Trakija Dances

The most deceptive Bulgarian dance style is probably Thracian style. At first it appears  relatively easy style to learn, but it takes a great deal of practice to really dance the dances from this region with the smoothly flowing, graceful movements evident when watching both men and women who have been born in this area, and it is a style that is easily lost. Dance with relaxed knees, that’s the most important key to Thracian style. Steps are taken onto the whole foot, with the body weight centered over the feet. Hands are held in "W" hold or low hold or are used for smooth flowing arm movements.

In this region dances are based mainly on a 2/4 rhythm especially in Eastern Thrace. More common in Western Thrace ,especially in the area close to the Shop region ,are irregular rhythms such as 5/8, 7/16 and 9/16. The tropoli (tapping) step is found only in Eastern Thrace (Stara Zagora, Sliven, Yambol Districts) and is danced only by men. Women dance with a less flamboyant style than the men. Pair dances are more common in Trakija than other regions.

Dobruja Dances

First of all, to get the feeling of Dobrujan dancing ,stand with your feet apart and bend your knees as far as you  comfortably can with your feet flat on the floor, push your ribs forward while keeping your back straight and stay there throughout the dance! Dobrujans dance with their knees always bent and their backs hollow. They all seem to be of short stature and solid.

With the dance a story is told- the life is hard for the Dobrujan farmer as he has to struggle with nature in order to survive, so his dancing, with strong downward movements, expresses his struggle with the land.

When a Dobrujan dances he uses his whole body. Hands are joined crossed in front, in belt hold, in "W" hold or placed with the back of hand on hips,the  palms open and facing outwards. They are also used for strong, firm, positive arm movements. Men and women dance together, though there are some dances for men or women only. Women's movements are simpler and lighter with slight shoulder twists.

Northern Dances

Another region that contributes to our colorful dances. The dances from the North of Bulgaria are mainly mixed, with similar styles for men and women. They are danced with an upright body carriage, with weight over the balls of the feet which allows the dancer to perform fast footwork with high knee lifts and various crossing steps similar to those found in dances from southern Romania. The impetus is upwards, hops are further off the ground than in the Shop region and knee lifts are less sharp.

There are some typical positions of course. In this region a variety of hand "positions" and movements are common. These include hands joined in low hold and swung backwards and forwards, joined in "W" hold in which case the arms "jig" up and down in time with the music making small circular movements, joined crossed behind backs  or placed on hips, thumbs back.

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.

Kukers

Kukers is a traditional ritual in Bulgaria. Actualy, only costumed mеn are performing the ritual. Their costumes cover most of the body and include decorated masks of different animals or sometimes double- faced creatures, big sticks and huge bells. Kukers can`t be women!

The kukers walk, dance and sing through the village to scare evil spirits away with the costumes and the sound of the bells, as well as to provide a good harvest, health, happiness and love to the village during the year. They dance in the last days of the winter, just before nature comes back to life.

The ritual is mixture between Christian and pagan traditions.

The Day of St. Konstantin and St. Elena

Nestinarstvo (fire dancing)

The" nestinarstvo" is one typical Bulgarian custom. The "nestinarstvo" is dancing on hot embers without any shoes or socks. The dancers dance with  the sacred images of Saint Konstantin and Saint Elena. And the custom is still practiced today in one little village in Bulgaria called `Balgari` in the beautiful Strandzha Mountain, 18 km away from the town of Tzarevo. The ritual is performed on the Day of St. Konstantin and St. Elena on June 3 and June 4.  People think of them as chosen by the patron Saint and it is even believed that they can hear his voice and see his face during the ritual. The "nestinars" are not only women, there are also male nestinars.

The most important fact is that the feet of the "nestinars" show no signs of burned skin at all.

Bulgarian Music

Silvie Vartan is a French singer born in Bulgaria. She is one of the first rock singers in France. She has become very famous all over Europe.

In 1965 Silvie got married with Djony Holiday. They are known as the golden couple. They divorced in 1980. Silvie got married again in Los Angelis for an American producer called Tony Scotti. They adopted a girl from Bulgaria-Darina.

 

Yildiz Ibrahimova is a Bulgarian singer of Turkish origin. She is one of the most popular jazz singers in Bulgaria. She also sings Bulgarian, Turkish and Gypsy folk songs and Russian romance.

 

 

 

Lili Ivanova- the biggest name in the history of Bulgarian pop music. Idol of three generations. The secret of this phenomenon lies in her magnificent, brilliant, clean voice, filled with drama and gifted with a huge range. Known to Bulgarian and foreign critics as a benchmark for quality and professionalism.

The phenomenal success of the biggest star of Bulgarian pop music has lasted for four decades, and her faithful pilgrims for whom she is just Lili, multiply with each successive generation. Incredibly ambitious, the song dictates her life, she serves it as a real thoroughgoing professional. With her natural talent she discoveres intuitively the emotional spark in every song and ignites it in an inimitable way. Lili Ivanova contributes to the promotion of Bulgarian music in the world and raised its international prestige through the numerous awards that she has won. The circulation of her records are astronomical for a small country like Bulgaria and can hardly be achieved by another contractor. As difficult will be to reach the number of concerts and sang songs.

Emil Dimitrov was born in 1940. He performes in almost all European countries. His biggest success was in Russia. In France he became very famous performer. His songs “Monica” and “Julia “ took the top places in a lot of European rankings . Big European companies make contracts with him. He sang on the same stage with Jovani Morandi, Ricky Povey, Josef Kabson and Alla Pugachova. In France there’s a brilliant career for him but he missed home and returned back to Bulgaria. For all his life he emit 30 albums with 55 million copies sold only in Russia. He dies in 2005.

Nicolai Ghiaurov is an opera singer. Defined as a Bass № 1 on the planet.

He performs roles in Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater, Vienna’s Shtatsopera, Parish Grand Opera, Millan’s La Scala, London’s Covent Garden and New York’s Metropolitan opera, as well az many other prestigious theaters. Remarkable are his roles Mephistopheles in "Faust" Charles Gounod, Philip II in Don Carlos of Giuseppe Verdi, Don Juan in the eponymous opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Boris Godunov in the opera of Modest Mussorgsky.

Raina Kabaivanska is a world-class artist of world renown. She is Born in Burgas on 15 december 1934, still below the age of 30 years, she conquers the world scene.

In 2000 Raina Kabaivanska was awarded the Grand Prix.
"A life dedicated to music, Venice. She is Cavalier of the Italian Republic for civil courage and for her outstanding contribution to the art. Five times she is declared the most popular personality in Italy and 2 times musician of the year.

The most popular singers and bands in Bulgarian pop and rock music are : BTR, Grafa,Rushi Videnliev,Toni,Stenli,Gravity Co,Ostava,D2,Karizma,Mariya Ilieva,Wickeda

Toni is one very famous Bulgarian performer. She started her career like a dancer in the ballet ''Sega'' (sega means now in English). "Vsichko bilo e na san" (vsichko bilo e na san means everything was a dream in English). Toni has only one album- ''Prerajdane'' (prerajdane means rebirth)

Maria Ilieva is a great pop singer. She was a singer in the band called "Coffee". "Lunen san" (a dream from the moon) is the first song of Maria Ilieva. And the first album is with the same name. She has some songs with Grafa (famous Bulgarian pop singer).

D2 is a boys band. The band was created in 1999. The names of the boys are Dimitar Kanev (guitar), Dicho Hristov (the old singer of the band), Krasimir Todorov (piano), Aleksandar Obretenov (bass), Iavor Aleksandrov (drums). D2 has two albums- ''Ledeno momiche'' (ledeno momiche means frozen girl in English) and "2002".