REVOLUTION17
CAFÉS - 2012
A Radio Gagarin Special - The Women's Revolution!
5th December 2012 | Rich Mix, London
This café set out to ignite our inner babushka and celebrate Radio Gagarin style – with our comradeship of live music, digital DJ prowess, performance art, cinema, drama, poetry, puppetry, poverty, posterity, sailors, mutineers, heart throbs, Laika, Belka, Strelka and vodka!
This time around the sputnik was steered by the ladies. Featuring a screening of classic Soviet film work and mind-blowing edible performance art and VJ sets from the legendary band of fearless art activists "The Gagarin Granddaughters" (London's somewhat more tasteful answer to Pussy Riot). Manning the ship was the sweet-voiced Elena Dana, who delighted our audience with an array of feisty gypsy romances and glorious jazz melodies. All interlaced with the intoxicating tunes of DJ Mourrka – London's only Russian gangster cat DJ and hosted by the renowned feminist, Lemez Lovas.
Armenian Music with Tigran Aleksanyan
7th November 2012 | Rich Mix, London
The Dash Café presented the enchanting melodies of renowned Armenian duduk player Tigran Aleksanyan. Born in the Ararat Mountains of Armenia, Tigran settled in the UK in 2001. He is a celebrated master of traditional Armenian folk instruments including the duduk, zurna, Armenian folk flute or shepherd's flute; and his general musicianship and talent for improvisation are formidable. He has performed with the Armenian State Dance Ensemble's orchestra and with the Akhtamar Dance Group, and also has been an occasional member of the phenomenal band Daphna Sadeh & The Voyagers. He has performed at the South Bank Centre, at several Womad UK festivals and at numerous other venues on the British folk and world music scene, as well as having featured on BBC Radio 3, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
With accompaniment by acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Andrew Cronshaw, Tigran gave a flavour of the magical, soulful, jazz-inflected sounds of modern Armenian folk music.
New Documentary Films from the Caucasus region
3rd October 2012 | Rich Mix, London
Dash Arts presented an evening of new films, in collaboration with international arts charity Firefly International and documentary film producer Elhum Shakerifar.
A screening of documentary shorts from modern Georgia was followed by a conversation between Elhum and Daniel Gorman (Director of Firefly International) about the documentary film-making scene and the wider picture of modern culture in the region.
Films included:
When Clocks Stop by Tiko Nachkebia
A lyrical portrait of the changing face of the Georgian state television service, and its relationship with the immense political changes within the country since the channel was born.
Debt by Levan Koguashvili
Two illegal Georgian immigrants from the former Soviet Union fight for their survival on the unforgiving streets of Brooklyn, New York. Shot entirely with a digital still photo camera, The Debt gives viewers an honest look into a private and often unacknowledged world.
The April Chill by Tornike Bziava
On April 9th 1989, the Soviet troops violently quelled a peaceful demonstration in Tblisi. 22 innocent lives fell victim to this atrocious act. 'The April Chill' tells the story of the awakening of human instinct in a Soviet military service man, thanks to a young Georgian dancer.
Waiting for Mum by Nana Ekvtmishvili
A humorous short documentary about sons and their mothers. The film received a Special Mention at last year's Tblisi International Film Festival.
Speechless by Salome Jashi
An experimental short which uses an abstract, stylised approach to document the aftermath of the 2008 conflict; creating a different way for the audience to witness a tragedy it has never seen, but also offering moments of strange beauty.
Firefly International is a charity working to resolve conflict worldwide: they provide arts and culture initiatives to build links between communities everywhere and to support youth, community and grassroots activities. They organise the Reel Festivals: dedicated programmes of events and performances (film, music, poetry etc) which raise awareness of areas in conflict around the world.
Elhum Shakerifar is a documentary film maker who has produced works including Sean McAllister's THE RELUCTANT REVOLUTIONARY and Saeed Taji Farouky’s feature documentary THE RUNNER. Elhum is co-director of award-winning collective Postcode Films, which facilitates projects promoting active citizenship and social inclusion. Postcode Films recently set up Kino Futures, a series of workshops in the Black Sea region, and will be teaching at this year's Batumi Art House Film Festival in Georgia. Elhum is a Research Fellow in Anthropology at Goldsmiths, and teaches documentary at the University of East Anglia and The Free University of Berlin.
The Opener in collaboration with Pushkin House
5th September 2012 | Rich Mix, London
Dash Arts presented a new programme of Dash Cafés: an artistic exploration of the countries of the former Soviet Union with music, films, talks and discussions.
We opened with a lively panel discussion, focusing on the past year’s cultural and political happenings in the countries of the former Soviet Union and providing a flavour for new audiences of the cultures and recent history of the region.
The panel was chaired by Julian Gallant, Director of Pushkin House, London’s independent centre of Russian culture. It includes Alexander Kan, Arts and Culture Correspondent for the BBC Russian Service; Svetlana Adjoubei, director of Russian cultural organisation Academia Rossica; and independent arts co-ordinator and director Alice Terekhova.
The evening also featured music from the Mazaika Duo, who use violin, accordion and voice to create an intoxicating blend of Russian folk songs, jazz, tango, Gypsy fiddle and Balkan beats.
Live music from Téa and Mirella Hodžic, with Vanja Krawczyk
13 June 2012 | London
The Dash Café returned to Rich Mix as part of the East in East Festival, celebrating Eastern European culture during the Euro 2012 tournament, with the wonderful Téa and Mirella Hodžic. Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, sisters Téa and Mirella Hodžic sung gorgeous close harmonies and haunting melodies. They were accompanied by the Polish Roma virtuoso accordionist Vanja Krawczyk.
"Her voice haunted me for the rest of the day..." Clive Davies, The Times
Building on the success of the Balkan super-group Szapora, Téa and Mirella Hodžic create music that is intimate, passionate and irresistible.