First night of Folkmoot features Guadeloupe, Finland

“Tonight, she felt really good because she could see people really appreciated the way she danced, and she was happy about it,” said Kathleen Lazard, the 36-person group’s sole translator.

The evening, Home Trust Bank’s first-ever Family Night, was Folkmoot’s first official public performance of the year — and the friendly, intimate event seemed a perfect way to kick off the festival’s 11 days of dance and music across Western North Carolina. Only two groups performed, but they complimented each other well, each offering a completely different take on the idea of folk dance.

Guimbi’s troupe, which did lively dances backed by an impressive group of musicians beating drums and shaking maraca-like instruments and more, were clothed in bright colors and were mostly barefoot. As they stomped and jumped, they had an energy that was exciting and wild. The feeling was infectious and by the end of the show, the group chose people from the audience to dance alongside them. There was even a conga line, with locals and islanders alike holding onto one another’s shoulders as they moved to the music.

As Guimbi put it, everyone felt like “family.”

The members of Tahdittomat, by comparison, had a sweetness and innocence to their dances. Dressed in traditional Finnish costumes (long skirts for the girls; jackets, knee-length pants and leggings for the boys), the dancers seemed to tickle the stage instead of pounce on it. The women often glided, almost floated, across the floor. Even during the livelier dances, complete with high kicks and the men raising their partners off the ground, there was a gentleness to the whole thing. Theirs wasn’t the kind of choreography to dance along to but instead to be captured by. Watching them do their slower songs was a near meditative experience, and the vast majority of the audience looked spellbound.

Swaying and leaping and twirling across the floor, everyone in the group had a good-hearted smile on their face.

The group’s band, Tradikaali, was a big part of creating these transporting moments. Sort of a fusion of folk and jazz, the band sported such instruments as an accordion, violin and saxophone that night.

Pianist Alexandria Schultz, who happened to be celebrating her 21st birthday the same day, looked to be having a great time. Though this is only the second time she has played in a folk festival, she already seems hooked.

“It is really exciting to perform and meet a lot of new people from different cultures and hear their music and see their dances,” she said, with hardly a whiff of an accent. “It’s interesting.”

And there is much more to come. Wednesday night was only a small sample of what lies ahead for the festival, which continues through July 31 and also includes groups representing China, Burundi, Croatia, Italy, the USA and Trinidad (whose performers are scheduled to arrive in the next few days). Today, Waynesville will host the annual Parade of Nations at 12:30 p.m., beginning at the Haywood County Historic Courthouse on Main Street. As always, the parade will feature each of the participating groups, dressed in their traditional garb. Tonight, the Stompin’ Ground in Maggie Valley will host the festival’s official Grand Opening at 7:30 p.m., with all of the groups performing. Some of the performers will also be at the Friday Night Street Dance, 6:30 to 9 p.m. outside Waynesville’s courthouse.

This weekend’s Folkmoot events include the Folkmoot 5K, scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Hazelwood and the World Celebration, with six groups at the Lipinsky Auditorium at the University of North Carolina Asheville, at 7:30 p.m. the same day. At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, three groups will perform at the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

For more information on Folkmoot, including tickets and a full schedule, visit www.folkmootusa.org.