Dances Inspired by Elena

/ Eleno, mome Eleno, /
/ Ne gazi sino zeleno! /
Chorus:
/ (Ah) Eleno, mome Eleno, /
/ Ne gazi sino zeleno! /
Bulgarian folk song

Today's post features two very well-known dances from Bulgaria.  Both are inspired by a woman named Elena. She must be quite popular.

The first is Elenino Horo, better known to to those in the folk dance community as Eleno Mome.  Bulgarian dances tend to be named after the following things: people  (Gankino Horo or Ganka's Dance), cities or towns (Varnenska Tropanka from the city of Varna),  holidays (Koledarska Rachenitsa or Christmas Rachenitsa) or events like weddings (Svatbarska Rachenitsa). 

This version is from a teaching video; part of a series "Teach Yourself Bulgarian Horo." The dance is from Northwestern Bulgaria. Swinging of the arms in time with the steps is typical of dances from this region, and you will notice that their feet.barely touch the ground. The rhythm is 7/8 or 7/16 depending on the speed (2+2+1+2). There are versions of this dance that are really fast; the one shown here is a moderate tempo.



Eleno Mome is also a folk song.  The instrumental version seems to be more popular than the vocal one.

You can find the lyrics here as well as the sheet music so you can sing along with Rumiana Popova. If you listen carefully you'll hear a bit of the Macedonian dance Toska Memede mixed in at the very beginning. You get two for the price of one.



Elenska Rachenitsa is another Elena dance, introduced and taught by Yves Moreau, and very popular in the international folk dance community.

Rachenitsa is the national dance of Bulgaria, in 7/8 or 7/16 rhythm (depending on the speed, the lower the number on the time signature, the faster the music). Think of the words apple-apple-pineapple and you have rachenitsa.  Notice the arm movements; they are an intregal part of the dance.

This is a slow and graceful dance from the Thracian region of Bulgaria, performed by the Tanzgruppe Bäckerstraße from Vienna, Austria. They have many videos posted on YouTube and also on the Dancilla website.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Bulgarian Folk Dances From Cities and Towns

The "Flavors" of Bulgarian Rachenitsa Part One and Part Two

The Women of Bulgarian Folk Songs

Bulgarian Folk Dance in and Around Vienna, Austria


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