Glasgow Transylvanian ceilidh for Ukrainian Roma refugees

In an unusual fusion of cultures, the Scottish classic is performed to live music by Romania’s Taraful din Glasgow and dances by Hungarian dance expert Tamas Ferenc.

The event is part of a series of live performances and a new EP by Glasgow-based collective Ando Glaso, celebrating the vibrant and often unseen cultural heritage of Scotland’s Roma.

Ukrainian Roma group Rom Som, taking place at The Rum Shack on April 7, will also perform at the special fundraiser for Ukrainian refugees to mark International Roma Day 2023.

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The group came to the UK as a result of the war in Ukraine and they and their families are currently on support and living scattered around the UK. Admission to the event is by donation, with anything raised going directly to the group and their families.

Janos Lang, Creative Director of Ando Glaso, said: “As a Roma-led organisation, we are aware of the hardship faced by Roma refugees fleeing war.

“We often hear about the discrimination they experience when they arrive as refugees in different countries, which adds to their suffering.

“We are committed to showing solidarity and helping Roma escape the horrors of war.

“We felt that inviting members of Rom Som to our International Roma Day celebration, after reaching out to us, was a good way to raise awareness of the existence of Roma refugees in the UK , and a good start to support them.”

Rounding out the night will be Ando Glaso’s own youth group ZOR, who will perform their signature high-octane gypsy dance music.

Composed of young Roma men from Glasgow, ZOR was originally set up as part of a youth project by Ando Glaso and has only grown from strength to strength.

Supported by the Youth Music Initiative, the group explores the different directions of gypsy music as well as other genres to create their own music and sound with the goal of becoming ambassadors of Roma culture in the mainstream cultural scene.

ZOR brings together young self-taught musicians from the various Slovak, Romanian, Czech and Hungarian Roma communities.

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This diversity is present in the group’s music, mixed with traditional and modern genres and styles.

Janos added: “We held our first Transylvanian ceilidh about six years ago and since then it has become a regular event due to its success.

“The event brings Roma music, dance and culture to the general public in a format familiar to Scots.

“It brings people straight to the heart of Roma culture by dancing together with the help of Roma musicians and a dance caller from Transylvania.

“Last year we not only held the Ceilidh in Glasgow, we brought it to Edinburgh for the first time to celebrate International Roma Day and we had a great time in both cities.”

On May 12th Ando Glaso will also be collaborating with Glasgow Life to present Lolu Reinhardt and Yuliya Lonskaya in a concert at the Glasgow City Chambers.

Lulo Reinhardt, Django Reinhardt’s great-nephew, has a unique repertoire of gypsy swing with music from North Africa and India as well as classical guitar.

Yuliya Lonskaya has won several international guitar competitions in Poland, England, America, Serbia and Montenegro.

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With her eclectic style of folk, jazz, bossa nova, baroque, classical and romantic, Yuliya is a very welcome performer in many European and American concert halls, plays solo concerts and performs with orchestras.

Janos said: “Before Rom Som, we were not approached by Ukrainian Roma refugees.

“The Glasgow community is very supportive of refugees and we will always do our best to help and support those in need.

“We hope that our event on April 7th will raise awareness and we will gather significant support for Roma refugees and have a great time celebrating Roma culture to mark International Roma Day.”