At the 36th Kurdish Dance Festival in Duisburg, groups from Germany, France, and Switzerland presented traditional Kurdish dances. In addition to competitive performances, cultural research and intergenerational remembrance were also in the spotlight.
At the 36th Mîhrîcana Govendên Kurdistanê (Kurdish Dance Festival), 34 Kurdish folk dance groups from Germany, France, and Switzerland gathered in Duisburg over the weekend. The aim of the two-day event was to present traditional Kurdish dances and keep cultural diversity alive.
The parade originally planned for Saturday had to be canceled due to heavy rain. Nevertheless, hundreds of dancers gathered in front of the Rheinhausen Hall at noon and opened the event with a large Govend (Kurdish dance) circle.
The festival opened with a minute's silence in memory of those who have died in the service of Kurdish culture. In his speech, Mustafa Şahin from the organizing committee emphasized the cultural value of the festival: “This festival is not just an ordinary competition show. It is a project for the preservation and transmission of our culture. For us, all the groups here today are winners.”
Competition and prize winners
On Saturday, 19 groups competed against each other in the preliminary round. The nine-member jury selected two finalists:
* Govenda Sipan Amara Jin from Hamburg (1st place in the preliminary round)
* Koma Nûdem from Kiel (2nd place in the preliminary round)
The following groups achieved the following rankings in Sunday's final:
1st place: Govenda Ar (Wuppertal) with dances from the Bingöl region
2nd place: Govenda Sipan Amara (Hamburg) and Arya Mara (Cologne), both with equal points
3rd place: Amara Dersim (Hamburg) with dances from the Dersim region
Special prizes for cultural commitment
Research prize: Koma Berivan (Wesel) and the Duisburg Folklore Team were honored for a 70-page paper on Yazidi culture and religious practices.
Jury special prize: Honorary prizes were awarded for long-standing commitment to Ekrem Demir, founding member of Govenda Sipan Amara from Hamburg, and Özge El, active member of the Kiel Folklore Group.
Closing ceremony in a festive atmosphere
After the award ceremony, the forecourt of the hall was transformed into a stage for exuberant dancing. Hundreds of young people celebrated cultural diversity until late into the evening with music and Govend.
