The world sings and dances in Lapta

by Ralph Kratzer

As announced in my previous article some days ago (to remember – please click here), last weekend came the highlight of the 6th Lapta Tourism Festival.

From 20th June to 23rd June many cultural events took place in Lapta, including concerts by Ayda, Group Garaj and Sultan Durusular, the band Seksendört, Group Frekans and Burcu Gunes.

I was guest at the folklore evening on Saturday, 22nd June 2013.

Arriving at the venue in the middle of Lapta about 8 pm I started strolling through the streets where many stalls were lined up offering local food specialities, crafts and refreshments.

The central square with the stage was already packed with spectators who were anticipating the coming evening of entertainment with much enthusiasm.

One hour later the event began with the presentation of Cypriot folk dance, in which also an adorable group of kids was involved and captured the hearts of the audience with their appearance immediately.

The performances of the invited foreign folk groups from all over the world began with the show act of Mexican dancers and musicians, a pure firework of music, rhythm and colours!

This was followed by the dance group Polatlı Municipality Folk Dance from Ankara showing the elated audience Turkish dances and music.

Of course I tensely awaited the performance of the dancers from my homeland Bavaria (Southern Germany)… a touch of homesickness or let’s better say nostalgia aroused in me. With their original Bavarian costumes “Dirndl“ and “Leather Pants“ and the typical “Schuhplattler” dance they delighted the audience as well. A little bit of ”Oktoberfest“ feeling came up!

The musicians and dancers from the Czech Republic then entered the stage and gave us an enthusiastic insight into the musical culture of their homeland.

The highlight in terms of exoticism were the dance artists from Togo (West Africa), who pulled the audience under the spell with African masks, dancing on stilts, fire-eating and hot drum rhythms.