More Dances From the Bulgarian Folklore Region of Dobrudja

I like the challenge of trying different things and wondering whether it's going to work or whether I'm going to fall flat on my face.
Johnny Depp

Oftentimes I surf the Internet, watch videos on YouTube and see dances that our group doesn't do.  Why, I don't know.  People tend to stick with what's familiar.  It's good to get out of the the comfort zone once in a while and try new things. I am always up for a challenge.

Today's post features two dances from the northeast region of Bulgaria:  Dobrudja.  Tbey look pretty cool, but they also look difficult. Whether I can convince anyone to teach them or find someone who knows them is a whole other story altogether. I'm sure that they have been taught at workshops at one time or another.

The first dance is Dobrudjanksa Pandela.  There are different versions of it floating around, but this is the only one I could find on YouTube. It has stamping and hand movements that are typical of the Dobrudja region, and the shouts remind me of Romanian strigaturi.



I haven't found any people in the States who dance Povlekana.  For some reason it hasn't left Bulgaria, why is that? By the way, Povlekana is also known as Dobrudjanska Rachenitsa.

If you're new here, the rachenitsa is the national dance of Bulgaria, and done all over the country. The rhythm for it is apple-apple-pineapple (7/8) for you music theorists out there. The styling depends on the region; in Dobrudja, there is a heavy emphasis on arm movement, and the dance tends to be somewhat slow, with plenty of stamping for emphasis. This looks like a folk dance competition, at the end the performers are given grades.  They did very well.

Check out the colorful costumes, especially the women's head scarves and aprons; these are typical of this region.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

The "Flavors" of Bulgarian Rachenitsa, Part 1

The "Flavors" of Bulgarian Rachenitsa, Part 2

More Stamping it Out: Dances From the Bulgarian Folklore Region of Dobrudja (Reka, Sborenka and Tropanka)

There is a Dobrogea in Romania, too.  Yes, I know they spell it differently, but then Romania is a another country with a language based on Latin. And they dance something similar to the Bulgarian rachenitsa, just don't refer to it by that name.  Read this post and find out why.

Crossing the River, Part One: Dances From the Romanian Folklore Region of Dobrogea


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