For the first time ever, in the oldest Albanian community in the United States, ancient Albanian folkore and costumes from different regions of Albania will be in full display. The Massachusetts Albanian American Society (MAASBESA) and Bashkimi Dance Group are proud to announce the First Annual Massachusetts Albanian Folk Festival to be held at Boston’s Strand Theatre on June 5th.

The Folk Festival follows in the history of earlier festivals in Worcester and Boston organized by other Albanian organizations, and will feature acts that represent the rich and diverse nature of Albanian folklore in addition to the traditional costumes of various regions of Albania and Kosova. Albanian dance and song groups from New York, Detroit, and Boston will headline the show, along with well known Albanian singers Aurela Gace and Xhoni Athanas.

The festival will bring alive a colorful celebration of Albanian culture to the stage of the Strand Theatre to an audience of over 1000 people. The Festival will appeal not only to all Albanians regardless of their region of origin who are proud of their Albanian heritage and customs, but also to non-Albanians who are curious about Albanian Folklore. This and future festivals will help to preserve Albanian culture and also present it to the wider non-Albanian communities in Massachusetts.

Directors

Show Director: Astrit Cerma
Artistic Director: Bashkim Braho

Singers

• Aurela Gace was born in Abania and started singing at the age of four. From her young age, Aurela won many singing competitions, foreshadowing her success as an adult singer. In 1993, she participated in a yearly music festival held by the National TV in Tirana, which was the biggest musical event of the year. Her voice was immediately noticed, and Aurela became increasingly popular on that stage where she returned almost yearly. Although pop music brought Aurela to the singing stage and gave her an immense success, Aurela’s specialty relies in the fact that she performs Albanian Folk music from many regions with the same emotion and intensity. This is a rare ability for Albanian artists, for the two genres of music vary greatly, but Aurela has greatly mastered this challenge. In 2002, she moved to New York to challenge herself and pursue singing on Albanian-American stages, where she was warmly welcomed. She travels back and forth between the stages of Albania and America- in a way serving as a connection of the arts between the two communities.
• Xhoni Athanas is an extraordinary talent with a still sweetly melodious voice even after decades of singing. Mr. Athanas was born in Massachusetts, but returned to Albania as a young child where his father noticed his musical talent and pushed him to singat the local church, as well as join the “Korca Folk Song” group. Mr. Athanas moved to Tirana in 1947, where he joined the Albanian Military Chorus. The Chorus toured in Albania and in many Eastern European countries, and Mr Athanas earned significant recognition while interpreting as a soloist and singing along with artists such as Avni Mula, Ibrahim Tukici, and Mentor Xhemali. In 1952, Mr. Athanas was selected as one of the best talents in Albania and earned a scholarship to study at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow as an Operatic Tenor. At the end of his studies in 1957, he was rewarded with an honorary degree and the second prize in the International Contest of new operatic voices in Moscow, out of 110 participants from all over the world. After his return from Moscow, Mr. Athanas started a long career with the Theater of the Operas and Ballet in Tirana. His career includes well over 1100 concerts and 450 operatic performances, but John’s most special role in his heart will remain the “Opera of Scanderbeg”, written specifically for his extraordinary voice and interpretation by the great composer Prenk Jakova.

Dancing Groups

• Rozafati - New York was founded 30 years ago in New York and is one of the oldest Albanian Dance Groups in the United States. Throughout the years, the group has performed in several venues with the desire to maintain Albanian traditions from generation to generation. They have been very successful at their mission, for the groups members are now American-born Albanians, ranging from ages 6-21. The dancers are of Albanian, Kosovar, and Montenegrin descent. The Rozafati Dance Group is sponsored by the Mother Teresa Center of Our Lady of Shkodra Catholic Church based in Westchester, New York. Under the direction of choreographer Angjelina Nika, along with her husband Gezim Nika, a well-known Albanian singer, the group has worked hard to preserve the culture of all Albanian regions. The group has performed in many events throughout the Albanian Diaspora and in the Tri-State Area including the Annual Albanian Festival held by the Albanian Catholic Church in New York.
• Gjergj Kastrioti - Detroit was established in 2005 in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The dancers are very talented American-born Albanians who proudly put on their national costumes in order to preserve and promote the Albanian traditions, language, and culture. The group was created under the care of the Saint Paul Catholic Church, a place where Albanian traditions have been preserved and passed down for years. The director and manager of the Gjergj Kastrioti group is Fran Gjokaj, a well respected businessman and honored artist of Albania. Mr. Fran Gjokaj and the talented choreographer of the group, Joli Paparisto (a student of the Albanian Arts Academy), have worked tirelessly to achieve perfection and train the group to a high level of professional dance. The group’s hard work has paid off by being recognized with various awards, as well as the honor to present the Albanian community of Michigan, and America at the National Folk Festival of Gjirokastra (Festivali Folklorik Kombetar i Gjirokastres) in September 2009.
• Bashkimi Dance - Boston was founded in 1996 by choreographer Bashkim Braho. Immediately after he immigrated to America, Mr. Braho gathered young people into a voluntary group where they would have the opportunity to learn Albanian folk dances from the repertoire of the National Ensemble of Albania. With hard work and dedication, this group has achieved the artistic level of a professional dance troupe and has choreographed new dances with specific motifs pertaining to different regions of Albania. The dancers are students and/or young professionals who moved from Albania to the United States at a younger age. They have maintained a desire to preserve and promote Albanian culture, and work tirelessly toward this goal. The group has performed at many Albanian and American venues throughout United States, and it has won many artistic awards at Albanian festivals held in New York and Detroit. Currently Bashkimi Dance is supported by the Massachusetts Albanian American Society (MAASBESA).

Folk Music

• Alba - New York has become well known for its high artistic level and interpretation of Albanian music. Alba consists of four professional musicians: Edmond Xhani – guitar; Sokol Asllani- clarinet; Artan Kushi- drums; and Ilir Dangellia - keyboard. They have performed for various Albanian festivals and celebrations in the New York area with a focus on traditional Albanian music.
• Bashkimi Kombetar - New York was established in 1998 under the leadership of Gjergj Dedvukaj with the assistance of the Catholic Church “Zoja e Shkodres”. Mr. Dedvukaj immigrated to the United States in 1969, and his most precious memento from Albania was his “cifteli”. For thirty years, he had the dream to establish an Albanian cultural group to cultivate and preserve Albanian music for future generations. Most of the members of “Bashkimi Kombetar” were born in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and other lands of the Diaspora; while other members were born and raised in America. Nonetheless they all practice and play with the same will and passion. “Bashkimi Kombetar” has represented the Albanian American community in various venues within the United States, but their proudest achievement was performing at the Festivals of Rapsha in Malesi in 2009, and the National Folk Festival of Gjirokastra in 2004 and 2009.

The online ticket price for adults is $25. Tickets for children betweeen 6-12 are $15, while those below 6 are free. Please buy your tickets on time. If you choose to pay at the door, apart from paying the door price of $35, you will also risk missing this event, since the event is leaning towards selling out.

Once your payment has been made, you will receive an email confirmation. All you need to check in at the event is a form of ID.

Date and Time

June 5^th, 2010

Doors will open at 6:00 PM, while the show will start at 7:00 PM.

Venue: The Strand Boston

The festival will be held at the Strand Theater at 543 Columbia Rd, Dorchester, MA, 02125. This theatre, built in 1918, is a magnificent movie and vaudeville house. The 1,400-seat, professionally equipped and wheelchair accessible Strand Theatre will offer a great venue for this festival. For more information check http://strandboston.com

Driving Directions

• From South: Take I-93 North to exit 15, Columbia Road. Left at the bottom of ramp to third set of lights.There is a Kentucky Fried Chicken / Store 24 on the corner. Turn left onto Columbia Road. Go through two sets of lights, the Strand is on the left, just past Bank of America.
• From North: Take I-93 South to exit 15, Columbia Road. Right at the bottom of ramp to third set of lights. There is a Kentucky Fried Chicken / Store 24 on the corner. Turn left onto Columbia Road. Go through two sets of lights, the Strand is on the left, just past Bank of America.
• From West: Mass Pike (I-90) east into Boston, to I-93 south. Follow "From the NORTH" directions.
• From Jamaica Plain/ Brookline: Take the JamaicaWay south to the Arborway. Go over the bridge at Forrest Hills to the rotary. Go 3/4 around the rotary and turn into Franklin Park. Go through the park, and turn left onto Blue Hill Avenue. Go about 50 yards, then make a right onto Columbia Road. The Strand is about 1 1/3 miles down on the right, just past the Strand Pharmacy.

Parking

There is plenty of on street parking on Columbia Road in the evenings. Free off-street parking is available in the Ramsey Street Municipal lot. Ramsey Street is located at the intersection of Dudley Street and Columbia Road behind CVS Pharmacy and Payless Shoes. Free parking is available for evening and Sunday shows in the Citizen’s Bank and Sovereign Bank parking lots. The Citizen’s Bank lot is located at the corner of Columbia Road and Cushing Avenue, next to Bank of America. The Sovereign Bank lot is located in the rear of the bank at 585 Columbia Rd.

In order to succesfully organize the first ever Massachusetts Albanian Folk Festival, MAASBESA and Bashkimi Dance are relying heavily on the support of the Albanian Business community as sponsors for this event. As one of the leading Albanian organizations in Massachusetts, we can guarantee that your sponsorship will not only support our important efforts on behalf of the Albanian community in Massachusetts, but also help you to reach thousands of Albanians to help support your business. We urge you to support your local Albanian community and to help build the Albanian community into something we can all be proud of in the future.

Donate Now

• $100 - Bronze Sponsor: 1/2 page advertisement in the Concert Program
• $500 - Silver Sponsor: 1/2 page advertisement in the Concert Program, Banner for Concert Hall, 2 Tickets for the Festival
• $1000 - Gold Sponsor: 1 full page advertisement in the Concert Program, Banner for Concert Hall, 8 Tickets for the Festival
• $2000 - Platinum Sponsor: 1 full page advertisement in the Concert Program, Banner for Concert Hall, 20 Tickets for the Festival

All artwork and information must be provided by the sponsor no later than May 25, 2010. For more information please contact us at 617-419-0617 or by email at .