Three Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance Trite Puti

Omne trium perfectum (every set of three is complete)

Today's dance is the very popular Trite Puti, from the Thracian region of Bulgaria. In English translation it means "three times." Three times what?

It has different variations, three of which we'll explore here.  The first (and the easiest) is performed by the Filip Kutev Ensemble.  Here the dance consists of three steps forward, three steps back, an in and out step, and three pas-de-basque steps to the right, then left.

The videos were posted on YouTube from the Horo.bg website. There you can find dance videos from all the folklore regions of Bulgaria and also an English translate link in the upper right hand corner of their webpage, if you are Cyrillically challenged :)

Warning: the gaida (bagpipe) here is very loud, so turn up the volume! (This is especially useful in summertime when annoying neighbors sometimes keep you awake with their loud music.)



Variation #2 also features dancers in elaborate embroidered costumes.  The music is slightly different, although at the end it's similar to Trite Puti #1. This video is part of a series "Teach Yourself Bulgarian Folk Dance." This version is the one most commonly done in international folk dance groups.

The teaching part of the video (not shown) breaks the dance down into its individual parts. This is what it looks like put together.



Trite Puti #3 is similar to version #1, with grapevines and side to side steps added, and at a slower speed.  The music is different, although some of it is similar to version #1 and version #2.

This is part of a medley of dances (the other two are Varnensko Horo, at 2:03 and Shopska Rachenitsa  at 4:50 ), which are also worth a look. Good things come in threes!



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Bulgarian Dances and Their Greek Relatives

Bulgarian Folk Dance in the United States (the Ethnic Dance Chicago does a really fancy version of Trite Puti.  It's the last dance in the first video at 4:55)

Three Variations on the Romanian Folk Dance Trei Pazeste (for those who really like things in multiples of three).

You can also watch these teaching videos on YouTube.  Emily Nisbet teaches Trite Puti (in English) and if you're feeling ambitious, you can try it in Bulgarian.



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.