Body music from the Balkans conquers Europe! If the statement sounds excessive, you should know we are performing and teaching in thirteen countries this year (and still counting), in some major world music and folklore festivals. We couldn’t be more grateful to the MOST Music project, that gave us the opportunity to connect and explore. And there was some hard work from our side, as well.
In May we will have our first appearance at the Music Meeting festival: on May 18, we will lead a workshop and perform a concert for the whole family in the Mini Meeting program. On May 19, we have the opportunity to perform in All Ears session. This program includes an interview and a mini-concert, and gives the audience the opportunity to get to know us and our work.
On the way to the Netherlands, we will stop in Munich, where we will hold a workshop on May 15 at Kulturzentrum Giesinger Bahnhof – you can register here.
At the end of the month we are on the road again! On May 28, we have a double performance, a concert of Balkan music and Mirror with sound, a music and dance theater performance created in co-production with the Rozbark Theater and the Krakow Academy of Theater Arts (Bytom branch). Then we continue to Krakow, where we will perform a concert with the Polish duo CISI and a two-day workshop in the wonderful space of Kontakt in the center of Krakow. You can apply here.
A new video will be released on May 22! The collaboration with the CISI duo came quite spontaneously, while we were at the residency in Bytom. Łukasz Malok, double bass player and music producer, suggested that we spend one afternoon in his home studio, away from the residency work. With him and Julia Lewandovska, singer, dancer and painter, we have already collaborated in the Rozbark theater and enjoyed working together. He played us a song he was working on at the time and suggested we contribute. Marko played body percussion. For the basic words, we chose the proverb Ko peva zlo ne misli – Who sings means no evil. And so a new song was born!
We recorded the video after a few days – and you will find out how it all sounds and looks on May 22 on our YouTube channel. Subscribe here.
See you this Avgust at the New Balkan Rhythm festival? Read more here and apply.
Photo: David Vannucci
Balkan body music in April at the Balkan Trafik festival in Brussels
It is an understatement to say that we had a successful concert at the Balkan Trafik Festival: the audience was delighted! We found out that we also have fans in Brussels, who remember us from the Zu Tisch ARTE TV show.
After the concert, we talked to Bronwin Jones for New Perspektiva, a web portal from Kosovo about body music, female leads in Balkans, and more. We will share the article with you as soon as it is available.
On the first day in Brussels, in the morning, we performed parts of the music theater play Kiss at the children’s hospital L’Hopital des Enfants – Kinderziekenhuis for two groups of kids. We are grateful for the opportunity to brighten the rainy day and bring joy.
In the afternoon we traveled to Leuven for a guest appearance on the Radio 1 Culture Club show. Apart from the interview, we conducted a quick workshop with the audience of the radio show. About fifty Belgians accompanied us by clapping and rhythmically chanting “Bil, bil, bul, bul”, while we performed the song Mene majka jednu ima. Listen to this part of the show on the link, it’s very entertaining!
The trip to Belgium was supported by the Ministry of Culture through the mobility fund and the MOST Music project. This was the last event of this great project, in which we were participants for about a year and a half. Check out the MOST Music guide.
Performances and workshops in Ljubljana
On the way to Belgium, we stopped in Slovenia to hold a workshop and concert in Ljubljana, thanks to our booking agent in Slovenia, Helena Jarm.
Alice in WonderBand’s body music in the media
We were guests on Radio Študent‘s Flight Control radio show with Biljana Žikić and on the Balkan Express show on Radio Žica with Enes Hodžić.
Thank you very much for the announcements of our events to the Italian world music portal Blogfoolk.
Photo: Benjamin Barbarič
Workshops
05/12 Belgrade, Kuća umetnica
05/15 Munich, Kulturzentrum Giesinger Bahnhof
06/01, 06/02 Krakow, Kontakt. Przestrzeń Ruchu, Tańca i Muzyki
06/09 Belgrade
07/12, 07/13 Kaustinen Folk Music Festival
08/11 Smolenice Castle
08/13 Přerov, Blues nad Bečvou
08/17 World music festival Bratislava
08/30 – 09/01 Sremski Karlovci, New Balkan Rhythm festival
10/12 Zagreb, seminar for teachers
Concerts
05/18, 05/19 Music Meeting festival, Nijmegen, Netherlands
05/29 Teatr Rozbark, Bytom, Poland
06/12 – 06/23 Tour in Slovakia, more info soon
07/06 Folkest World Music Showcase, San Daniele, Italy
07/12, 07/13 Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, more info soon
07/26 Musical Picnics concert series, Trenčin, Slovakia
07/20, 07/21 Trefpunt festival, Ghent, Belgium
08/10 Maraton hudby, Brno, Czech Republic
08/11 Smolenice Castle, Slovakia
08/13 Blues nad Bečvou, Přerov, Czech Republic
08/16 World Music Festival Bratislava, Slovakia
08/23 Bedem fest, Nikšić, Montenegro
08/24 Etno Urban Fest, Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia
08/31 New Balkan Rhythm festival, Sremski Karlovci, Serbia
09/22 St. Gallen, Switzerland