Dance the night away

A few days ago I went to the first annual Balkan Night Northwest. It was a huge mash up of Balkan bands from around the Pacific NW. Dunava participated and despite being without two singers (one had to work; another got a terrible cold at the last minute) and a third feeling extremely ill, our show went on. We were well-received by a packed room in the kafana (club). It was one of our few performances using hand-help microphones, and they made a big difference from sharing mic stands.

Next door was the main stage with 14 bands lined up. I lasted until the zournas came out. These wild, screechy instruments always make a me a little crazy, and after being on my feet for five hours, I was pooped.

But before I left I had the best time EVER! I caught up with friends I haven't seen in ten years or more. I danced my favorite dances with my dance friends from our days in the Radost Folk Ensemble. The Croatian dances were particularly fantastic -- thanks to G, J, another J, E, S, N and next generation dancer A. Like homing pigeons, we found one another from across a very crowded dance floor. Our drms circle spun so fast, the room blurred.

I danced more and visited more until the room got so crowded that it was tough to move. I began to actually feel my feet again, and they were telling me to sit down. Rik came to pick me up just as my ability to cope with such a crowd began to dissipate. Turns out 800 people attended!

A stretch on the sofa that night, followed by doing nothing the next day, put me back in order. But what a great time! It was worth the price of crashing afterwards.