The Clones of Chetvorno Horo

If you are successful, you will be cloned. That's life. In fact, it's a sign that you've made it when clones of your website, mobile app, and business start cropping up.
Fred Wilson

The Bulgarian folk dance Chetvorno Horo is very popular, judging from the number of variations I've seen on YouTube.  There are also clones of this dance that go by different names.  Today you will see two examples.

The first is Denjovo Horo from north-central Bulgaria, near Gabrovo, a town whose symbol is the cat with the cut-off tail.  There is a museum called the House of Humor and Satire, which is a big tourist attraction.

Denjovo Horo is named after a man named Denjo, who was probably the best dancer in the village. Bulgarian folk dances are usually named after cities, towns, districts and people.

The dance has four distinct figures and the rhythm is 7/16 (pineapple-apple-apple).  The leader can either call the steps or do them in a specific sequence.



Another Chetvorno-type dance is Ripna Maca (the cat leaped). It starts with the basic Chetvorno step and follows with three other variations. Like the previous dance, the leader can call the steps, either in order or random.

The name Chetvorno most likely originated from the Bulgarian word for four: "chetiri" in Bulgarian.  In Cyrillic it looks like this: четири. If you look closely, the first letter resembles the number 4.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Three Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance: Chetvorno Horo

Dancing in Sevens (part one)

Bulgarian Folk Dances Named After Cities and Towns


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