SUMMARY:
This original choreography integrates classical, folk and modern styles and was created explicitly for Gerdan’s fusion of Vittorio Monti’s Czardas and the Lemko folk song, Ked Mi Prisla Karta (When My Draft Card Arrived).

This five-minute narrative work explores the thoughts of a young man, having received his Draft Card, sitting in a tavern lamenting his impending departure and uncertain future. He asks the band to play a czardas and imagines one last dance before he goes. He thinks of his parents and family, but in particular, his beloved young wife and their unborn child.

Performing this piece evokes poignant emotions, particularly when set against the backdrop of the unthinkable war in Ukraine and the countless images of heart-aching farewells, family separations and selfless acts of heroism in defense of freedom.