Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections, 2015.196.41.2, Connecticut Historical S…

2013 Albanian American Muslim Community Festival: Program Booklet

DistributorDistributed by Albanian American Muslim Community

Date2013

ClassificationsInformation Artifacts

Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections

Description2013 Albanian Festival program booklet collected as part of Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program fieldwork.

Object number2015.196.41.2

CopyrightIn Copyright

NotesSubject Note: The Albanian American Muslim Community Center based at 38 Raymond St. in Waterbury serves as a gathering place and mosque for members of the Albanian community. AAMC holds an annual festival on the grounds, usually in early June, featuring Albanian music, traditional food for sale, and dance presentations by the local dance group and also by Valletona, the dance group from St. Mary’s Orthodox Albanian Church in Worcester, MA. Before the pandemic, the festival grew to a four-day event attracting around 10,000 visitors. In 2022 and beyond, the festival has been held for two days. (Source: https://www.aac-ct.org/index.html) CCHAP has supported six apprenticeships under the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program that have brought Albanian dance experts to teach traditional dance to members of the Waterbury community: Years 10 and 11 (2007-2009) with Bashkim Braho, Year 12 (2009-2010) with Enea Gjyli, and Years 19, 20 (2016-2018), and 22 (2019-2020) with Dhimitraq Demiri. The dance group formed from the Apprenticeship Program continues to learn from Dhimitraq and to perform at the AAMC annual festival in Waterbury as well as visiting Worcester to perform there with Valletona Dance Group. Arising from the early apprenticeships, the community formed a traditional dance group of adults and children, and the group continues with children and young people as members. The group has performed at the Waterbury and Worcester Albanian festivals and at other events including the opening of the CCHAP exhibit commemorating 20 years of the Apprenticeship Program at CHS. The regional reach of the Apprenticeship Program is shown by the continuation of partnerships such as the one between the Waterbury CT-based Albanian dance group and the groups based in Boston under respected leader Bashkim Braho, and the Worcester MA dance group with instructor Dhimitraq Demiri. Their teaching and community connections have helped to create and sustain the Albanian dance group in Waterbury. The Waterbury community has supported the dance group and the apprenticeships strongly; Albana Lame and other community members including parents help with organizing the dancers and providing dance costumes. As Albana says, “Most of the children participating in this activity are familiar with traditional dances, as they are often part of our family celebrations. What makes the intensive apprenticeship experience different is that the kids perform in community and professional places/events and learn dance steps that are more intricate from the ones that have seen in family gatherings. First of all it made us work well together. It brought in new performers, new interests and ideas. It taught us more about our culture and dance traditions.” Additional audio, video, and/or photographic materials exist in the archive relating to these events and artists. Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.

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