Georgian Supra (Feast) with Zedashe Ensemble
LOCATION: Phil Gainer Center
DATE: Wednesday, September 25, 2024
TIME: 6 pm
TICKETS: $60 // SOLD OUT! Please email emily@augustaartsandculture.org to be put on a waiting list.
A Georgian supra is much more than a meal. It is a gathering of people that centers human connection and communication, music, dance (and amazing food!).
A Supra usually consists of a many-course feast and unending pours of homemade wine. A toastmaster (called a tamada) punctuates and weaves the guests and evening together with themed toasts to the group on the subjects of love, land, ancestors, children, and on and on. All participants are invited to join the spontaneous toasting on these themes throughout the evening as inspiration arises. As the eating and drinking drums on, moments of music and dance erupt from the musicians at the table, inspired by peaks in the energy, particularly beautiful toasts, and the enjoyment of the wine as the night goes on.
A Supra is an ancient tool for expressing generosity, happiness, respect, grief, and gratitude communally, all while reveling in the very best elements of traditional culture – singing, dance, amazing food, and giving blessings at the table.
Chef Ketevan Mindorashvili of the Zedashe Ensemble will be serving up 6 different traditional Georgian dishes for dinner, and Zedashe will be giving performances throughout the meal.
Tickets: $60 (your ticket includes all food and drink for the evening, plus the musical performances)
Tickets are SOLD OUT as of 9/10/2024, but please email emily@augustaartsandculture.org if you would like to be put on a waiting list.
This project is made possible with direct grant support from Mid Atlantic Arts Special Presenters Initiative.
Check out this Jamie Oliver episode featuring Ketevan herself as well as several of the Zedashe singers who will be on this trip!
ABOUT ZEDASHE:
Mountainous Caucasus Georgia, situated on historic crossroads on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, has one of the world’s most ancient and arresting three-part harmony-singing traditions. The music features a dark, sonorous vocal quality and startling, unexpected harmonies. Directed by Ketevan Mindorashvili, Zedashe was founded in the mid 1990s to sing repertoire largely lost during the Communist era.
With both men and women singers, Zedashe is one of the few mixed gender performing ensembles in Georgia today and they have developed a highly distinctive sound. Their repertoire includes ancient three-part harmony chants from the Orthodox Christian liturgy, as well as the full range of folk song genres including field-songs, love songs, historical ballads, war dance songs, and ritual circle dances. The latter are sometimes accompanied by the panduri (Kakhetian lute), chonguri (Gurian lute), doli (drum), chiboni (goat-skin bagpipe), and garmoni (Georgian accordion).
The singers are joined by two virtuosic solo dancers who show off the intricate footwork and gestures of varied traditional Georgian dance styles, both lyric and martial.
With her rich and flexible, low contralto voice, Ketevan Mindorashvili has won a wide reputation for her mastery of the intricate, melismatic ornamentation of the traditional songs from her native region of Kakheti. The Ensemble also sings repertoire from other regions of Georgia, in many cases collected first hand from old singing masters, pre-communist publications, or field recordings.
The group’s name is taken from the special earthenware jugs — zedashe — that were buried under the family home for the purpose of making wine. The wine made in a zedashe was especially for the veneration of ancestors and the tapping of the zedashe every year carried great ritual significance.
Besides numerous appearances throughout the Republic of Georgia, Zedashe has toured internationally with appearances at major festivals and universities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Latvia, and the United States. This is Zedashe’s fifth US tour and is again being sponsored by the world music umbrella organization Village Harmony.
Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the incredible music of Georgia!
For Zedashe’s complete itinerary or for more information about the ensemble go to www.zedashe.com.