From Russia With Love

by Juliet Fletcher

Michael Zorich's favorite comparison between American and Russian cultures is that the first is impressive on the surface, while the latter is less flashy but deeper. As a Kiev export and event coordinator for the second Russian Mosaic Festival celebrating different disciplines, he believes we have much to learn about the quieter folk traditions and fine arts of the region. Last year, he jokes, was "a success by accident. This year will be a little more planned." Zorich has lived in South Jersey for 11 years, but he has maintained links with artists both in his native Russia and those who have moved over here, seeking to distinguish forms of performance that rely on the Eastern European and Russian folk traditions. This year will feature ballet from Olga Kresin, regional folk and Jewish songs by Mark Sobol, and Vladimir Lapin's performance of Russian romances, a long-practiced method of musical storytelling that is similar to opera. Two highlights for Zorich will be a performance by International Ballet Theatre, an ensemble of global dancers led by Vladimir Shumeikin, and a set by Puno, a locally based aspiring pop group.

Aside from all this, there'll be an array of crafts, and foods from countries such as Georgia (provided by restaurants Paradise and Golden Gates, both in the Northeast) and Moldavia (from Liliya's in Cherry Hill) will be on hand. And Zorich hopes that someone out there will remember to bring a camera. "If you could take a photograph — of Russian artists, Lubavitcher singers, Ukrainian people all talking together — that would be a pretty great image."

Russian Mosaic Festival, Sun., Aug. 8, noon-8 p.m., free, Great Plaza at Penn's Landing, Columbus Blvd. and Chestnut St., 215-922-2FUN.