Kevin J. Anderson
Today's post is about a very popular dance from Bulgaria. If you requested this dance in Bulgaria the way it's pronounced in North America they would think it's a river in Dobrudja! This is another example of confusion in the world of folk dance.
The reason the title above is in Cyrillic has to do with the difference between the Bulgarian words: râka, meaning "hand" and the word "reka" meaning river. The "a" in râka sounds almost like a "u".
Today's post features four variations of the dance Dobrudjanksa Râka. Each one is done to different music. Notice that all of them have strong arm and hand movements.
Video #1 is from the series "Teach Yourself Bulgarian Folk Dance." This is Râka in its most basic form, performed by dancers in elaborate embroidered costumes. The yellow head scarves on the women are typical for Dobrudja.
Video #2 is a variation popular in Bulgaria performed by the folk dance club 7/8.
Video #3 is the variation of Dobrudjanksa Râka most popular with groups in North America. The ladies are members of the New Orleans International Folk Dancers.
Years ago Dobrudjanksa Râka used to be performed only by women. It has become an "equal opportunity dance" for a long time. Men are allowed in the line, too :)
Version #4 is presented by the Bulgarian folk dance club Акцент (Accent).
If you enjoyed this you may also like:
Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance Chichovo Horo
Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance Trite Puti
Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance Povlekana
Some Equal Opportunity Folk Dances
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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