The Elios Foundation just awarded $2,000 for Vardari to produce a multi-language music video about unity. Help us match this gift — $2,000 more gets us the rest of the way there.
Kombos director and Vardari bandleader Ellie Falaris Ganelin will compose the ensemble’s first original song in three languages – and accompanying music video – with the goal of creating unity while capturing the Bay Area’s vibrant, inclusive, and multicultural Balkan folk community.
The song – which will be performed in Greek, Serbo-Croatian, and Turkish – is titled Vimata, which is the Greek word for steps, as in, dance steps. The refrain loosely translates to: “Here in this community / We dance the same steps.”
Vardari will premiere the song in March 2027 as part of the Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal series at the Starry Plough Pub in Berkeley. During the premiere of the song, which will be filmed, attendees will be welcome to be part of the final music video, which will have its own screening premiere in April 2027 at the Middle East Cafe in Berkeley.
This project will be impactful as it harnesses the power of music to celebrate shared cultural traditions and promote unity across conflict areas. The Bay Area is historically one of the first places in the U.S. where people practiced global music and dance as a way to dissolve the differences that keep people apart. The creation of this song is a powerful message that honors and amplifies this cultural revolution and propels this vibrant tradition with a new point of view.
