Oct. 20th - 25th >>> Strzelewo

AROUND TRADTION 2009 - workshops of the songs of the wandering poets "Beggars Expedition" - Centre of theatrical research in Strelewo.

AROUND TRADTION 2009. Workshops of the songs of the wandering poets "Beggars Expedition"

Within the new edition of the project "Around Tradition 2009" the Theatre Kana is organising a series of several-day-long workshops of the songs of the wandering poets in the Centre of theatrical research in Strelew near to Goleniow. The workshop ends with a two-day-long "Beggars Expedition", where the group will try to reanimate the at the beginning of the 20th century quite popular tradition of the wandering singers, named "dziady" (engl.: old man, beggar).

"The wandering poets were really polular in the small villages. Their appearance in a village always was quite exiting. The "beggar" would enter the huts of the people, then speak prayers and sing religious songs, while the inhabitants were listening with devotion. Then he would start to gossip about what happened in the sourrounding towns and in the wide world, enriching his news from time to time with singing. His funcion at that time, you could say, was to be a chronist - but also, if necessary, to be a doctor, advisor or teacher."

An important aspect of our expedition will be to observe the reaction of the people to this not anymore existing tradition. Since we think that those actions can reanimate the memories of popular traditions and customs, we hope that our songs will also point out to what is nowadays missing in our society, how a society without a common identity tends to loosen the societies inner bonds.

The workshop as well as the expedition will be guided by three experienced musicians and experts of folk tradition: Jacek Halas (who is expert on the polish folk songs of the wandering poets), Remigiusz Hanaj (who is an expert on religious chant) and Siergiej Petryczenko (who is an autority of ukrainian lyrical songs).

The project "Around Tradition 2009" is financed by the program "Cultural Heritage" of the ministry of culture and national heritage.

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