I celebration, we had a huge reunion gathering this past weekend. There were nearly 100 alumnae and current Slavs. It was crazy!
It began on Friday night. We all gathered in the Branford Common Room, ate Thai Food, and chatted. Women met who hadn't seen each other in probably 20 years. There were Slav progeny, all of them adorable. Slavs make cute kids.
The point of Slav reunions is to put on a concert at the end of the weekend in which ALL of the Slavs sing. That's right--that means that there were almost 100 of us singing today. Wow. We began Saturday with a morning rehearsal, following it up with another in the afternoon. It was fascinating to sing with so many Slavs, especially because many of them had sung things quite differently however many years ago. The rule of the weekend was that whatever version was least likely to confuse the majority of people was the one we went with. We worked them all out somehow!
And then... on to the party! I say it as though it were easy. We had a big catered dinner and Zlatne Uste, a balkan brass bank, performing all evening. I started by hauling crates of napkins, flatware, and paper plates down from one of the Slavs dorm rooms, and then--disaster! We had rented a dozen tables, and had them delivered to someone's house a few blocks away, since they couldn't be delivered to the venue right away. Someone with a truck was supposed to come help us get them to the venue, about three blocks away, but they never showed up, so we had to get them there by hand. These were big round banquet tables, so the most logical thing was to roll them down the street, one by one. Easier said than done. They were heavy, and it was really windy--it made for slow going. But it was quite a sight, a line of Slavs making out way down the sidewalk, each one rolling a table... You should have seen us crossing the street...
Once we got the tables there, and set up, everything went quite well. There was an abundance of Greek food, and wine, and balkan dancing. How could you go wrong? And then there was another event in the building, right on our heels, so we had to clear out at 10 o'clock, and FAST. Let the hauling begin again! Chairs, tables, trays of food, garbage bags...
I slept well last night.
And then today dawned bright and sunny, and finally warm! We had another rehearsal this morning (This is what happens when you have 3 days to put together a concert), and then something really cool happened: we all got in chronological order, and introduced ourselves. So the original women, from 1969, introduced themselves, and we went all around the circle, until it got to... me. (Although I am not actually the newest Slav--our newest ones had had to leave.) What an honor to sit with all these women, to be part of this wonderfully tangible tradition. We were all so different, and yet... not. There was some common thread, some shared sensibility, that bound us all, across generations and locations and professions. A Slav is a Slav is a Slav, to a degree. I got to join hand with one of the original Slavs as we all stood in a circle, grateful for each other. It was wonderful and moving.
And then we sang! This afternoon, at 3:30, we had our 40th reunion concert! 100 Slavs singing in Battell Chapel, which is a wonderful place to sing, big and bright and echo-y. It was so fun to hear the alums sing, and to sing with them. 100 Slavs at once! Sorry, I'm still astounded.
I learned something interesting: Slavs was started by a man. How bizarre. He was here this weekend. His name is Celo. He was in the Russian Chorus, and had come across some Bulgarian folk music, written for women, so when women came to Yale, he got some of them together to sing Slavic music. He did, he said jokingly, "to meet girls." But he was the original conductor. I had no idea that men had had any part in our history! On Saturday afternoon, Celo, who is in his 60s, tall, with long, wispy, white hair, said a few words: "I just want to say... I am very proud of you, and of what you have become... I am honored to be a part of this." He nodded solemnly, and clasped his hands beneath his chin. "Thank you." It was, as one of the current Slavs aptly noted, a very Pygmalion moment. He had created such a beautiful thing... It was very strange, but also very touching.
He then conducted us in Prekvhrukna Ptichka, which is one of our most beautiful songs, and the one that we always finish our concerts with. He was the most animated conductor I have ever seen! But we did sound really good, all 100 of us. As we did this afternoon, when conducted this song in the concert.
What a weekend! It was so fun to see so many alums, and such a wonderful group to be a part of. As one of the alums said, "We've found our people."
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