Nataša Zavolovšek: When I heard for the Seas x expedition from Istanbul to Batumi, I immediately sent a mail to Chris Torch, that I want to be on that bus. I just knew that this would be something interesting.
On a sunny Sunday after IETM satellite meeting in Istanbul, I and Michel Quere from IETM landed in Batumi to join SEAS X in Adyer.
Despite that a taxi driver waited for us at the Turkish border, we could not miss a coffee in Batumi. Batumi is blooming city, the goal is to become the jewel of Black sea. And what I saw; it is on its way to become a leading touristic city on the Black sea. The coffee was good, our taxi driver was a kind guide, it is nice to see that people are proud of their city, he showed us all important things and took us safely to the border.
taxi driver and cultural promotor, photo by Natasa
The border reminded me of ex Yugoslavia. Each time, when I wanted to leave our country, it was the same tiring procedure. Waiting in a long line, then they suddenly change the lines, people mostly women, pushing us etc. Suddenly one woman fell down and Michel jumped to help her, I assisted him and when she was better, all the women who were very unkind before, thanked us and gave us a priority in the line.
The taxi driver was still waiting for us, but I got an sms from Borut, technical director of SEAS and of Exodos, that he had already gone and that we behaved like stars, who let people wait..
The drive was perfect, it was already night, small cities passed by and we stopped on the mountains. What a difference. From noisy Istanbul to this small calm village, between the hills, all around there was water and small wooden houses, hotels. We met all the artists, a nice meeting; I knew most of them from SEAS Balchik in 2008. We got to know the new artists in the evening, drinking Turkish coffee and tea, while they presented their work. Some impressed me and irritated me, a good starting point …
In the next few days, I had the possibility to see what culture can do. Not big shows but simple performances and workshops. We visited places where people haven’t seen a theater performance for years, if at all. What impressed me was their curiosity and quick response. The audiences in Turkey were mostly older men, some kids, mainly boys. Hopa is an extreme town. The last city before the border, mainly truck drivers, men sitting in front of coffee houses looking dangerous, but when they watched the SEAS event they became all friendly, kind and focused. The Turkish performance WAITING… was just the right one for them. As they are waiting for next day to go on the road.
When we came to Batumi the second time, Batumi looked different. It is still a blooming city, but you can see also a big discrepancy between the new expanding hotels, buildings and the real life of most of the people. Streets without asphalt, many small shops and people selling cigarettes and other small things on the streets. Waiting in long lines for school books. You can still feel that they were a part of the Soviet Union and the word Russia is almost forbidden.
A huge difference between Georgia and Turkey. In Turkey you have problems for 5 minutes; in Georgia they are slow to find solutions. But in Batumi, one of the nicest buildings is the theater. In Hopa or other Turkish cities there weren’t even small culture houses.
The Georgian folk dance performance was really amazing. What energy. I started to think about why contemporary dance is avoiding all connection to folk dance. It is a pity, in a way. The audience was different, mostly young and many women too, less direct then the Turkish audience. More suspicious. But one old lady asked us for a little SEAS flag as a present for her, while Borut was hanging them in the harbor.
She got a present, we got an experience, they got new knowledge with the SEAS events and we got new knowledge about Georgian culture and life. We opened some windows for them and they opened some doors for us. Nice exchange.
The Black Sea, photo by Natasa
When I smoked my last cigarette in front of Batumi airport, I saw my first taxi driver, we smiled and waved and Linzi said: “it seems like you have a friend everywhere.” On such cultural expeditions you can get them. Culture is for sure one of the things which connects people.
natasa zavolovsek , director of Exodos festival and producer, coordinator for SEAS Baltchik
EXODOS, Ljubljana/Slovenia
SEAS X 