You still can't decide if to join the drummer workshop or not? Read this interview with Panayota Papageorgiou and meet Batala Praha more!
[Barbora] What is your personal experience with Batala?
[Panayota] I started playing with Batala Atenas 12 years ago, up until then I only new Samba from Rio. With Batala I refined what Brasilian music is, I was introduced to the music scene of Salvador with strong African roots. The compositions of Giba Conclaves are very versatile and the choreographies are very distinctive, and the best part was that even though I was not a musician I could really be part of the group and learn and play.
When I started I haven't ever played a musical instrument and I found myself performing in Brasil, London, Vienna, Poland, meeting people from all over the world. - Panayota Papageorgiou
[Barbora] What makes Batala special?
[Panayota] Apart from the great music, I like the Idea of this global project and how organically it grows.I love that when all bands get together like in Notting hill carnival, the only language we need is our music.It is an inclusive project,you can see people from different backgrounds, age, countries and when we play we are one band. One drum one love!
[Barbora] What makes you different from other Brazilian drummer shows?
[Panayota] The music is distinctive, there are many new compositions from Giba during the year, so new songs are coming very often. The choreographies are also created with every new song. Most important we are bringing a bit of Salvador in our performance, we are more of a bloco than a stage group.
[Barbora] Why should people join the workshop?
[Panayota] First of all come to enjoy, even if you have never played music before. We are always spending time to listen to music, you will have the chance to make music. Get a taste of the scene of Bahia, Brasil is a huge country,it's not only Rio. And ofcourse come to experience the Batala music and get more info about this huge project that we are lucky to represent in Prague.
Would you like to try being a drummer? Then join us this Sunday 27th Oct from 2 p.m. in Music Club Jižák! Don't forget to get your ticket here.
