10th Festival of World Cultures "Window onto the World"
Programme:
13 JULY / THURSDAY
6 p.m. Opening of the Festival. Jakaterina Saveljeva Exhibition preview / St John’s Centre
Jekaterina Saveljeva was born in Narva, Soviet Estonia, grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, was based in Ireland for the last 10 years and is currently living in Gdynia. Jekaterina began her career in Ireland, working with local Irish newspapers. In 2012 she began doing freelance work for the New York Times. The same year she was awarded the Simon Cumbers Media Fund to work on a story in Tanzania.
She is the founder of femLENS, an organisation focusing on providing documentary photography workshops to women from disadvantaged communities.
06:30 p.m.MiraMundo (Brazil, Italy, Spain, Mexico) / St. John’s Centre
Luiz Murá, composer of the Brazilian, Japanese, Portuguese and Italian descent, decided to leave his homeland to look for roots and links with Brazilian music in various parts of the world. In Barcelona he met Agostino Arango (Italy), Desirée Garcia Miras (Spain) and Ernesto Vargas (Mexico), musicians born in different countries who have contributed their cultural heritage and passion for performing, travellinga and cooperation with artists from around the world.
The band’s music is a combination of basics of Brazilian popular music and bossa nova with various rhythms and styles that can be found in the multicultural Barcelona.
14 July / Friday / St. John’s Centre
06:00 p.m. Naxos Orchestra (Greece, Yemen, Syria, Israel, Poland)
The Orchestra combines the culture of the Balkans and Middle East; its members are artists from different countries who have settled in Poland permanently. The band was created in 2012 on the initiative of Milo Kurtis and Konstanty Joriadis. The artists’ cooperation led to the release of the album titled “Podróż Dokoła Mózgu” (“Journey Around the Brain”), named one of the Events of the Year 2014 by “Polityka” weekly.
NAXOS Orchestra lineup: Konstanty Joriadis - music director, synthesisers, vocals, (Rasm Al-Mashan - vocals, Apostolis Anthimos - guitar, bouzouki, Lena Romul - saxophone, Piotr Olszewski - bass, Kamil Siciak - drums, Adeb Chamoun - percussion, Anna Patynek - percussion, Michal Przytuła - sound, Milo Kurtis - demiurge, clarinet, trembita, percussion
07:30 p.m. Dobroto (Ukraine/Poland)
DOBROTO is a combination of Ukrainian singing style with melodies and rhythms of the Balkans–Middle East region, traditional Ukrainian and Lemko songs in new melodic arrangements along with original compositions. In the autumn of 2016 the group released their debut album with eleven tracks. Most pieces are Ukrainian folk songs with various character: ceremonial, humorous and women’s songs as well as ballads.
Line-up: Daria Pełeńska - vocals, violin, Ewa Mandryk - vocals Marta Hnat - vocals, Natalia Czekała - piano, Patryk Walczak - accordion, Krzysztof Guzewicz - Indian tabla, frame drums, tonbak, darbuka, udu, cajon, Artur Siejka - double bass
15 JULY / SATURDAY
12:00 p.m. “Sweet Turkey” cooking workshop / Old Town Hall
“Tastes of Turkey” is a two-day workshop for young and adult participants who want to learn how to make popular and easy Turkish dishes. On the first day, we will try some sweet recipes. We will present the essence of Turkish desserts, which are served in modest-sized portions since they are far sweeter than most Polish delicacies. We will learn a bit and have lots of fun.
Instructor: Anna Fatma Ciftci, born in Poland, but raised in Istambul. Turkey was her first world. When she was 7, she returned to Gdańsk and settled there permanently. Event co-organised with the Polish-Turkish Society. Limited number of participants.
01:00 p.m. Intergenerational theatre workshops “Common City” / Old Town Hall
Intercultural and intergenerational theatre workshops whose leading theme is openness, empathy and appreciation of diversity in the city.
During the joint fun and improvisation we will move the boundaries to experience moments of personal and social freedom. We invite the city residents, people of all ages and of different cultural backgrounds, to join in.
The workshop will be run by Rita Jankowska, founder of “Błękitna Sukienka” Theatre and author of theatre and community projects involving Gdańsk residents.
Participants are required to sign up: zrobmysztuke@use.pl.
03:00 p.m. Dance workshop: Zumba around the world / square in front of the Old Town Hall
ZUMBA is an innovative combination of dance and fitness training. Each class is great fun and hundreds of calories burned. Everyone can follow the simple steps and have fun dancing to music from around the world instead of doing monotonous workout. Zumba shapes shapes your body, keeps you fit and lifts your spirit.
The workshop will be run by Ania Cegłowska (with Proyecto formation) – dancer, one of the first Zumba Fitness instructors in Poland (the first in Pomerania) and its keen promoter. She teaches regular classes in Tricity and appears as a presenter at marathons and other events around Poland. Proyecto – dance formation led by Ania Cegłowska, inspired by the rich culture of Latin America and its most contemporary dance form – Reggaeton.
07:00 p.m. ŜANĜO (Poland) / St. John’s Centre
The group presents World Music compositions and dance. The idea behind the group’s creative activities is to present elements of tradition of all the world’s continents as an integrated community. The band members are globetrotters learning from the African, American, Asian, Australian and European masters. The concert programme includes the band’s own compositions inspired by the diversity music world cultures.
08:30 p.m. Greek Jazz Trio-Ares Chadzinikolau (Greece, Poland) / St. John’s Centre
The group combines Greek tradition, folk and contemporary jazz with a touch of Polish piano music to produce a new musical quality, high in energy and emotion, integrating various cultural influences. Its charismatic leader is Ares Chadzinikolau – a Greek of Polish origin, musician and poet.
16 JULY / SUNDAY
12:00 p.m. “Savoury Turkey” cooking workshop / Old Town Hall
“Tastes of Turkey", day two: let us try some savoury recipes. These dishes are served in Turkey as a starter or part of the main course.
Instructor: Anna Fatma Ciftci. Limited number of participants.
01:00 p.m. Intergenerational theatre workshops “Common City” / Old Town Hall
Day two (participants are required to sign up: zrobmysztuke@use.pl)
The workshops will be run by Rita Jankowska
07:00 p.m. Čači Vorba (Poland) / St. John’s Centre
This group is seen as one of the leading Polish folk performers of the last few years. Čači Vorba has already played more than 400 concerts in 20 countries. The group’s music is an original mixture of traditions (Gypsy, Balkan and Carpathian), own compositions and remakes, drawing on jazz, rock, classical or film music.
The vocalist and violinist Maria Natanson, freely moving between the different traditional vocal techniques, is also one of the few non-Romani artists creating their own lyrics and singing in this language.
Lineup: Maria Natanson - vocals, violin, kamancheh, Rafał Gontarski - accordion, Piotr Majczyna - bouzouki, mandola, guitar, vocals, Robert Brzozowski - double bass, Stanislaw Siedlaczek - percussion
08:30 p.m. 3-0-3 Tango Fusion (Argentina) / Centrum św. John’s Centre
3-0-3 (pronounced “tresotres”) TANGO FUSION was created in 1996 in Buenos Aires (Argentina), founded by Hernán Valencia (pianist/composer/producer) and Gerardo Solnie (percussion/producer). The Latino-jazz roots define the band’s style, also containing elements of tango, milonga, Argentinian folk, funk, rap or Afro Cuban style. In 1999 the group released their first album titled “Musica Con Buenos Aires”, containing original compositions and arrangements by Hernan Valencia.
Line-up: Hernan Valencia – piano, Gerardo Solnie – percussion, Pablo Nemirovsky – bandoneon, Cy Leo – harmonica (guest appearance), Jakub Klemensiewicz – saxophone/clarinet
Venues:
St. John's Centre, Świętojańska 50 | Gdańsk
Old Town Hall, Korzenna 33/35 | Gdańsk.
Tickets:
13 July: concessionary PLN 15 / regular PLN 30
14, 15, 16 July (2 concerts): concessionary: PLN 20 / regular: PLN 40
Multiple entry ticket: concessionary: PLN 50 / regular: PLN 100
Tickets available at:
interticket.pl / PWN Bookstore (ul. Korzenna 33/35) / one hour before the concerts in St. John's Centre (Gdańsk, ul. Świętojańska 50)
Concessionary tickets are available for students, pensioners, as well as “Karta do Kultury” card and Euro 26 Card holders. When purchasing a concessionary ticket, a document entitling the holder to such discount must be shown.
Please note that the festival events will be recorded by a photographer and camera crew for documentation and promotion purposes. By attending the event, participants consent to the use of their image for the aforementioned purposes.
