Exploring the Fusion of Folk Music and Dance: A Behind-the-Scenes Look with Ilgi, Dandaru, and DJ Monsta

Journalists are also buzzing around – taking photos, the LR3 journalist even records interviews. The concert begins. “Ilgi” rumbles, “Dandaru” girls wind in a long string like a stream… We watch and enjoy. My role is to understand what is happening here?

First of all, there was no interweaving of genres – representatives of the folk music and folklore industry play music and dance together, a professional post-folklore (more precisely, folk rock) band “Iļgi”, reinforced with several musicians/singers, plays. The contemporary dance choreographer has staged relatively complex movements for folk dance friends (Dandariem of the University of Latvia and Riga Dance Club). In addition, a DJ and some of the most outstanding musicians of our nation play music. My eyes are dazzled by all the motley that needs to be assembled into some kind of coherent behavior. Director Pamela Butāne manages it well enough – the audience sits, holding their breath.

So, let’s imagine an elongated room, where “Iļgi” are sitting on a high platform at one end of it, “Vilkachi” are a group of men and a solo singer is standing. In the middle is a long, stretched stage. From the director Pamela Butāne’s point of view, it is a timeline, but it reminds me of the tongue seen in fashion shows. In the middle of the tongue, DJ Monsta works at his console; every now and then one of the solo musicians comes to the microphone. Close-ups of the musicians are projected on a huge screen behind the “Iļgi” backs.

After the concert, I spoke to Ilmāras Pumpuras and Sandra Lipskas. Why them? Ilmars participates in this event as a maker of folk musical instruments, he makes all kinds of instruments, but his frame drums, which are often called “bubina” at home, are at the exhibition of masters.

Ilmars is an ethnomusicologist, he was once a soloist of the Operetta Theater, the musical director of “Dandaru” for many years, plays several musical instruments, makes them with a jeweler’s attitude to details, and together with his wife Sandra runs the “Skaņumāja” society.

2023-07-07 21:02:00
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