Amanet from North Macedonia, Janino Oro, and Border Crossing Tunes

I find that there are a lot of similarities between French and Japanese food. I think they're two countries that have really systemized their cuisine and codified it.

 David Chang

Today's post is not about food. It features the group VIS Amanet from North Macedonia. They are an excellent ensemble and you will see more posts about them in the future. I found them when searching for the dance Janino Oro. Their specialty is Izvor music and they are a delight to listen to. 

 I noticed that they performed several pieces that were very similar to those from the Pirin region of Bulgaria. There are several songs and dances that have crossed borders; for example:  Maleshevsko Oro to the song Dve Nevesti Tikve Brale, and Aj dem idem Jano (also danced to Maleshevsko.) Bavno Oro is a North Macedonian dance tune arranged by the Bulgarian accordionist Boris Karlov. 

 Video #1 Otishlo e maloj mome, (Veligdensko oro) resembles the Bulgarian folk song Elerinka. Words are different and so is the orchestration.

   

 Video #2 is More Chicho Rece, popular in North Macedonia and southwestern Bulgaria. The dance to this is Pajduško Oro. Pajduško is also done in Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, to a number of different tunes.

 

  

 Video #3 is Janino Oro.  There is the Atanas dance that we do and there is another version that sounds strikingly similar to Jove Malaj Mome, a dance song from the Shope region of Bulgaria.  There is also a Shope region in North Macedonia.

   

Video #4 is the Atanas dance.  The music is by Pece Atanasovski.

 If you enjoyed this you may also like: The Travels of Maleshevsko Horo (that dance got as far as Greece) 

 The Women of Bulgarian Folk Songs (see both Elerinka and Jove Malej Mome)

 
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In Memory of Atanas Kolarovski

Dance every performance as if it were your last.

 Erik Bruhn

 On March 3, 2022, the dance leader and choreographer Atanas Kolarovski passed away at the age of 95. His speciality was dances from North Macedonia.  He got around quite a bit, teaching and leading in North America, Europe, and Japan.  He briefly appeared on Zoom in January 2021 during the Global Folk Dance Party held in his honor.

 Video #1 is Cije e Ona Mome (whose girl is that)? It is one of my favorites.  I don't know if Atanas taught workshops in Israel, where the Dunav group dances.  There are two Balkan dance groups in Israel; the other is Balkanitsa.

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 Another dance that is very popular is Kasapsko Oro (butchers' dance).  Note: this video was taken in Japan in 1981. Balkan music and dance are very popular in Japan. Fusae Carroll was one of his assistant teachers. She currently lives in California, but returns to Japan periodically.  She specializes in dances from North Macedonia.

   

 Just about every group has Bufcansko in their repertoire. There are two versions of the music used among folk dance groups; a kaval version and an Izvor version played by Pece Atanasovski's ensemble. This is the Atanasovski music and it plays twice in the video. 

There is another version of Bufcansko played on brass instruments.  My dance group has it on their playlist. For some reason this one isn't as popular.

  

 

If you enjoyed this you may also like: Balkan Folk Dance in Japan

 

Balkan Blues, Some Really Depressing Folk Songs (includes Tino More, another Atanas dance)

 

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