Bulgarian folk dancers Ensemble Sofia 6 perform Thursday at Capitol Kitchen during a press conference for the Mariana Islands International Dance and Art Festival.
HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The inaugural Mariana Islands International Dance and Art Festival kicks off tonight with its first set of performances and showcases at Astumbo Gym in Dededo.
This weekend, the island will get the chance not only to see local arts and dance on display, but also to be exposed to international folk dance groups. MIIDAF is a never-before-seen event put on by the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency.
CAHA Executive Director Sandy Flores explained in a press conference Thursday at Capitol Kitchen that the festival is the “beginning of something really important for artists and our community.”
The two folk dance groups invited to perform at MIIDAF are the Ryu Dance Company from South Korea and Ensemble Sofia 6 from Bulgaria, who, after Flores’ introductory statements, expressed their desire to share their culture through dance.
After the groups gave the media a glimpse of what the community can expect through a short performance, Ensemble Sofia 6 told those in attendance that MIIDAF will “feel the energy.”
“When we perform, (we) will show you only a small piece of our folklore, but we are sure that you will feel the energy and enjoy our dances and songs,” said Bulgarian singer Poly Paskova, with English translations from Ensemble Sofia 6 dancer Samuil Kozarov.
The director of Ensemble Sofia 6, Nikolay Nestorov, echoed the statement.
“Although our language is (translated) in order for you to understand, the songs and our dances do not (need) the translation, because you can feel that energy even though you hear our Bulgarian words,” Nestorov said.
In addition to the folk dance groups, the community will get the chance to see some familiar faces perform in a different form as there will be a collective of local bands and musicians from The John Dank Show, KPV and The Homies, Mix Plate and Joemoru providing a special performance at each site.
Hours after the press conference, MIIDAF officially started at DFS Galleria in Tumon.
