“Music and Dance Festival” at the roof of the world

by: Samandar Pulodov, Director, Amesha Spenta

The Pamir ‘Music and Dance Festival’ has been jointly organized by Tajik NGO Amesha Spenta, Khorog Serena Inn and De Pomiri Handicraft in the premises of Khorog Serena Inn. The main events remained continued from August 31 to September 01. The event was supported by The Christensen Fund and the Aga Khan Development Network, Tajikistan.

The main objectives of the festival were to promote tourism in the region, enhance pluralism and tolerance, keep vibrant the diverse indigenous cultures, improve the  livelihood and mobilize local communities to support and contribute to culture and art development of the region.

A large number of spectators visited the festival each day to enjoy the colourful and diverse music from all over the Pamir region.  The bands from Khorog and Shams’ band from Dushanbe also entertained the audiences.

The performances of the artists depicted the cultural richness of the roof of the world. The 2-day programmes featured different events on one small “electric” stage interspersed with other smaller daytime acoustic “unplugged” dance and music workshops in different parts of the ground, and with other performances in theatre, local crafts, food and documentary film presentation as well as fishing, river side sculpturing and fashion show. The event also showcased demonstration regarding eco-energy and related systems (solar cookers, solar-powered lamps etc.).

This was the first ever mega festival in Pamir after the collapse of Soviet Union. The event was also as part of the preparation for the International music and dance festival “The Roof of the world”-2009, in the Pamirs.