CULTURAL EXCHANGE BETWEEN

SLOVENIAN DANCE ENSAMBLE TRIGLAV

AND FOLKLORIC GROUP MANDRAČ-TELMONT

In the summer of 2000, a magnificent cultural exchange occurred between the Slovenian Dance Ensemble Triglav, from Winnipeg, Canada and the Folkloric Group Mandrač-Telmont from Koper, Slovenia.

The Slovenian Dance Ensemble Triglav is the senior dance group within the Slovenian community in Winnipeg, and currently has 19 dancers. The choreographer of Triglav is Kristina Majowski. The Canadian Slovenian Cultural Society (CSCS) is the main sponsor of Triglav, and together with Triglav's hard work and commitment, the CSCS took great pleasure in seeing the fruition of this project for our dancers.

The first half of the cultural exchange involved Triglav traveling to Koper and being hosted by the Folkloric Dance Group Mandrač-Telmont. Triglav arrived July 14, and departed July 24. This exchange lasted 10 days, and the first 7 days where spent in Koper (and surrounding Istria region).

During these seven days in Koper, Triglav was housed at the Students Dormitory in Koper. It would be remiss, if we did not mention our Dorm host, Martin. No matter what we required he always came through. During the mornings Triglav participated in dance workshops that was led by the mentor of Mandrač-Telmont, Mojca Lepej. For 3 hours, we learned new dance steps, new songs, and the history of Slovenian dance. We also learned about Slovenian costumes from Marta Kosuta, and the history of Slovenian musical instruments from Marino Kranjac. These morning sessions provided the new material that will be used by our dancers for the upcoming dance season. This new material is the major reason of us wanting to send Triglav to Slovenia!

The afternoons consisted of touring of various coastal cities. The tours always started on the bus, and we have to acknowledge the hard work of the driver, Boris. Always smiling and friendly, he always made sure the air conditioning was on for us, and he ensured a safe trip to wherever we were going.

While on tour, we discovered that the history and culture in Istria is immense. All the members of Triglav not only fell in love with Slovenia, but especially with the coast. Our tours consisted of formal tours of the city, enjoying the sea by boat cruise, and informally walking through the cities and enjoying the shopping and culture.

In the evenings, Triglav performed a 45 minute performance. The performances occurred in Piran, Malija, Ilirska Bistrica, Strunjan, Ankaran, Portoroz and Izola. The performances were well attended and the Slovenian people were impressed that their culture was being preserved in Winnipeg, Canada.

Upon conclusion of the performances, it was back to the Students Dorm in Koper, and free time in the evening. It was during this time that Triglav walked through Koper, and enjoyed each other's company in a very informal setting.

The last three days of the tour involved traveling to Dreznica, Kranjska Gora, Metlika, Semic, Jezersko and Bled. This included performances in Dreznica and Semic. During these last three days, Triglav was housed in hotels in Kranjska Gora, and in Jezersko.

Not only were 19 dancers and 1 choreographer part of this tour, but also included were 1 videographer, 3 spouses and 2 representatives of the CSCS, Stane and Erna Vršnik.

For many members of Triglav this was their first opportunity to visit Slovenia. The visit allowed them to meet with relatives and to gain a new appreciation of their parent's ancestral homeland. Many members of Triglav took this opportunity to visit with family, by traveling to Slovenia earlier than the exchange start date. Over half of our dance group arrived in the last week of June or the first week of July, so that they can visit with family and enjoy other parts of Slovenia.

Overall our organization and Triglav were incredibly pleased and happy with our tour of Slovenia. Hopefully we will be coming back to Slovenia in the future to learn more about Slovenian dance and culture!

Coming back to Winnipeg, we started to prepare for our visitors from Slovenia.

Mandrač-Telmont arrived August 4 and stayed in Winnipeg for 10 days, departing Winnipeg August 14. While in Winnipeg the CSCS hosted Mandrač-Telmont in a hotel, arranged for tours everyday and showcased Mandrač-Telmont at the Slovenian pavilion during Winnipeg's Folklorama festival. This annual festival showcases the various ethnic groups that live in Winnipeg. CSCS members work extremely hard for the success of the Slovenia Pavilion by contributing financially and volunteering their time and labour. This year, there was an extra special effort by the Slovenian community to welcome the visiting performers from Slovenia.

Mandrac-Trelmont's attendance included 28 entertainers (dancers, singers, choreographer and musicians), 3 additional spouses. All these people stated they had a wonderful time in Winnipeg and continually mentioned how happy they were and how much they were enjoying themselves.

While in Winnipeg, the CSCS arranged for tours of the city during the daytime of various venues within Winnipeg. These included the Manitoba Legislature, the Forks, Art Gallery, River Boat Cruise, IMAX Theater, Mint, Museum and Planetarium, Lower Fort Garry, Zoo and Club Regent. All of these tours were well received by the members of Mandrač-Telmont.

While the tours were well received, Mandrač-Telmont fell in love with Winnipeg, the same way that Triglav fell in love with Istria. Mandrač-Telmont constantly commented on how green Winnipeg was, how beautiful (and tall) the buildings were, and the history in Winnipeg.

During the evenings, Mandrač-Telmont was the feature entertainers at our Folklorama festival. This consisted of performing 3 - 5 times in an evening (each performance was 15 - 20 minutes). Mandrač-Telmont showcased dances from Istria, Gorenjska, Bela Krajina and Prekmurje.

While all attendees to our pavilion enjoyed Mandrač-Telmont, our local Slovenian community truly enjoyed them the most. Many friendships were started, and are now continuing via E-mail or phone calls.

When the time came to conclude this tour, the goodbye was painful. The friendships between Triglav, CSCS and Mandrač-Telmont are strong, and this truly was a 'summer to remember' for all. Our community in Winnipeg was pleased with our first cultural exchange to Slovenia, and we look forward to continuing this type of activities in the future.

On behalf of the Slovenian community in Winnipeg, a gracious thank you to the government of the Republic of Slovenia for their time and assistance with this project, various sponsors in Winnipeg, and a very special thank you to:

Mojca Lepej - choreographer, Folkloric Group Mandrač-Telmont

Sonja Gorjan - president, Folkloric Group Mandrač-Telmont.

Mara Godnic - past-president, Folkloric Group Mandrač-Telmont.

Stan Majowski

Canadian Slovenian Cultural Society Inc.

Winnipeg, Canada

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