Bulgarian National Dances

Bulgaria is famous with its national dances. We have a huge variety of folk dance styles. Our country is very popular among international folk dancers. Even though the moves are important and sometimes difficult , in Bulgaria the main thing is the passion. When we dance you can see our feelings, our fire, our passion.

Our dances range from the simple village dance with one basic pattern that repeats to highly complex choreographies. Most of the dances that we enjoy in our country fall in between these two extremes. They are usually slightly more complex arrangements of traditional village dances, possibly combining several figures from adjoining villages or else including several of the more interesting variations performed by the village "extroverts". We usually dance a fixed number of variations in an agreed order which have been "put together". Most Bulgarians are able to join  dances, such as" pravo horo" or improvised " ruchenitsas"|. Everyone in our country knows at least the basics of these dances. We perform them together at social gatherings such as weddings. We don’t just watch the best dancers for fun, we have fun while dancing, everyone as much as he can.

Bulgarian folk dances are normally line dances, with hands joined either in low "V" hold, belt hold, crossed in front or "W" hold. Footwork can vary from fast intricate steps to slow sustained cat-like movements.

In the different regions in our country we dance different dances. We all know them but we also know which part of Bulgaria they’re typical for. We enjoy watching the dances we cannot perform and then performing for the enjoyment of others. There are five different regions where our national dances are concerned. One of the most interesting ways of identifying the regional style differences is to look at the way that the basic Pravo Horo is danced in each region. In Trakija it is danced in a smooth flowing, graceful style. In the Shop Region it is jerky with small hopped steps and lifted knees. The Dobrudjan Pravo is called Opas and is danced in a solid "earthy" style with knees always bent. The Severnjaško Pravo, called Dunavsko or Svishtovsko, is more springy, with an upward feeling, and the arms swing or "jig" in time with the feet. Pravo Rhodopsko is a simple dance with a solemn feeling, and small, restrained steps. The Pirin "Pravo" is usually in 7/8 and is what we know as Makedonsko, or Lesnoto. The 7/8 count is long, short, short, and begins with a lift on the first beat. Steps are onto the balls of the feet. Men lift their knees high while the women's feet barely leave the floor. When women only are dancing the leader of the line often performs a variation by moving back along the line of dance and dancing in a pair with the following woman.