DANCE STUDIO IBERIA
Basics • Style • Origin
Dance Studio Iberia teaches traditional Georgian dance. The students are children between 5 and 16 years old. About 20-30 children train in the group. There are beginners and advanced students. Anyone who enjoys Georgian dance can join the group. The Tanzstudio Iberia is looking forward to new children. During performances the young dancers wear traditional Georgian costumes.
Basics
The dance studio in Horn was founded in 2014. The members of dance studio Iberia are united not only by their joy of dance and Georgian music but also by their international background: participants from Armenia, Georgia, Romania, Poland and different African countries are part of this group. The most important factor is friendship, because "friendship is very important in our times", says director Anna Chokheli. She herself immigrated from Georgia. In her childhood, she learned Georgian dance and is passionate about it - and it is exactly this joy in dance that she would like to pass on to the children at Iberia. And even more: "Every dance has its history", says Anna Chokheli, "it is the history of Georgia that we convey through dance" and also the characteristics of Georgians, their hospitality and their character. "A person is a mirror of his family in his country, abroad he is the mirror of his country", says the dance teacher, who also wants to be an ambassador of her culture.
Whether at cultural events, city festivals or at dance competitions at home and abroad: the children of Iberia enjoy performing and train intensively for this. many children train twice a week at the ‘Horner Freiheit’. Singing and piano lessons have also made it into the the programme lately. "Making music together conveys lightness and joy, creates a feeling of solidarity and promotes self- esteem," explains Anna Chokheli. With the music lessons, she wants to create a safe and familiar environment for the children and young people from very different countries of origin, because “music is a language that everyone understands.”
Style
The costumes are an important part of the tradition. During performances, the children wear traditional costumes originating in Georgia. The "Chokha", a special costume for boys using a belt, which formerly was used to carry cartridges and sword. The dance style is traditional and all music is coming from Georgia. The group has already taken part in a large dance competition with 6000 dancers from 53 countries, the Dance World Cup 2019 in Portugal (June 2019) and finished 6th - a great success that was achieved with talent, hard work and discipline. This success was enjoyed as a team success.
Origin
Georgian dance has a long tradition. Experts date dances like Kartuli, Parikaoba and Khorumi back into the 4th century, the beginning of Christianity. Men show artistic body control and power, women focus on graceful movements and a feminine charisma. Some dances originate from the remote mountain areas of Georgia. The martial dance Parikaoba for example has its origin in the Northern Caucasus showing a dispute among men, in which swords are used and which is settled by the woman. The dance Kartuli reminds of a wedding and is rather romantic. The man conveys dignity, the woman grace and gentleness.
Georgia borders Russia to the North, Turkey and Armenia to the South and Azerbaijan to the East. The country has about 3.7 million inhabitants on an area of 57,000 square kilometers (about the size of Bavaria). More than a quarter of the population lives in the capital region around Tbilisi. 87% of the country is covered by mountains or foothills. Georgians are very hospitable and open-minded; they call their country the "balcony of Europe".
