NAFSI Africa Acrobats in Plovdiv, Bulgaria 6-12 October

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Edith Bryan
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1 NAFSI Africa Acrobats in Plovdiv, Bulgaria 6-12 October th October 2014 They arrive at Sofia airport one happy group, ready for adventures in Bulgaria The trip to Plovdiv is quick. The group settles in the Ulpia House hostel and goes to taste Bulgarian food for the first time. 7 th October 2014 The 7 th of October starts with rain and clouds and some more rain again so we had to make a change! The first planned school Exarch Antim Ist does not have a possibility for an indoor performance so we quickly changed to another school Sofronij Vrachanski in Trakia region in Plovdiv. The beginning will be at 13:00, so we leave the house at 12:00 the group needs some time to get to know the place before the performance. Soon we reach the school where the stage is a part of the main hall perfectly fit for what the youngsters from Kenya are about to present.

2 At 13:00 the audience is there, ready and eager to welcome the acrobats from NAFSI. More than 150 students and their teachers surround the stage from almost all four sides. After a short presentation from Jane one of the group leaders the show is ready to start.

3 After one hour of stunning performance, a part of which can be seen here: NAFSI are surrounded and conquered by Bulgarian children. There are no boundaries to break. There is just music, movement, art and being one big happy family. The kids come in small groups of 3 or 4 to tell the organizers to pleeeeease tell the guys from the Kenyan group how great they are and how much they like them. A quick demonstrational dance led by Jane and Joy takes some of the Bulgarian kids into the African vibes and makes them move to the sound of the drums. After this meeting the students council at the school set up a news publication on its blog: (7 October 2014) with info and photos from the interaction with NAFSI and the new friendships forged. The rest of the day continues in a calm relaxing manner. Walking through the city from lunch to the hostel, relaxing and enjoying a nice dinner. 8 th October 2014 The next day starts a bit late with an easy morning that quickly turns into a fast paced day. The first performance is at the Language high school in the city of Plovdiv, where the youngsters meet older students about 120, together with their teachers who respond in the same manner as the younger kids from the school of the previous day.

4 It would be a pity not to mention that the music teacher at the language school joined the NAFSI group as a percussionist for a few minutes, catching the rhythm and keeping it up for the Kenyan performers. Here can be seen a part of the performance in the language school, together with the BG music teacher: The performance is a blast and the talks and exchange of contacts, the questions and the answers continue for quite long, long enough for the group to start at the last possible moment for its next stop, which is the Cultural club at the town of Perushtitsa a second timer having already welcomed the Brazilian group Treme Terra of last year.

5 With about 200 spectator children from the town as well as representatives of the local community the show is a complete success with many cheers and many attempts from the audience to join, to give advice and to direct the performance. Before the show started about 20 children came to the group to ask questions: how old are you, where do you live, have you brought any animals with you (specifically lions and elephants!), what do/have you study/studied and so on. Nafsi were so pleased with this interest and exchange as much information with the Bulgarian kids as possible. A part of the performance can be seen here: 9 th October 2014 The next day 9 October is to begin to a Bulgarian breakfast of sausages, white cheese and jams It is a busy day with two performances. The first one starting at 11:30 at Chernorizets Hrabar secondary school in the Trakia region in Plovdiv. There are about 200 students with teachers. The show again has an explosive effect and the children are deeply involved in it.

6 A part of the show can be seen in this video: After the show, Nafsi make friends among the Bulgarian youths. The talks and questions continue in the nearby restaurant where the group has lunch before moving on to its next event.

7 The event, which follows is again at the national museum of history where last year Treme Terra performed, again for students from the national school of arts Tsanko Lavrenov. There are about 70 students, the school headmaster and a few teachers, as well as museum staff and representatives of the Municipality of Plovdiv. The performance was really great. It brought life into the stillness of the museum said one staff member. After it was over, the most eager kids from the national school of fine arts stayed in the museum in order to play some music together and to talk, exchange contacts and answer each others questions.

8 The day continued with a nice dinner and relaxing time. 10 th October 2014 The 10 October started late. The group was not in a hurry, so we all took our time and enjoyed a slow breakfast. At 11:00 we left for the Exarch Antim I primary school where the group was about to perform outside. We were all grateful for the favorable weather. Soon the pupils were all lined up, together with their teachers approximately 150 of them and it was time for the show to begin.

9 The BG kids were explosive... On several occasions they invaded the stage in order to help the performers or to show them something obvious from the sketch. After the show there were many questions, autographs, many expressions of owe to what the youngsters from Kenya were able to show. Here is a part of the performance caught in a video: The group then continued to lunch and after that enjoyed the beautiful sunny day in Plovdiv with a nice walk. A bit later on we all joined the longest Bulgarian horo from the post office till Jumaia square. Plovdiv news quickly caught us.

10 After this nice group activity we moved on, together with two girls from the Language school in Plovdiv Ekaterina and Remona to the Roman amphitheater. There again there was fun, sneaking in the theater and enjoyment of its secret passages and beauty brightly lit in the darkening evening.

11 And an end of the day with a lovely dinner together.

12 11 th October 2014 The last day with a performance in the NAFSI program was dedicated to varied activities. It started in a relaxed manner with a visit to one of the most precious Bulgarian monasteries Bachkovo monastery. The group was acquainted with some history and culture and enjoyed a fine weather among the hills of the Rhodope Mountain. After this nice trip the group was driven to lunch and after lunch headed directly towards the Roman stadium where they were about to perform in the afternoon. The stadium itself and the entire surrounding area was soon filled with audience that was eager to greet the Kenyan artists. More than 500 spectators surrounded the area of the stadium! The entire show has been captured in three videos: Video Video Video Some photos from the performance:

13 After this fabulous show the group had a couple of free hours before heading for a lovely dinner with dances in an old traditional Bulgarian restaurant. It was not possible this great program to finish without proper dances. We all enjoyed our time together very much!

14 12 th October 2014 The group had an early lunch and started towards Sofia where they had a couple of hours in the center of the city. The group visited Alexander Nevski cathedral, the Parliament building, the statue of the Russian emperor King liberator, the National theater Ivan Vazov, the Presidency, the Largo with the statue of St. Sophia, the flea-market in front of the cathedral where the tour started from and where the van was waiting for us in order to take us all to the airport.

15 Separation was painful since we have really grown to like each other. The consolation for us all is that the world is a free place, one big village, which will give us enough possibilities to meet again. The first possibility will happen soon enough at the end of October 2014 beginning of November 2014 in Hamurg at the Strengthen Creative Cooperation closing meeting and 15 anniversary of Kinder Kultur Karawane. See you there guys! Statistics in brief: 7 th October 2014 Sofronij Vrachanski school 150 students/teachers (NEW participant) 8 th October 2014 Language school of Plovdiv 120 students/teachers (NEW participant) 8 th October 2014 Cultural Club Perushtitsa & Municipality of Perushtitsa 200 students and representatives of the local community (second timer invited also Treme Terra in 2013!) 9 th October 2014 Chernorizets Hrabar school 200 students/teachers (NEW participant) 9 th October 2014 National school of fine arts Tsanko Lavrenov 70 students/teachers (second timer invited also Treme Terra in 2013!) 10 th October 2014 Exarch Antim I primary school 150 students (third timer invited MUKA Project in 2012 and Treme Terra in 2013!) 11 th October 2014 Municipality of Plovdiv 500 representatives of the local community (third timer - MUKA in 2012 and Treme Terra in 2013!)

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