Night folklore CAS Uljanik - Pula
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After thirty-four years, the Uljanik Cultural-Art Society is still dancing
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After thirty-four years, the Uljanik Cultural-Art Society is still dancing.
The fluttering young folklore dancers of this society poured their sweat out all over the ground of Rovinj's main square during the night of 23 July, 20.
The society is comprised of a literary and art club, as well as a folklore ensemble, which includes a large orchestra of Isrian national musicians, singers (kantadura) and dancers. Dressed in traditional Istrian and Dalmatian national costumes, the dancers skillfully pirouetted for the curious public, who applauded their efforts after every number. Consisting of high schoolers and students, who because of their love for this tradition are often absent from school, KUD Uljanik has performed traditional national dances from all of the regions of Croatia since 1967, when this function was added to its repertoire. Small and large roženice, svirale, sopele and mihs, all popular Istrian national instruments, are responsible for the music which the folklore group dances to. These instruments are unique in the sense that a special musical scale was created only for them.
The music is exclusively played live, without the assistance of amplifiers or other electrical components, so the public can trully enjoy the authentic musical-visual atmosphere created by these performances.
KUD Uljanik as a cultural group can pride itself on the fact that it is recognized as the exclusive performance group representing the County of Istria in Croatia and throughout the world, which has enabled them to tour throughout most of Europe. During its international performances the group has often been billed as the headlining cultural-entertainment tourist attraction, always attracting large crowds.
On the occasion of their successful guest performance in Rovinj, we had a chance to talk to Sveto Stakić, the chief organizer for the group.
"The most successful tour we have had to date took place in the Netherlands in the city of Tiel, where we performed twice daily for 14 days in front of audiences of up to 800 guests. Another of our great achievements occured at the "International Folklore Festival" in Velika Gorica, where we were given recognition for originality in performing the dances and customs of the Istrian region, which for me has great significance, considering that nine other nations were involved in the competition. It must be emphasized that the main advantage of this kind of enthusiastic amatuer group is their awesome ability to conform and adapt to all situations. I would also like to repeat that the groundwork for our performances lies in the fact that we only play original folk music, specifically composed for a large orchestra without the use of electricity. Due to the strain caused by our demanding performances, which usually last a few hours, we always perform in three groups. As a final comment I would like to make mention of the fact that one of our members, Lucija Modrušan, who has already been dancing with us for nine years, along with her partner, Ivan Radešia, were recently proclaimed in the village of Klariai as the best dancers of the balun (the popular Istrian national dance) in Croatia for the year 2001."
