Ammon News - AMMAN - Circassian folklore and tradition will be on display next week to celebrate over half-a-century of one of the first cultural clubs in the Kingdom.

“Journey of a Generation” will be staged later this month to mark the 60th anniversary of Al Jeel Al Jadeed (the new generation) Club for Circassian Folklore.

Sixty young performers from the Al Jeel Al Jadeed Circassian Dance Troupe will perform in the event, to be held at the Applied Science University theatre from March 31 to April 3, bringing to life the ancestral dances of the Caucasus region.

The concert, which will be held under the patronage of HRH Prince Ali, the club’s honorary president, will feature 12 dances as well as songs and poetry recitals, highlighting the achievements of the club over the past decades, according to organisers.

All those involved in the production, including over 100 performers, trainers, administrative staff and sound and lighting technicians, are volunteers, club president Hisham Varouqa said during a press conference on Monday to announce the event.

“The club aims to enhance cultural diversity in the Jordanian community and introduce people to Circassian traditions and arts locally and internationally,” he told reporters.

Varouqa noted that several cultural events and exhibitions will be held this year to highlight the achievements of the club, which was established by a group of young Circassians in 1950.

Circassians, who call themselves Adyghe, are an indigenous people of the northwest Caucasus region. Today, only a minority live in their divided ancestral homeland, mainly in the three republics of the Russian Federation: Kabardino Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygheya. The majority were forced to migrate to the Ottoman Empire following the 19th century Russian-Circassian war, according to www.circassianworld.com

The first group of Circassian immigrants from the Shapsugh tribe arrived in Amman in 1868. Other Circassian tribes such as the Kabardia, Abzakh, and Bazadoch, soon followed.

Unofficial figures quoted by various members of the community place the Circassian population in Jordan at between 80,000 and 100,000.

Troupe trainer Sawzer Deshak said next week’s programme includes group and solo performances reflecting on the achievements of Jordanians of Circassian origins in various fields.

Such dances include Yeslameh, which depicts a love story between a princess and a commoner, and Qafa, a royal dance celebrating life and liberty, characterised by fast-paced movements in harmony with the quick, lively music.

Abkhaz is another dance during which boys and girls challenge each other’s dancing skills, while Thaparefa narrates how men and women knights defended their land.

The concert will conclude with “Journey of a Generation”, a mix of different dance styles conveying various messages to the audience, according to Deshak.

The dance troupe, which regularly participated in the Jerash Festival for nearly three decades, has also performed in several international festivals in Cyprus, France, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey, the UAE and the US.

Tickets are available at Al Jeel Al Jadeed Club for Circassian Folklore office near the 7th Circle.

Circassians

• The Circassians are a non-Arab, Islamic people originally from the Caucasus region of western Asia.

• Southward Russian expansion during the 19th century forced between 1.5 and two million Circassians to emigrate south.

• Circassians first arrived en masse in Jordan in 1878, where they settled in Amman, Wadi Seer and Naur.

• Today, Circassian populations can also be found in Jerash, Sweileh, Zarqa, Azraq and other parts of northern Jordan.

• Source: www.kinghussein.gov.jo

(Jordan Times/ By Hana Namrouqa)

** Members of the Al Jeel Al Jadeed Circassian Dance Troupe perform at a recent event (Photo courtesy of Al Jeel Al Jadeed Club for Circassian Folklore)