and Žemaitija, which are replicas of 19th century clothes preserved in museums.

“Salduvė” delivers many concerts, cherishes and disseminates Lithuanian folk music, choreography and narrative folklore not only in Šiauliai, but also all throughout Lithuania.

The folklore ensemble successfully performed abroad: in Latvia (1993, 2005, 2008, 2013), Czech Republic (1997), Hungary (1998, 2007), Great Britain (1998, 2004), Estonia (1999, 2003, 2010), Denmark (2000, 2013), Portugal (2002, 2009), Spain (2009), Slovakia (2003), Greece (2006), Turkey (2008), Germany (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018), Poland (2016).

“Salduvė” has released 6 music albums and repeatedly participated in Lithuanian radios and television programs.

In 2008, the ensemble “Salduvė” was awarded the nomination as the best Lithuanian city folk ensemble for its excellent creative achievements and received the “Golden Bird” prize.

The ensemble contributes to the organization of the international folk contest-festival “The Flower of the Sun” (“Saulės žiedas”).

Media channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/folkSalduve

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Dz6amvxJ9FY32kcdfBEGa?si=xEMqCbWgSR2VFiWoBbktug

Participation in the Solo/Couple category