Inspired by "Thracian Wedding" a 1960's dance production and film created by Philip Koutev, renowned composer, conductor and director of Bulgaria's Koutev Ensemble, "First Love" recalls village life through beautiful staging, dazzling costumes, and a juicy story line—something new to Ethnic Dance Theatre (EDT) performances, on April 18, at 8pm and April 20, at 2pm.
Everybody's talking about Tudora and Kolyo and Ivan. Ivan loves Tudora. Tudora loves Kolyo, And Kolyo loves....who? Find out at "First Love," a full-length dance drama featuring the vibrant music, haunting songs and breath-taking dance of exotic Bulgaria.
And that's not all. With guest choreographer, Petur Iliev, "First Love" bends traditional dance, incorporating elements of ballet and modern dance—even hip hop! According to artistic director, Donald LaCourse, "The challenge is taking folk dance, which is not naturally conducive to narrative, and fusing it with elements of western ballet and modern dance to help tell the story to a contemporary audience."
Choreography for "First Love" will be shared by Iliev, who will focus on contemporary forms, and LaCourse, who will focus on traditional works. Born to a musical family in Bulgaria, Iliev was a choreographer for the Koutev State Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances before emigrating to the U.S. in 1990. Since then, he has taught hundreds of workshops in the U.S. and Canada, and worked with professional dance groups that include Ballet Chicago, ballet legend Jacques d'Amboise and famous tap dancer, Savion Glover. According to LaCourse, "Petur is multi-talented in ballet and tap, but he has never forgotten or been limited by his folk training."
LaCourse, founder and artistic director of Ethnic Dance Theatre since 1974, has a special love for Bulgaria and has made five trips to research traditional music and dance. "This particular show has been with me for a long time," LaCourse said. "The stars finally aligned this year to make it happen."
The first piece to fall in place was working on the O'Shaughnessy stage. "O'Shaughnessy is a great stage for what we do," LaCourse said. "Its one of the few stages in town that is the right size for large scale dance productions."
Musically, "First Love" will be a spectacular show, LaCourse said. In addition to the always excellent EDT Folk Orchestra, "First Love" will feature Bulgarian artists Nicholai Geourgiev, gadulka, and Nikolay Nikolov, gajda. Both artists trained at the prestigious Plovdiv Music Academy and Nikolov was a member of the Koutev Ensemble. "Having this level of talent is a remarkable gift to our community," LaCourse said. Rounding out the musical program is Mila Vocal Ensemble, a women's a cappella ensemble specializing in traditional music of Eastern Europe. "Mila has a special feel for Bulgarian music and we are pleased to have them with us again," La Course said.
Those not familiar with Bulgarian music are in for a treat, LaCourse added. Through the performance, the audience will be exposed to music and dance forms that traverse the seven ethnographic regions of Bulgaria. "Although a small country," LaCourse said, "Bulgaria has very diverse music and dance forms owing to its geography and colorful history, which was influenced by many other cultures." Captivating rhythms, exotic instruments and thrilling vocal harmonies will be very evident in this show, he added.
Finally, LaCourse said, he is pleased to introduce a company that has turned over in recent years and now includes many talented young dancers. "We were lucky to have a skilled and dedicated core of dancers for many years, but most of them have moved on. EDT today is a young and vibrant company," he said. -- www.ethnicdancetheatre.com
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