It is Sunday night, we enter the Concert Hall in Tbilisi all excited. We finally get to see them! And we are not going to see just any dances, but the “Sukhishvilebi”, the country's most renowned troupe back in Georgia for just one weekend in the middle of their world tour. There is a large crowd for no other reason.
Honestly, in no other country have I seen such a tight-knit following of folk dances, but who can blame them?
It starts off with a bang right away, and for an hour and a half they delight us with the most delicious dances. Step, step, turn, pirouette! Jump, split in the air and fall to the knees, get back up energetically and again strides on the toes, while the arms shake the air with decisive movements. The quick shifts can be recognized by the marked noise of each stride, while the plumage of the headgear sways sinuously with each move. The music proceeds daring and embracing, so much so that it is impossible to stop my foot from holding the rhythm along with the percussionists. How violent to have to remain seated: my whole body would like to participate in this frenetic explosion of energy!
The women take the stage. Gentle beings, they bring my emphasis back to the floor, giving me a hypnotic sense of stillness. Unlike the men and their test of strength and stamina, the women embody virtue and grace, drawing vaults with their arms and bodies wrapped in colourful robes. After all, this is how the couple Nino Ramishvili and Iliko Sukhishvili, creators of the Georgian dance, had envisioned them. The sense would be to show national identity in all its richness and variety. In fact, there are more than fifteen different types of dances, from the romantic ones in regal robes typical of Kartuli, to the skill competitions of shepherds wearing red chokhas, and again, from the war scenes typical of Adjara to the folk courtship dances.
Each choreography relates to its region of origin and interprets its local tradition as much in the values it celebrates as in the costumes and music; the resulting combinations are fascinating.
It is an exploit: the crowd is in a frenzy. People often clap in rhythm to join in the spectacle because it is impossible to remain detached. From dancers to spectators, we are united in the joyous celebration of the country.
Mamma mia. Every scene, every dance, takes my breath away, there is none that would not be worth seeing.
The show ends, but we are still all hungry and would watch them for hours on end. The standing ovation is mandatory.
Sofia Camaglia
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