Review of the Georgian National Ballet Sukhishvili Concert

Yesterday, I experienced an unbelievable dive into Georgian culture because a friend of ours gave us tickets to see the incredible show performed by Sukhishvili. The Georgian national ballet blew me away with its dynamic performance and storytelling through their magnetic dance, which often looked like fight choreography. 

Last year, I found interest in the Georgian football team and the European Football League for many reasons—some you may immediately understand (if you know me), others not so much (if you know me). Watching the football team, I realized that the Georgians are actually part of Europe, which, while I was a pupil, never came across, if I remember correctly. Not to mention that every map of Europe painted the old continent and its east border on the Black Sea, so it was interesting to unravel something so important now, and I didn’t know what to think of it. After seeing the national ballet perform yesterday, I was like, "Welcome, Georgians, come in, please take a seat, we love you." It would be an understatement to say that the whole show looked rich—not only money-rich, but more culturally significant, a deep dive into the Georgian folklore, history, and traditions. After it, I felt inspired; the music still plays in my head and my feet, leaving an impression long after the concert ended. The music was actually live, and the teamwork between the ballet and the musicians was impeccable. And while there was one guy who fell, I was kind of interested that that was the only fail of the night. The acrobatics, almost ninja-like, were so extreme at some points that it looked like the East and Europe had fused and created something new. We laughed at the amount of knee pain one should feel—and that we felt just by watching the stage—that the dancers apparently weren't experiencing. And the women of the ballet moved with such grace and femininity, dressed in their national traditional clothing, moving like ფერი (peri), making it look so easy, like waves. Just because something looks easy doesn’t mean that the work behind it, the years of practice to accomplish such a level, is easy to do. The whole ballet moved with power and ease, and I feel like each guy had their special move that they at some point performed. Some of them jumped as high as 3 meters, it seemed, and landed on their knees only to jump back and catch their feet in mid-air, like some kind of Dirty Dancing dolphin. Like I said, I will downplay how incredible the experience is. Everyone looked flawless and beautiful.

There was just one thing that really annoyed me, and it is not about the performance—their performance was outstanding. What annoyed me was the performance of half of the crowd. When are they going to learn that there is someone who makes a video of these concerts with much better quality than their shit phones? Take one photo of yourself with the concert and enjoy the show. The woman right of me made a 10-minute video with the lighting on while it was dark, then she spent 15 minutes sending the video to friends, and then she lost 15 minutes without looking up, checking her messages. Not to mention those were 50% of the audience with their phones. What is the point of going to see a live show if you are not live? Extremely bad behavior and so disrespectful to the hard work and these incredible performers right in front of you. It seemed like they didn’t want to be there. And for the record, if you're wondering how I saw this, those phones in the dark were everywhere. Your eyes are immediately drawn to them because of the flashlights or the screens, while the artists are trying to create atmosphere, telling a story of how in the morning the young met and they outdanced each other in the woods, all you see is some phones. And the people are looking at their recordings while the live show is right in front of them. Keep in mind those shows are probably recorded with professionalism. So what those knuckleheads are doing is making it annoying for the people who actually came to enjoy the show. Whatever, it seems there are always going to be people like those yesterday, every fucking concert, every movie I want to watch. Am I the only one here?

Nevertheless, the show was inspirational. I felt close to the culture, wanting to experience more. I would love to understand the history of those scenes and dances I saw. If there was a flyer that explained what was happening while I was watching it, that would have been nice. It got me interested in understanding more about the stories told by the ballet. The costumes seemed to depict different classes in the folklore of Georgia, which made it seem even richer. The fight for women, the tornado dance ხორუმი (khorumi), the პაპახი (papakhi), the dynamics—now I wish to know more, and that is the point of art.

Iliya Badev