On this page you will find a collection of "factoids" we have collected about the cultures and regions represented in each of our productions. Enjoy!

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I) LATVIA: Riga

The Duchy of Courland and the First European Settlement on Tobago

Rulers of the Duchy of Courland--which today forms the state of Kurzeme in the Republic of Latvia--were princes of one of the smallest principalities of early modern Europe to claim overseas colonies. The first European settlement on the island of Tobago was Courish. In the seventeenth century, the Duchy of Courland boasted one of the largest merchant fleets of any European country and Courish ships and shipbuilders were held in high regard. More recently, EDT alumni Zinta Pone, Gunta Pone, and Amanda Jatniece, who are all Latvian American, traveled to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 1997 with the Minneapolis-based Latvian Folk Choir Teiksma. Teiksma was invited to provide a portion of the entertainment for an annual excursion by Latvians from both the diaspora and Latvia proper to the island nation that once was home to a short-lived Latvian colony. See our new suite of Lebanese dances in PORTS of CALL!

About the music and dance appearing inPORTS of CALL:

The playful humor of the Latvian people is portrayed in two dances. In the first, Es kādreiz Talsos aizbraucu, we see the Latvian variation of the schottische. Next is a polka performed to the tune Visi Saka (Everyone’s Saying).

Choreography: Santa Laurinoviča and Vilis Ozols Adapted by Donald La Course
Musical Arrangement: Zinta Pone

Special thanks to Perkonitis Dance Ensemble and Elga Pone for use of Latvian costumes.

II) LEBANON: Bierut        

After several decades of strife, Beirut is experiencing a renaissance. The center has been rebuilt & is home to a lively tourism & fashion industry. The New York Times ranked it 1st in its 2009 list of places to visit. Versace & Gucci have opened stores in the city, & designer Elie Saab--who has made dresses for Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry & Mischa Barton--lives in Beirut while designer Zuhair Murad—who has designd for Ana Oritz, Christina Applegate & the Mango line—is from the city. Beirut seems on its way to reclaiming its status as "Paris of the East." See our new suite of Lebanese dances in PORTS of CALL!

About the music and dance appearing in PORTS of CALL:

From Lebanon we present two variations on the national dance, the Dabke. On the Thursday before Orthodox Easter, peasants living in the mountains come down by the thousands to the plains to visit holy shrines. Eventually, everyone returns to the village for celebrating and dancing. Characterized by sharp footwork, the dancers perform to the songs Oul lel helwe and M’waly el helwy.

Choreography: Marawan Jarar. Adapted by Donald La Course
Composer: Dr.Walid Ghelmeyye
Musical Arrangement: David Burke, Tim O’Keefe

Lebanese Song: Tair Albachr
Vocal Soloist: Natalie Nowytski
Musical Arrangement: David Burke, Tim O’Keefe

 

III) BULGARIA: Varna  

Varna on the Black Sea is Bulgaria's principal port and is the country's de facto summertime capital: not only do summer vacationers flock to its Black Sea beaches, but also the Bulgarian government convenes its summer session there. It is also a popular venue for international festivals--thus EDT performed at a festival in Varna in 1995! See our new suite of music and dance from Varna, Bulgaria in PORTS of CALL, April 9-11!

About the music and dance appearing in PORTS of CALL:

Ports of Call will begin with three dances from the region of Varna, Bulgaria. The first, Bogrovski Ruchenik, is a dance for the men in 7/8. Next, the women enter with a Daichovo Horo, in 9/8. Finally, the men join the women again for Varnenska Igra, which has the distinctive feature of the dancers playing wooden spoons.

Choreography: Donald La Course
Musical Arrangement: Tim O’Keefe

IV) COSTA RICA: Puerto Limon

Unique in Costa Rica, Puerto Limon is home to a large Afro-Caribbean community that is Spanish and Mekatelyu (English-based Creole) speaking. The port of Limon's main export is banana & is frequented by cruise ships. Limon is famous for its fall-time "Carnaval" festival, which commemorates the day (October 12) when Christopher Columbus reached the coast of Limon in 1502 (during his 4th Voyage). In PORTS of CALL, we will perform a suite of music & dance that Don & Renee La Course & alumnus Christopher Yaeger learned in Costa Rica. See the show APRIL 9-11!

About the music and dance appearing in PORTS of CALL:

This suite begins with Amor del bajo Corrales, a dance depicting the innocence and forbidden feelings of young lovers meeting surreptitiously by the fence. The suite concludes with a party dance, El Santo, that is indicative of the cotillion dances that were popular in Europe in the 19th century and brought to North America by immigrants.

Choreography: Rogelio Lopez Adapted by Donald La Course
Musical Arrangement: David Burke, Tim O’Keefe

V) NORWAY: Bergen

The city of Bergen was founded c. 1070 AD on the site of an early trading settlement. Bergen was part of the Hanseatic League & by the late 1300s was Norway's center of commerce. Bergen's harbor is one of the largest in Europe & part of the city is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. Its status as a maritime capital is widely acknowledged. Bergen is the gateway to the world famous fjords of Norway and is one of Europe's largest cruise ship ports of call. See our new suite of Norwegian song in dance in PORTS of CALL!

About the music and dance appearing in PORTS of CALL:

Performed as a duet, the Vestlandspringar features many turning, whirling combinations, accompanied by the Hardingfele, or Hardanger fiddle.

Choreography: Anne von Bibra Wharton
Hardanger Fiddle: Karen Torkelson Solgard

VI) INDIA: Mumbai

Mumbai is one of the most populous cities in the world. It was built across seven islands & was controlled by various empires before the arrival of the first Europeans, the Portuguese. Control ultimately passed to the British who, beginning in the late 18th century, reshaped the city in a series of large-scale civil engineering projects. Under British control, Mumbai emerged as India’s most important center of commerce. Today, it is home to such institutions as the Reserve Bank of India & the National Stock Exchange of India, as well as numerous Indian and multinational corporations. In 1885 the first session of the Indian National Congress ("the Congress Party") was held in Mumbai, and in the 20th century Mumbai was a strong base of support for the Indian independence movement. The city is also the home of Bollywood, India’s film and TV industry. See our Indian suite in PORTS of CALL!

About the music and dance appearing in PORTS of CALL:

From India’s western state of Gujarat we present a suite of dances of the Dusserah festival. The women begin with Garba, a dance honoring the Mother Goddess, giver of plenty and prosperity. The men join to dance Dhandya ras, which is named for the colorful sticks the dancers strike in counterpoint to the increasing tempo of the music.

Choreography: Rita Mustaphi
Musical Arrangement: David Burke, Tim O’Keefe

VII) EGYPT: Port Said

The new Egyptian suite for our PORTS of CALL show includes a men’s dance called Tahtib, a north Egyptian dance form currently experiencing a strong revival in Egypt and Egyptian communities elsewhere.  Tahtib is based in an ancient martial art form, and its ethos is similar to Brazilian capoeira & Ukrainian/Russian Cossack hopak: part dance, part martial art.  Clubs have appeared that provide training in the martial art aspect, while the dance form is also reemerging. Find clips on You Tube, or better yet: Come see our new Tahtib choreography THIS WEEKEND in PORTS of CALL!

 

I) The official title of Emperor Franz Joseph I von Habsburg was:

His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty,

Franz Joseph I,

By the Grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia,

King of Lombardy-Venetia, of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria; King of Jerusalem etc., Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow, Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and of the Bukovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz, Zator and Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and Zara (Zadar); Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trent (Trento) and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, etc.; Lord of Trieste, of Cattaro (Kotor), and in the Windic march; Grand Voivode of the Voivodeship of Serbia etc.

 

II)Archduke Wilhelm von Habsburg, aka, "Vasyl Vyshyvanyj"

The Archduke Wilhelm von Habsburg, potential heir to the Habsburg thrown, wore a Hutsul-style embroidered shirt under his officer's coat when commissioned to lead a corps of Ukrainian soldiers in the Kaiser's army during the Great War (WWI). Wilhelm had become passionate about Ukrainian culture after a trip to the Hutsul region of the Carpathian Mountains, and had already mastered the Ukrainian language by the time of his commission. Wilhelm wished to see the creation of a Ukrainian Kingdom within the Habsburg monarchy, and aspired to be its first King (as a regent of the Habsburg Emperor). The idea had some support in Ukraine, and the Habsburg prince became a folk hero among many of the Kaiser's Ruthenian (Ukrainian) subjects, who knew him by the name Vasyl Vyshyvanyj (Wilhelm the Embroidered). He was also known as "The Red Prince" for his belief in combining monarchical rule and social justice.

 

III) Military Recruitment and the dance Verbunk

Impressment gangs in the Hungarian Kingdom often used folk dance as a means to recruit young village men into the army. In a practice that dates from the 18th century, Hussars arriving in villages would dance what was known as verbunk (from the German word "werben," meaning "to recruit, to enroll"), and many of the young village men that joined the dancing found themselves suddenly whisked off ("enrolled!") into the army. Thus we incorporated the following verse of a folk song into our Dunantuli suite:

I won't be marrying you this summer/
Because Franz Josef called me in to be a soldier/
If Franz Josef hadn't enlisted me/
I would have been your partner, my dear, so soon

Click to watch video of Ethnic Dance Theatre's Dunantuli suite.

 

IV) Holy Roman Emperors and the Habsburgs

EDT Dancer and Resident Choreographer Ann von Bibra Wharton's great grandfather was in the honor guard of Crown Prince Rudolph von Habsburg. Anne is descended from Franconian nobility on her father's side. Modern Franconia is a region in the north of Bavaria; for most of its history, Bavaria was de facto an indepedent kingdom, though technically part of the Holy Roman Empire. The position of Holy Roman Emperor was elected, and Bavaria's sovereign held the important position of elector in the diet of clergy and noblemen that elected the Emperor. Habsburgs held the title of Holy Roman Emperor for most of the empire's history, until the unification and creation of the modern German nation-state under Prussian--not Habsburg/Austrian--hegemony in the late 19th century.