Photos: Tamburitzans show part 2

As promised.... more pictures from the Tamburitzans show I mentioned in a previous post:
One of the best shows! The second half was especially colorful, as you will see in the following pictures! I had SO much fun taking pictures. :) I was torn between my desire to just WATCH, and my wish to keep clicking pictures! So I did both. :) I especially like photographing dances which we have seen in the past because I know when the most amazing parts of the dance come; and whether I should attempt to take pictures or not at those great times!
For this final half of the show, there were vibrant dances from Russia, Ukraine, Slovak gypsies, Roma (Romanian gypsies-yay!), Romania, and Bulgaria! There were also beautiful pieces of music and song, but since I can't share the sounds of them with you, I'll focus on pictures of the dances...

Duquesne University Tamburitzans 75th season show part 2:
Russian dance: ''Summer'' (made famous by Moiseyev dance ensemble)

Alot of Ukrainian performers in the Tamburitzans group this year; the main dancers Natalia and Vassili are Ukrainian which was very fitting. :)

And the dance begins! I love the way it starts slowly....but reaches a beautiful climax!

My camera is not quick enough to catch the amazing athletics! But I love these. :)

This is definitely a favorite dance, and the Tamburitzans did a marvelous job with it! One of the best renditions.)

Here....is the Moiseyev dance group doing the same dance (Summer), and I want you to watch one of the best climaxes ever in a dance! Start at 4:00 on this video of the Moiseyev Ballet company!(You can watch all of it, if you like- but specifically 4:00 onwards. :) LOVE it!)

(''Summer'' dance performed by Moiseyev dance company)

I also found this: start at 4:57!  :)

That is the same ''climax'' that I'm talking about!

(The whole thing looks pretty neat, but I might lose you if you start watching it from the beginning- it's 7 minutes long!)

Oh- and girls only (on account of short skirt): watch from 6:35 to 6:45....isn't that what you've always wanted to do?

Some twirling!!! :)

Anyway....that's the same dance the Tammies did. :)

The Tamburitzans ''doing the climax''!!! YAY!

Some dancers (Denitsa Tuneva in front)watching a soloist twirl across the stage (like in movie, if you watched far enough)

The Tammies were, in a way BETTER than the Moiseyev ballet company, since they added a whole part to the dance with AMAZING men's acrobatics. :) yay!

OH! The ending is fabulous, as well! (make sure you watch it on video above!) The Tamburitzans did it JUST as great-ly as the Moiseyev company! So thrilling.

Triumphant ending

Nikola Vranjasevic

This was a fun piece with all men playing instruments and each would hand his instrument to another while he ''showed off'' with amazing dance steps (gypsy), and then switch so another could show his talents! Good stuff. :)

Alex Cartwright, accordionist

The all-girls dance was a combination of sweetness and playfulness: Laundry girls from Ukraine! Plenty of beautiful twirling, which Ukrainians are talented at! (Note:the Tamburitzans would have presented this dance even if they didn't happen to have a lot of Ukrainian girls as performers, but this year they just happened to, so the dance looked especially good. I mean....Bulgarian girls can do it, but it just wouldn't look the same!:))

Ukrainian laundry girls:Natalia Tarasiuk, Natalka Karaman, Irena Goudimiak....

Another dance in the show:

A Slovak Gypsy dance called ''Dance of the Violins''!  A very pretty dance, half traditional, half stylized, with the movements based on the motions of playing a violin.....a beautiful choreographed dance, and the costumes were a girls' dream! (well....mine at least ;))

Although I could not get any clear pictures, I think the blurry-ness just adds to the colorful ''gypsy'' feel, don't you?

Look at the girl on the left:isn't that pretty, with it being all fuzzy, and she's looking down, and her toes are pointed, and the color of red is so lovely....

The end (note the position of their arms, as if they were playing violin....very neat! Oh, and it's fun because they all dance so well, but each has her unique style! Note: every dancer was Ukrainian! They've never had so many Ukrainian solo dancers before!:))

NEXT....pictures from the ROMA dances! Yay! The Romanian gypsy dances are more sophisticated than what you might be imagining from seeing Russian, Slovakian or even Spanish gypsy dances, and with just enough fun gypsy stuff to make you LOVE watching it. (seriously, they are good dances)

We specifically enjoy watching the men's solos, with their amazing footwork, stamping and clapping.

(a tiny note to friends: if you ever wonder what my brother is trying to be when he's clapping and stamping at our dance practices-specifically during the Virginia Reel- it's a gypsy. Just thought I'd tell you. :)

And it's a worthy endeavor, I assure you!)

Romanian gypsies couples dance

Ahh....vibrancy!!!

We also always enjoy the Greek bouzouki music and songs:

Andrew Dorfner playing bouzoukee

Nikola Vranjasevic playing bouzoukee

And now...drum roll....the best costumed dance of the show! We LOVE these colours! The women's outfit is spectacular. :)
This is a Romanian dance, and every picture I am going to show you from it is a favorite! (I was particularly able to snap good pictures of the beginning of this dance because it is very elegant and slow, and because I had already seen a previous rendition of it, so I was prepared. :))

LOVE this scene!

The dance speeds up!

You think this women's costume can't get any better.....but then they turn and you see that there's a golden butterfly embroidered on the backs of the vests! Amazing! :)

The beautiful Natalka Karaman!

Surprisingly....that dance wasn't the finale of the evening. There was more music, and a sweet Jewish song/dance, before the exciting finale dance!

Freshmen Tammies

....That finale dance was a Bulgarian Shope dance!!! Very intense, energetic, and exciting:

The men

The girls coming forward

Everyone dancing together

Waving goodbye until another year!

The Tamburitzans were very busy that night: they drove in just to perform for us in Illinois, then straightways after had to drive back to Pittsburgh PA to perform the following day! Thank you!

(although the Tammies were rushed to leave, we managed to continue our ''picture with a Tammie'' tradition. Happily, that Tammie happened to be Nick Jovonovich, a great family favorite!

From left to right:Nikola, Élodie, Sam, Nick, Marjo/Alexandre, Jessie/Valérie, and in front: Katia and Laura-Lise.

Good memories of a delightful event. :)

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures, and were inspired!!!

See even more pictures from this show here in my facebook album!

Before you leave, I want to assure you:

you NEED to see this show. You will NOT be disappointed. The way they present their show is priceless. The costumes, music, choreographies are both authentic and beautifully arranged.

(note to my conservative friends: this show is wonderful for the whole family! I can not say that about every single show, but this season was perfect for all of your family to watch and ENJOY! And I will give you a heads up when their new season begins....and whether I think it is entirely ''family friendly'' or not. :) )

Although the group is finishing its performance routine this season, you can still catch a show!

If you are in Pittsburgh PA, Williamsport PA, or New York City NY: You still have time to catch a show before the Tamburitzans finish their 75th season!
http://www.duq.edu/tamburitzans/sch_03mar.cfm (click that)

If you are in Paramus NJ, McHenry MD, Allentown PA, Euclid OH, you can still see the group in April!
click here: http://www.duq.edu/tamburitzans/sch_04apr.cfm

And I'll post again when the Tamburitzans announce the 76th season show, and give you a ''preview'' of what the show will be like.....:) I hope many of you will go enjoy this group this season or next!

Tamburitzans....

A highlight of our each year, and of each November, is going to see the Duquesne University Tamburitzans (visit their home page here) perform!!!

Words can't describe how marvelous and spectacular their shows are! I can hardly choose a favorite season, and come away each year's show thinking they only get better and better!

We just attended a show (the 75th season show!) last Saturday, and oh! it was splendid! I said I don't choose favorites, but it was one of them. :) I can't wait to see it on video when it is made....and I took some great pictures, I think.

Until I get those uploaded and edited, here are finally last season's pictures!!! I love them. I hope you enjoy them too! I'd love to hear which ones you like, or which costumes you like.

First: Some pictures from the Croatian numbers of the program...

 Another great part in the dance!

Oh...another favorite picture of a favorite dancer: Natalka Karaman (who is Ukrainian)

 Next....some Serbian pictures: (note: we love the women's costume so much, Nikola made it for herself :) I'll have to show you sometime....)

A favorite- Nick Jovonovich. He's a wonderful singer!

We got a picture with him this year.

Filip Petrovski (Macedonian) and Nick J. singing a Serbian ballad.

Love this picture of Natalia, Julia, Christine and Yulia.

This Serbian dance has very precise and intricate footwork. When the ladies spin or turn quickly, their striped pleated butterfly skirts at the back flare out beautifully. (That's what their doing in this picture...)

Another favorite Tammie, Natalia Tarasiuk (Ukrainian) leading the girls. One thing we've always loved about this costume are the aprons, which are each different and works of art in themselves; as well as the stunning black and gold vests.

The intricate and enthusiastic ending to the dance!

Below: a couple close-ups of instruments, taken by Sam

We always love men's dances from Hungary or Romania! In this impressive, competitive dance, there were 2 gypsy men, two hungarians and two slovaks, (or rather, the Tammie men were representing those regions) and it was neat to see the different styles come together...Plenty of slapping and stamping, and amazing footwork!

Srjan Males (A Serbian, acting as Slovakian)

Patrick Vetter playing clarinet. (I don't know about you, but clarinet has got to be one of my favorite instruments!)

Following are pictures from the Macedonian portion of the show....

One great thing about the Tamburitzans is how the performers are constantly changing each season, and although we miss favourite and talented senior performers, the freshmen arrive, bringing with them their own particular brilliant talents, oftentimes bringing new aspects and twists to the show!. I don't think the Tamburitzans have had a drum solo or duet piece in the last several years, and certainly nothing like how freshman Mitko N. (Macedonian- standing on drum) plays! It was amazing watching and listening to how he and Andrew D. made those drums sound out! It was great! There's nothing like a Macedonian or Armenian or Serbian drum!

BEAUTIFUL!

As you may remember, Macedonia is mentioned a couple times in the Bible, in the apostle Paul's epistles.

Macedonian dances, like Bulgarian, and Serbian are amazing! They usually have energetic endings too.

Macedonian Mitko again

Following, is one of my absolute favorite pictures! I wish all of you could have seen this lovely, graceful dance- dance of the Armenian princesses! (I'm glad, Meghan, that you have seen it, and know what I mean!)

(Natalia, Marija, and Iryna- three lovely Ukrainian ballerinas dancing the elegant Armenian princesses dance)

There was also a men's Armenian dance, which was as masculine as the womens' dance was graceful! The men were amazing as they peformed this shepherd's dance full of great backflips, jumps and even dificult spins on the knuckles of the toes!

The finale of the first half was a splendid Slovakian mountain dance....

The Slovak shepherd's dance here was meant to emulate the majestic eagle flying above the Tatra mountains...

An exciting part in the dance!!!

Ukrainian Marija K. at the end of the dance

Another Slovak picture- I LOVE twirling pictures!

Following are some...Hungarian  dance pictures! We love this Hungarian dance! Stamping and slapping and twirling and singing....just so cheerful!

My sister Jessie has home-made rendition this costume- I will have to show you a picture sometime! Nikola also made this costume for my favorite doll.....I love costumes! In this one, the white skirt is pleated so fine that you can hardly tell- but when the girls twirl, it flares out splendidly!

Marija and Srdjan

See- isn't it pretty when they twirl? (Oh! I didn't think I had a picture of these two sisters- but here they are, although back to back- Julia and Emily Khninicky! :))

Next, pictures from the womens' Bulgarian dances!

There is nothing like Bulgarian dances- they are incredibly energetic!

In the Bible, the region ''Thrace''' or ''Trakia'' is in present-day Bulgaria.

I have only one picture to share with you from the Russian dance, which was a charming duet, including fun dance steps like the one below, where the man twirls the girl, as in the following picture....I want to try that- but I don't know how I would keep my balance...

Everyone loves Ukrainian dances....

This was a good choice for the Tammies this year, too, since they have several Ukrainian performers in the ensemble these seasons....

The girls in front are Iryna, Natalka and Natalia (some favorites of ours! :))

The girls' parts in the dance are similiar to ballet, and indeed, most Ukrainian girls grow up learning both Ukrainian folk dances as well as ballet!

Following, pictures from the grand finale of the show! 'Twas a Romanian dance; vibrant, energetic, fast-paced!

Thank you, Tamburitzans, for that wonderful show!!!!

My dear readers, please visit the link at beginning of post!

Each of these pictures are my private property, and I am using them for promoting this wonderful group,

The Duquesne University Tamburitzans!

I hope these pictures inspired you to look into the group yourselves- go see a show this season! Each season, although different, is just as wonderful as the last.

Coming in a month or so....pictures from THIS season's (75th- 2011-2012) show!

Have a lovely week!