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ZIVILI
Performers Return
from Croatia
ZIVILI’s
trip to Croatia was yet another step in the company’s ongoing
effort to work towards a Our goals for this trip were, once again, to help people through music and dance, and also to 1.) acquaint young adult performers with the culture(s) that ZIVILI has so diligently researched and presented on stage for the past 29 years, and 2.) to put forth the notion for these young people, that music and dance can be agents of healing and can be used as such. Our mission was successful. It
is difficult to describe the emotion present on the day that ZIVILI
performed at the
Home for the It
is also difficult, if not impossible, to describe the afternoon spent at
the refugee camp in a town called Vinica. The people housed here since
the war ended in 1995 are truly the “left-overs” of a very cruel
period in Balkan history. These are people who are either too old and
too sick, too “unemployable,” many of them mentally unbalanced, to
be considered by foreign governments as candidates to house/shelter.
Quotes from those on the trip:
Croatia was a wonderful
experience that many people my age would never be able to have.
The orphanages, nursing homes, and refugee camps that we visited gave me
a better understanding of life and how to live each day. Letting
people know that they haven't been forgotten was the highlight of my
trip! I would love to go back someday and revisit these places.
This trip was awesome.
The lives I have touched and the memories I have made for myself and
with others gives me such a strong feeling of honor and importance.
My heart has extended itself further for the less fortunate and
forgotten. I will never forget these experiences because I have
been changed by them
What we experienced in
Croatia was the experience of a lifetime. Going to the refugee camp, the
children’s center, and the home for the elderly and getting to see all
of their reactions, was the best and also the hardest time I have ever
had performing. Before we performed over there it was like, “What is
the meaning of actually doing these dances?” No one in the United
States knows the meaning of it or the rich history of this culture. The
minute that we started to perform at the home for the elderely, they
began to sing every word to the songs with us. Watching them sing, and
cry tears of joy, we knew that all the years we had spent dancing their dances
and singing their songs was more than worth it.
The trip allowed us to
share the culture and heritage of a war torn nationwith Senior Citizens,
displaced refugees, and orphans. We felt theirspirit through tears
of joy, sorrow and remembrances of better days.gave to them a gift they
hopefully will cherish for a long time and inreturn we received their
love and a true appreciation and meaning for whatwe do.
Croatia was truly a once in a lifetime experience. How many people get to go visit the countries where their great-grandparents lived, and not only that, but go visit historical places that date back to the year 1. Aside from learning about my culture, I realized how lucky I am. Visiting the children in the orphanage and the people who lived in the refugee camp, I found out that it is not material possesions that get you through life, but the love of family and friends. I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend the second half of my summer.
“Going to a refugee
camp or an orphanage, you go with hopes of touching their lives. But you
have no idea how much they would touch your life. You see people
persevere through things you know you never could. Most of the
situations break your heart and warm it at the same time. You walk away
with a great respect for these people, and a new idea of yourself.
You come back a totally different person." "The laid back
lifestyle of East Europe is very refreshing to an American. We are
always running to tomorrow, rushing through today, trying to get ahead
without ever enjoying the present. They know how to take life as it
comes, and enjoy what is going on around them. This is a lifestyle we as
Americans should try every once in a while. It was amazing to live it
for two weeks."
"The trip was a
real eye-opener for me., It's amazing how well you can bond with people
who don't even speak your language. It changed the way I see
things, and I was so honored to see that the smiles on those people's
faces were because of me."
In April of this year, ZIVILI was the recipient of the “Artistic Excellence” award from the Greater Columbus Arts Council. The honor was accompanied by a $10,000 cash award, which ZIVILI chose to apply towards its work in Croatia. In addition, the Ohio Arts Council has contributed funds through its International Program. There was also financial support from private donors. ZIVILI was created in 1973 out of a desire by Co-Founders Pamela Lacko Kelley and Melissa Pintar Obenauf to help preserve a strong cultural legacy of primarily Croatian dance and music. The company has performed throughout the United States and Europe and is supported by grants from The National Endowment for the Arts, The Ohio Arts Council, The Greater Columbus Arts Council, and the Community Arts Fund at The Columbus Foundation, Nationwide Insurance Foundation, and by many individual and corporate sponsors. ZIVILI’s
recent season included
a successful run of its popular holiday program, Christmas
in Croatia. During last
summer and fall, the company presented performances at The John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.; at the
“Rhythm on the River” series in Columbus, OH; at the Lancaster (OH)
Music Festival; at the “Heritage Days Festival” in Cleveland, OH; at
Chillicothe Artist Series; at the Columbus International Festival; and
also appeared with Opera Columbus in its production of “Die Fledermaus.”
For more information, contact Melissa Pintar Obenauf at
(740)587-7715 or (877) 906-8314 (toll free)
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ZIVILI performers recently had the opportunity to
travel to Croatia to present performances and specialized programs in
refugee camps, in “collection centers” and at re-location centers
for orphaned refugees, and at senior facilities for persons impacted by
the recent war in the region. In addition
to these performances, company members also presented public
performances at the Trg Petar Preradovic in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital
city, and at the Palace Sponza in the walled city of Dubrovnik, located
on the Adriatic Sea. This trip, which took place from August 5th-August
24th, was ZIVILI’s fourth trip to the area
since the war ended in 1995. In 1997, the entire company traveled to
Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and to Sarajevo, Bosnia to provide programs
for people whose lives had been shattered due to the war. In August of
2000, ZIVILI again traveled to the region, this time to
Plovdiv, Bulgaria, to act as facilitators at a Balkan Youth
Reconciliation Seminar hosted by Friendship Ambassadors and UNESCO
(United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). ZIVILI
was such a popular presenter/facilitator at this seminar that
company members were invited to return to teach/present/facilitate at a
2nd seminar held in January, 2001 in Budapest, Hungary.
more
stable and peaceful region/world. All previous trips to the area have
indicated that not only is the company and its work appreciated, but
many times it is the case that those in attendance
camps,
homes for the elderly, collection centers for orphans, and public
performances, ZIVILI Directors Kelley and Obenauf
Like
during its 1997 Refugee Camp Tour, company members and area school
children prepared “Kid’s Kits” to take to locations where
performances took place.
Elderly
in Zagreb, where over 200 people sat i
n
the audience and not only sang along with every song, but who also cried
through the entire performance. Our performers found it difficult at
first to continue to perform, they were so overwhelmed. But carry on
they did, delivering one of many top-notch performances they were to
present. None of our young performers speak the Croatian language, but
the connection(s) that were made solely through our art form were very
apparent.
ZIVILI
down
to the courtyard, and to dance and sing for them in their rooms. With
some amount of trepidation, our young performers climbed the stairs and
entered rooms where strong medicinal odors greeted them. There were
people without limbs here, people who were blind and deaf and people
lying flat on their backs with no hope of ever getting up again. Taped
above many of their beds were religious paintings and icons, photographs
of
villages and homes, photographs of family members who had been lost
during the war, photographs of happier times. These are the images that
greeted us as we hesitantly walked through the door, dressed in
There
were public performances, too: one in 
Petar
Preradovic Trg (Square) in Zagreb, and one in the beautiful walled city
of Dubrovnik. There was also a performance at “Selo Lekenik”
Orphanage, an amazing facility built with Austrian money during the war
in 1993. There were classes with dance directors and ethnologists, and a
visit to the Etnografski Muzei (Ethnographic Museum) to see the hundreds
of Croatian costumes on display. And there were many impromptu
performances as well where singing and dancing were used to bridge
language and cultural gaps.
Nina
Tumbas,17years old,Granville Senior High School senior, 
Brian
Obenauf, 17 years old, Granville High School senior
Brad
Ostroff, ZIVILI 
Nicci
Tumbas, 19 years old, Miami University sophomore,
Mandi
Hellested, 19, Ohio State University sophomore, 
Margaret
Havens, age 16, Granville High School and 