(Almost) the Same Music Different Dance: Part Two

It's a crazy world, so sports and athletics and music can be a form of escapism.
Eddie Veder

The world has indeed changed in the past two months.  Many of us are under stay at home orders and cannot get together in person to dance anymore for a while.  I have taken to music as a form of escape. It keeps my mind away from all the gloom and doom reports.  There are also plenty of Zoom dance events these days.  It's not the same, but I get some exercise from them.

It's time for some cultural cross-pollination between Bulgaria and Serbia. The dances are Bulgarian, the music is from Serbia.

Video #1 is Tsigansko Horo from Bulgaria. The performing group is Nadigrai Me (also the name of a competitive folk dance show that was broadcast in Bulgaria 10 years ago.  It lasted for several seasons.) The dance is similar to Chichovo Horo, with some fancier moves. Listen to the music carefully.



Video #2 is a crazy version of Chichovo Horo, another Bulgarian dance performed by Lyush from Dallas, Texas. They use the song Kermes by Sanja Ilic and Balkanika.  It's similar to the music in Video #1.  The main difference is that the melody is played on a gaida instead of brass instruments. The chorus part is the same (at 1:25).



Why does the music in Video #1 and Video #2 sound similar?  It's the same band, Sanja Ilic and Balkanika.   They are very popular in Serbia, and have performed at Guca, a brass band festival that takes place every year in August.  They also participated the Eurovision Song Contest for 2018, and placed 19th. (Unfortunately the contest has been cancelled for 2020 because of coronavirus concerns, but you can find this year's songs on YouTube.)

This is a totally wild video with a little bit of everything, an auto mechanic, a man with a bullhorn, an oboe player, women cleaning a fancy car, even a dog!

You can find the lyrics for Djipaj (in Serbian) here.

At the end the ladies push the car.  The "mechanic" couldn't fix it!



If you enjoyed this, you may also like:

A Sense of Deja Vu

Almost the Same Music, Different Dance: Part One

Eurovision and Folklore


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

(Almost) the Same Music Different Dance

When the music changes, so does the dance. - African proverb

Today's theme is about different dances (to similar music). The first is Graovsko Horo. Gravosko is a dance that can done to many different melodies.  The rhythm is 2/4.

Video #1 is the music favored by the Dunav group in Jerusalem.  The dance shown here is different than the one in the notes because the speed of the music does not change.



The Ibro Lolov music in Video #2 is a different arrangement, but the basic melody is still recognizable. The dancers wear costumes from the Shopluk folklore region, where the dance is from. I don't know how they manage to dance on cobblestones.

This version speeds up slightly towards the end.



Video #3 has a different tune for Graovsko. This one is popular in Bulgaria (different music, gaida dominant). The dance has a slight variation as well, watch the feet closely. There is a tempo change at 1:48 that continues to 4:53 which must be the Divotinsko part. These ladies have stamina!



Video #4 is Ogneno Horo, as taught by Roberto Bagnoli. There is a teaching session for most of the video; the music starts at 17.18.

The first two figures are similar to those in the dance Kulsko Horo, and there is one at 11:54 that is used in the dance Vlashko.

This is an interesting combination using steps typical of northwestern Bulgaria and choreographing them to the music for Graovsko.  Remember Video #1?



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Balkan Dances That Are Often Confused, Part 11: Kulsko Horo and Kulskoto

A Family Resemblance: Theme and Variations


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