Meeting with participants and program leaders who have connected Croats from the homeland and around the world through song, dance, and traditional music for decades.
CHF Director Zdeslav Milas visited the Summer School of Croatian Folklore in Zadar and attended the rehearsals of the tamburitza, dance and traditional musical instruments sections. Accompanied by Lucija Starčević, Head of the Cultural Department of the Croatian Heritage Foundation, he spoke with the participants and leaders and was convinced of the dedication and enthusiasm that have marked this CHF program for decades in preserving and passing on Croatian traditional culture.
Prof. Andrija Ivančan, the program manager of the Summer School of Folklore, and Maestro Siniša Leopold hosted the visit and presented the work of the individual sections and the richness of this year’s program. Particularly emphasized was the importance of the School in the systematic transfer of knowledge about Croatian traditional dances, music, costumes and customs to new generations, including numerous members of Croatian communities outside the Republic of Croatia.
This year’s Summer School of Folklore is dedicated to dances, costumes and musical instruments of the Adriatic area, encompassing an extremely diverse traditional heritage of the Croatian south and coastal area. The program brings the folklore of the Šibenik area and islands, the Dubrovnik littoral and the Rijeka Dubrovačka area, the Neretva valley and southern Herzegovina, the Pelješac peninsula and the islands of Mljet and Lastovo, Cres, Rab and Pag, Konavle and Župa Dubrovačka, as well as the heritage of the Croats of the Bay of Kotor. Participants are also introduced to the traditions of the Makarska Littoral, Brač and Hvar, Dubrovnik, Korčula, Trogir, Kaštela and Čiovo, Split and Šolta, as well as Silba and Krk.
The program manager of the Summer School of Folklore is Prof. Andrija Ivančan, who also leads the dance program. Tibor Bün leads the tamburitza program, with guest lecturer Maestro Siniša Leopold, while Vjekoslav Martinić heads the traditional musical instruments program.
Director Milas’ visit was an opportunity to meet with the participants and leaders, but also to gain direct insight into the work of one of the CHF’s long-standing programs, which, through knowledge, unity and love for tradition, connects Croats from the homeland and the world, contributing to preserving Croatian cultural heritage for future generations.
Text and photo: CHF
