Hyperborea

DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT:

According to the ancient Greeks Hyperborea was a mythical land located in the north, it was a paradise on the Earth whose inhabitants remained ever young and happy, not knowing the feeling of oppression, hostility or war. They nourished with crops and fruits from arch yards, avoided meat, however. Sun was their god, they didn’t get sick and the day lasted the hole year, except for one solstice. 

It was then that the Hyperboreans gathered to revel, dance and sing, as well as to conduct rituals to guarantee their bliss for one more year. Musical celebration is a sequence of actions that entail individual and group practices, applying certain behaviour, music making, using certain props, having food, singing, dancing and other forms of social activity - games, rallies and parades.The reconstruction of that celebration is all about the active participation in the various phases of preparation. 

This event is meant to last for many hours, shall cover several phases and will be located in several areas dedicated to various forms of activity of one's body and mind. All those elements combined will function under the same aegis of colour and movement created for the purpose of that celebration. The preparatory stage must involve simultaneous actions to taken, to finally form one unit.

Phase 1 / Preparation of individuals and the groups, i.e.:
- Throat - a vocal workshop conducted in the relaxed manner based on calls, sing-songs and hums that could be used during the time of revel and the parade.
- Ears - audiophile room, where one can listen to the ritual music of various tradition and genre, with the emphasis on the Slavic music. 

Phase 2 / Celebration (will take place in three stages and in line with the general scenario):
- Parade à rebours.
- Joint music making and dancing in line with the numeric scenario subject to ongoing changes resulting from the energy exchange. 
- Make up removal, symbolic (or real) annihilation of masks, attire, lantern, decoration elements. Morning musical tales, shared breakfast, exchange of gifts.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTISTS: 

Jacek Hałas - a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts, folk musician, singer, dancer, composer, and free spirit. He co-formed the music groups Reportaż, Bractwo Ubogich, Muzykanci, Ket Jo Barat, Lautari, Kwartet Wiejski and Kapela Hałasów. He has been involved in the following arts and music projects: the Poznań House of Dance, Tikkun, The Book, Nomads of Culture. Hałas has collaborated with many theatre groups, including Teatr Cinema, Teatr Strefa Ciszy, Teatr A3, Teatr Węgajty and Schola Węgajty. His interests include mendicant traditions of singing, processional dance and round dance. He runs workshops and is involved in other education projects. Together with his wife Alicja, they have been travelling across Europe as Nomads of Culture since 2005 with a traditional yurt, where they present the results of their research and projects created in collaboration with artists from around the world. For years Jacek Hałas has been investigating living tradition, home archives and ethnographers’ records for traces of songs of travelling mendicants. He plays the hurdy-gurdy, an instrument traditionally used by wandering singers. His albums, recorded with an eclectic mix of musical groups, include: "Muzykanci" (1999), "Folk Fiesta" (Muzykanci, 2000), "Gore Gwiazda. Kolędy domowe" (Muzykanci, 2002), "A no onej górze. Ballads ludowe" (Muzykanci, 2003), "Sounds & Shadows" (Transkapela, 2005), "The Best of Polish Smooth Etno, Jazz, Folk" (Lautari, 2006) and the solo album "Zegar bije. Starodawne pieśni o marnościach tego świata, o śmierci i wędrowaniu dusz, ku przestrodze, zadumie i pokrzepieniu wyśpiewane" (2007).