This afternoon we went to a Mongolian concert for children by children at the circus building in the centre of the city. Our girl's had tickets and we got in free because we were looking after them. Actually we were all free because our friend Bek gave us the tickets (two sets actually as our cleaner threw the first set out, but that is another story). The purpose of the concert was to demonstrate Mongolian culture in song and dance to other Mongolian children. Bek suggested that our girls wear their Khazak dresses. Keira refused, but Alesia was happy to get dressed up.
Bek met us at the door. He had a special pass because his son was performing, so he took us to the performers area, through hordes of kids in Mongolian costume, and then into seats directly in front of the stage, three rows back. Never mind that the rows were so close together that Chris and I could not sit with our knees out in front of us (I practiced sitting like a man), we still had a great view.
The performers were very cute, mini Mongolians right down to every costume detail. They were mainly primary aged and under, but there was one group of adolescent throat-singing boys. I will let you imagine what adolescent throat-singing boys actually sound like! Towards the end of the performance they announced that all the children in the audience who were wearing Mongolian costume should come up on-stage to get judged. Bek rang me from backstage to make sure I understood what was going on, and to send Alesia up. She refused. I understood completely, I was dying of embarrassment for her - it was hard enough being the only foreigners in the audience already. But when we asked her a second time she agreed. Maybe it was the promise of a prize? So she walked out on stage, one of the last children to arrive. She was much taller than everyone else, blond hair, and was wearing the costume of the largest ethnic minority in Mongolia complete with feathered head-dress - so she was pretty hard not to notice!
For some reason they put her in the middle of all the children (her height?). She didn't win the giant teddy bear (thank goodness!) but she did get some prizes in that green bag. The MC went through all the cultural dress represented and paused over her head and mentioned Khazak, which made Bek very happy. Later she said she wasn't scared on the stage, and her dress was the most beautiful so she was surprised that someone else was the winner!
Bek's son appeared in the finale, representing the Khazak minority I guess. In the photo above he is the second boy from the front - mustard jacket with black chest and gold detail, long trousers (for those of you who met Bek when he traveled to Australia over Christmas). Although attending the performance was like being in our own little bubble of otherness (with Bek elsewhere until the end we had no-one to translate for us) we still had a great time. I was very proud of Alesia being brave enough to be so different in so many ways (more than she realises) and still be herself.
