Balkan Dances That Are Often Confused Part 16: Staro Pomaško and Pomaško Širto

I'm not confused. I'm just well mixed.
Robert Frost

The series continues....

The other night I mixed up Staro Pomaško with a totally different dance, Pomaško Širto.  The lady who was programming even got confused and played both dances one after the other, so we could compare them.

Staro Pomaško, in video #1, was first.  It is a dance from the Rhodope region in southern Bulgaria, in 7/8 rhythm (slow-quick-quick), almost like a Macedonian lesnoto (along with step-lifts during the vocal part).

Pomaks are Bulgarian Muslims.   Most of them live in the southern part of the country.



Pomaško Širto is also a Pomak dance in 7/8.  The original music had a very long gaida (bagpipe) introduction; part of it was cut.

Širto is the Bulgarian version of the Greek Syrtos.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Dancing in Sevens, Part One

Dospatsko Horo is a very well-known Pomak dance from the Rhodope region..

Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Tune: Dospatsko Horo



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