A new concept for 2015, the National Afternoons spotlighted the best of the Czech Republic, Germany, South Africa and Italy. Held in the ample Amfi Arena at the Messukeskus Expo Center, each hour-long performance provided a bite-sized taste of each country’s culture and Gymnastics style.

 

CZECH REPUBLIC

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Though a big responsibility to lead off what many hope will be a new tradition at the World Gymnaestrada, the Czechs were comfortable hosting the first-ever National Afternoon, partly because they have already lived many firsts in Gymnastics.

The show used modern routines to showcase Czech contributions to the sport. Among them Sokols were among the first to practice modern Gymnastics, adapting the sport from Central European military exercises. The great Vera Caslavska, the 1964 and 1968 Olympic All-around champion, hailed from Prague.

 

GERMANY

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Even though the show was entitled “Enjoy Your Rhythm,” (also the official slogan of the 2015 Rhythmic Worlds in Stuttgart), the German National Afternoon was not limited to Rhythmic Gymnastics. Rhythm, however, was spread throughout the hour-long show, which began in a traditional way, with gymnasts humming the German National anthem.

Among the show’s highlights were the “Artistic Show Team” performance using parallel bars and mini-trampolines and the show troupe “Uniexplosion,” who created countless formations on unicycles.

 

SOUTH AFRICA

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The South African National programme began with a moving number that portrayed the peaceful life of the Rhinos in the wild stalked by dancers dressed in hunting jackets. The “Save the Rhinos!” message delivered, the rest of the 60-minute performance took a lighter tone, showcasing the culturally rich and diverse African nation, with performances from special guests Zimbabwe (performing for the first time at a World Gymnaestrada this year) and Australia.

 

ITALY

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The fantastic dreams of an Italian father searching for his gymnast daughter were the premise of the Italian National Afternoon.

These Gymnastics dreams were filled with flowers and balloons, but also with fabrics: no one has made better use of long bolts of chiffon at this World Gymnaestrada than the fashion-conscious Italians, who used imaginative choreography to turn huge swaths of fabric into everything from butterfly wings to ocean waves.

As much Theatre as Gymnastics, the imaginative routines also managed to explore the sensual. Some dreams are so happy that you don’t want to wake up.