More Stamping It Out: Reka, Sborenka and Tropanka, Bulgarian Folk Dances From the Region of Dobrudja

If you like folk dances with lots of stamping in the choreography, you have come to the right place.

Today's featured folklore region will be Dobrudja, the northeastern quadrant of Bulgaria. This region encompasses two countries, Romania and Bulgaria. For a map and some info, check out this link from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobrudja

The first Bulgarian dance that I learned from that area was a women's dance titled Dobrudžanska Reka. The choreography varies; from what I've noticed on the Universe of You Tube, the Bulgarian version tends to be simpler than the one that make the rounds of folk dance groups in other parts of the world. If you're wondering why the setting is so familiar, the reason is that the dancers are in a shopping mall!



Here is a fancier version performed by an international folk dance group from New Orleans in the United States.



The next video is of a sborenka which is basically a dance with lots of grapevines and lots of stamping. Sborenka is a generic name for a group of dances from Dobrudja; they come in many different "flavors." In Bulgaria dances are often named after cities and towns and sometimes regions.

If you count the steps (remember that many dancers are math and physics people with the exception of yours truly!) you will see a pattern here.



Dances in which you stamp your feet are very good for relieving the frustrations of everyday life. The downside of this is that your feet and knees can hurt after a night doing Dobrudjan folk dances, especially if there were so many candles on your last birthday cake that they fired off the smoke detector. Let this be a warning to those over the age of fifty!

On bad days, the Chinese get their frustrations out in their "Bonding Folkdance Class" as they so aptly describe it. The dance is Tervelska Tropanka. Bonding and stamping are not always communal activities; in this case, they are. And they are having fun doing it.



If you enjoyed this you may also like

Stamp it Out, Vlach Dances from Serbia:

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/03/stamp-it-outvlach-dances-from-serbia.html

A good way to relieve stress.

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-stamp-out-your-frustrations-and.html

Have you ever wondered why math and physics people like to dance? Read this and find out why.

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/06/balkan-folk-dancing-and-its.html


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