Bringing Georgian Arts to the Stage
Our Georgian music and dance ensemble was formed more than 23 years ago and includes immigrant professional singers and musicians who have learned and performed since childhood in the country of Georgia. Our programs are for both the Georgian community and the general population.
Georgian Dance
Our performances present a program of the regional dances of Georgia in the various regional costumes. Georgian dance has evolved during the past century into a sophisticated dance form which maintains the folk styles, music and costumes from the different regions in Georgia. The social mores of traditional Georgian society are reflected in the distinct roles and styles of men and women in the dances. Some dances are danced only by men, others only by women. Mixed dances usually have the men and women dancing as separate groups or have formations based on pairs of men and women. Dances are known by the region of their origin, such as Acharuli (Ajaria), Kazbeguri (Kazbegi), Mtiuluri (Mtiuleti), and so forth. There is a formal technique, with details of leg and foot work, upper body posture and movement, hand and arm gestures and movements. Our dancers are skilled in the nuances of each dance.
Georgian Music
Traditional Georgian music is primarily an oral tradition, without textbooks, and passed directly from master to student. This is true for both instrumental and vocal music. We consider this relationship to have particular value in developing a healthy sense of society and the correct working of civilization as a transmission of truths from one generation to the next. At the same time Georgian music has a very solid technical basis which is studied and understood in the very fine musical conservatories in Georgia. Our musicians are a product of both the oral tradition and the rigorous training, and at the same time proficient performers.
Vocal Ensembles
Our vocal repertoire includes music from all traditional genres including the traditional folk songs, city songs, dance songs, romances, church songs, and popular songs “estrada”. We perform full concerts as well as appearing with our children’s ensemble and in many smaller events throughout the greater New York area. We have weekly rehearsals in our Brooklyn studio.
Men’s Choir
Our men’s vocal ensemble "Zekari" follows a long tradition of men’s groups in Georgia singing regional polyphonic folk songs and religious songs. The music arose in pre-Christian times and has continued in parallel to the Georgian Orthodox Church music since the 4th Century when Christianity became the state religion of Georgia. The strongest regional styles are found in folk music from Guria in the West, Kakheti in the East and Megrelia in the North-West. Many of the songs are sung a cappella in three or four parts. Others are accompanied by folk instruments, most notably the long-necked stringed instruments “chonguri” and “panduri,” both of which are played by our singer-musicians.
Women’s Trio
Our women’s singing group performs regional folk songs, particularly from the mountain regions of Tusheti, Khevsurati and neighboring areas. They also are expert in the “romance” song tradition which arose in Georgia and Russia near the beginning of the 19th Century, as well as the city songs that have developed in the urban centers and are very popular. We accompany these songs with panduri, guitar and piano. Our orchestral musicians accompany our dance classes and performances and us the “garmoni” (Georgian accordion), “doli” (Caucasian 2-headed drum), as well as the “panduri” and bass panduri. Our repertoire also includes dance songs that are part of the performance of certain traditional dances. Two of our women singers were part of a famous trio in Georgian led by Lela Tataraidze. Our men’s choir director David Chkuaseli was a soloist in his father’s famous Georgian vocal group “Georgian voices” from 1996 to 2006.
Traditional Georgian Theatre
Our Georgian Theater of New York is the only theater in New York that specializes in the high theater tradition of Georgia. Georgian theater is an old and well-established art form. It is liberally spiced with music and dance and elements drawn from regional idiosyncrasies of the Georgian people. Unlike dances and music, theater is a form that is difficult to carry to a new country. Yet it fills a need in the cultural life of Georgians that cannot be replaced. Since we formed the theater in 2008 we have inspired actors from the Georgian immigrant community to explore a rich world of drama. We perform two or three plays per year, mostly in New York city.