When Daler Nazarov and Mohsira Oriental Dance Theatre from Moscow finished their show, the big crowd of listeners didn’t seem to want to go home. Many people expressed their emotions aloud: “I haven’t seen anything like this in Dushanbe before! Daler is at his best, as usual!” Or: “These Arabic dances were unbelievable! Why is it over so soon?” Although the concert had lasted for more than 2.5 hours, many people thought it wasn’t enough. We happened to be luckier: on the eve of the concert, VIPzone correspondents had spent almost an entire night at the final rehearsal, and after the show the musicians invited us to their get-together…

The four dancer girls from the Oriental Dance Theatre arrived in Dushanbe on March 17, three days before the concert, accompanied by their mentor Mohsira who, by the way, is our ex-compatriot: she was born in Tajikistan.

On the eve of the show we witnessed the final rehearsal at the Vefa Centre hall where the concert itself was to take place.

Musical instruments, lots of wires, huge boxes and many other things are scattered chaotically across the stage. People are running around the hall to and fro, but neither the dancers nor Daler are here yet. A wonderful melody full of virtuosic rhythm can be heard played on the drum, but we can’t see where it comes from.

We are waiting for the start; the drum solo goes on. We’ve already decided it was on playback because the drummer was switching from one rhythmic pattern to another and never missed a beat. But when the musicians finally arrived, the drum went silent and from behind the unpacked boxes emerged Zarif, the drummer from Shams band. So it was him playing!

The musicians also brought along Mohsira and the girls. Those already present are happy to greet them. There are warm embraces, laughter and chatter. Someone has brought a 3-4 year old boy, and we can’t figure out who his parents are: all dancers and musicians seem to be taking equal care of him. The boy hasn’t cried one single time; he just drowses off now and then on one of the seats in the auditorium, and somebody always covers him with something warm. Just like one big loving family!

Daler is now here, too. While the girls are rehearsing the dance, he adjusts the equipment and discusses something with the tech people, holding a big tea mug in his hand. It’s almost 22 o’clock, but the whole thing hasn’t even been started yet…

We haven’t noticed at first that one of the dancers, a blonde girl named Alla, has her arm in plaster. She puts a shawl over her shoulders and rehearses just like the others. “To break an arm just before departing! But that’s OK; tomorrow no one will notice anything,” that’s what we hear. This turns out to be true…

This concert definitely wasn’t something ordinary and regular, and not just because it was led by Daler Nazarov, an idol for several generations. Being a part of Aerospirantae art project, the show reunited most of the band’s line-up from its golden period. The Aerospirantae have been arranging concerts like this in different parts of the world and will continue doing so.

The Aerospirantae project was created by our ex-compatriot Pavel Achilov and Daler Nazarov. Here’s what Daler says about it: “The common idea of Airbreathers keeps uniting people in different corners of the planet, people who are connected through Love and the desire to reach the Whole. Nothing is required from you to become a part of the Whole: just breathe in unison, creating a common rhythm. Breathing is something that unites all people – good and bad, rich and poor, believers and non-believers in God… The master blesses his pupil by giving him his breath… The conqueror and the conquered breathe in the same air… We take a deep breath and then we start to sing…”

So this is how they started the concert: in one breath.

The lights go out; we hear the sound of flute. The audience feel like they’re in the middle of the high mountains where this melody was born. Then the flute is joined by other national instruments, and then the entire band, illuminated by the stage lights, starts playing a mind-blowing melody involving drums and bass solo – so here we go! Ethnic music goes hand in hand with electronics; folk and classical melodies get interpreted by modern instruments…

          

Daler appears on stage almost without being noticed, with no unnecessary pomp. He is wearing corduroys, a loose-fitting t-shirt and a stylish cap. At first the audience doesn’t even react, but when they recognize him, the hall explodes with applause. People’s favorite songs, so dear to them… The older listeners can’t control their emotions: this music takes them to the Dushanbe of the 80s. And when the huge screen over the stage shows video footage of Daler’s band in their younger years, many people can’t hold back the tears…

                                     

Every song in the show is accompanied by some unusual dance. Mohsira and the girls, dressed in loose white silk dresses, appear to be hovering over the stage. No one notices Alla’s injury: she has wrapped flowing silk garments around herself, and now she whirls in her dance, looking like an opening flower.

But the main dance that amazed literally everyone was performed by Mohsira and Sofia. The music went quiet; only the hollow sound of the drums remained. Mohsira tiptoed to the centre of the stage, every atom of her body responding to the drumbeat. While dancing, she reached out her hand to each of the other girls in turn, as if bestowing her hypnotic power upon them. The dancers’ bodies began pulsating in the rhythm of the drumbeat. Finally, Mohsira decided to choose Sofia and beckoned her with her hand; Sofia moved nearer, as if pulled by a string. Then Mohsira disappeared, and it was Sofia’s solo dance from that moment on. It seemed as if her body was connected to the drum by an invisible wire. One movement with each beat. When the beat was getting faster, Sofia seemed to live and breathe according to its rhythm; when it slowed down, her body was becoming still too, making the entire audience hold their breaths, and then… Another beat of the drum, resembling an electric jolt, brought her back to life. Sofia draws up abruptly, as if dissipating the enchanting energy of her dance.

The audience roared with admiration! It’s true; Dushanbe hasn’t indeed seen anything like this before…

Nobody wanted to leave; nobody wanted this celebration to end. Apparently, the concert organizers could read our thoughts: they invited us to the after-party in a common apartment in Dushanbe.

Do you remember the scene from the movie Brat [Brother] where the protagonist goes to his neighbors to ask for a painkiller and finds himself in the middle of a party? Same here: we entered the flat, made it through mountains of footwear and saw a spacious living room where musicians, dancers and lots of other people sat around a huge table. Someone was playing the piano; the others were singing, telling jokes or just chatting. Every newcomer was greeted with joy and enthusiasm, be it a friend or a stranger. The owners of the apartment were treating the guests with hot and unbelievably tasty home-made pelmeni. Everyone had their share; it’s incredible how the hosts had managed to cook that many dumplings!

“Why don’t we all dance?” someone suggests. Everyone approves the idea, but instead of a stereo someone brings… a couple of saucepans and a plastic basin, and the guys start playing on these “instruments”.

The others sing along; everyone takes turns dancing. It’s long past midnight, so we can’t help but ask the flat owners: “What about your neighbours? Aren’t they angry?” “Neighbours? All neighbours are here with us!” they laugh.

Unfortunately, everything has an end. We left in the small hours of the morning, tired but happy. Next day the dancers of Mohsira theatre flew back to Moscow. Daler and his band returned to their everyday business. The celebration was over. But we had a firm promise that it would be continued.