A night of community.

On a Saturday like many, walking around Dublin looking for something different than the usual pint, I ended up at the La Mansarda event in the Hendrick Smithfield.
I already knew the event and performed there in the last few years, but I have to say I’ve never seen something like that night in Dublin.
The theme of the night was ‘A night of community’, and I have to say that after everything that is happening in the world right now, no best title could have been chosen for such an event.

I had the opportunity to discover communities of musicians and artists from literally completely different parts of the world, in a new and captivating way, all together to celebrate the different realities active in Ireland.

The first set was ‘Joy of India’, an incredible trio offering us typical Indian rhythms and chants that I personally never had the chance to see live in the Dublin music scene from when I landed three years ago. 
The incredible sound and technique in the voice of Ankita Gawas transported us immediately to the east of the world, giving us the perfect start to the night. She was joined by two great musicians: Sadanad Pugee playing Tablas, a typical Indian instrument, and  Suraj Puttigee on the flute and violin playing melodies while replying to the sound of the voice.
After this enchanting music, we moved to the exact opposite of the world: Brasil! 
We got the chance to get a free ‘Samba de Gafeira’ dance workshop. 
​It’s different from the typical image we can have about samba, way closer to a Tango or a Paso Doble, but has been still extremely interesting to be able to meet another concept of Samba. 
The teachers William Alexandre and Aline Kuiavski are amazing dancers, really elegant to see, they explained the basics of the dance, helping even the clumsier to get to enjoy the moment!

We stayed in Brazil for the last act, offered by the incredible talent Luisa Annibali, co-host of the night with her ‘Lulu’s jazz club’.
With her six-piece band ‘The Brazilian Jazz Journey' with Hayley Kavanagh, Kevin Shortall, Alexandre Guerra, Vanessa Talita and William Ribeiro, Luisa gave us the opportunity to listen, sing and dance with some of the most known Brazilian jazz and samba tunes, completed with some Italian songs to not lose her roots.
The musicians were playing traditional Brazilian instruments such as Pandero, Cuica and Berimbau, born in Africa, but used in Brazil to accompany the famous ‘Capoeira’ martial art.

At the end of the night, as a tradition for ‘La Mansarda’ event, we had the best Tiramisu in the world, handmade with loads of love for everyone from the magic Ligia’s hands.

To close, I truly believe ‘La Mansarda’ is something we need as fresh air in a polluted sky full of closed minds. 
Is one of the best ways of doing good. 
Giving donations to the Italian ONG ‘Emergency’, it was born and raised to give what’s possible to those who need help in the world, offering arts from different countries, creating the community necessary for a change, being the cure, as the lemon represents, to feel humans again.

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About the Author:

Living as a classical cellist by day and a modern singer by night, Joy is an Italian Dublin-based cellist who discovered how her instrument could be used in different ways to create new music, outside the paper.

Always attracted to different music styles, she fell in love with blues thanks to the American songwriter Peter Karp, who gave her the first directions to start to compose and work on her songs.

She re-arranges and sing old and new songs from the jazz, blues, and RnB repertoire in English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and French, working at the same time on an upcoming debut EP coming out the next summer called 'Family portraits'.