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Zedashe, a polyphonic traditional dance and music group, will be featured in a workshop today at the Augusta Heritage Center. The group will then perform at the Randolph County Community Arts Center on Thursday. Both events are hosted by the Augusta Heritage Center.

ELKINS — Zedashe, a polyphonic traditional dance and music group, will begin a three-day visit to the area today as the Augusta Heritage Center hosts the ensemble, hailing from the country of Georgia.

Augusta will host two events with Zedashe that are open to the public, beginning with a singing workshop today from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The second event, set for Thursday at 7:30 p.m., will be a concert of traditional Georgian music and dance. Both events will be at the Randolph County Community Arts Center.

Zedashe, which is directed by Ketevan Mindorashvili, was founded in the mid-1990s to sing a repertoire largely lost during the Communist era. Zedashe features both men and women singers and is one of the few mixed gender performing ensembles in Georgia.  

The group have developed a highly distinctive sound with their repertoire, including ancient three-part harmony chants from the Orthodox Christina liturgy, as well as a full range of folk song genres that include love songs, historical ballads, war dance songs and ritual circle dances.   

Zedashe’s songs are accompanied by the panduri (Kakhetian lute), chonguri (Gurian lute), doli (drum), chiboni (goat-skin bagpipe) and garmoni (Georgian accordion). Two virtuosic solo dancers are part of the group and feature intricate footwork and gestures of varied traditional Georgian dance styles.

The group takes its name from special earthenware jugs called zedashe, which were buried under the family homes for the purpose of making wine. The wine made in a zedashe was especially for the veneration of ancestors, and the tapping of the zedashe every year carried great ritual significance.

Zedashe has toured internationally with appearances at major festivals and universities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Latvia and the United States.

This is Zedashe’s fifth United States tour and is again being organized by the world music umbrella organization Village Harmony. For Zedashe’s complete itinerary or for more information about the ensemble, go to www.zedashe.com.

For more information and event details, visit the Augusta Heritage Center’s website at augustaartsandculture,org.