Hopa Trop: Children's Ensemble from Seattle, Washington

Young people need models, not critics.
John Wooden

The folk ensemble Bulgarika will be performing in New England this weekend. I did a search for them to see if anyone had posted recent videos of them on YouTube, and found this group of young dancers from Seattle. They are an energetic bunch of kids and great ambassadors for Bulgarian culture in the United States.

The name of this group is Hopa Trop, and they have a blog in Bulgarian and English.

Video #1 shows Donka Koleva of Bulgarika teaching the dance song Kukuvicka to the kids.  It reminds me of the Romanian dance Alunelul (also a children's song).



In video #2, Hopa Trop dances Dunavsko Horo to the music of Bulgarika.  This version is played on traditional folk instruments and is one of the most popular dances in Bulgaria. The young people range in age from five to fifteen.



Video #3 is a dance from Northern Bulgaria: Veselba.  I haven't seen it anywhere else on YouTube.

The emphasis with this group is easy dances that the youngest children can do, and it also channels their energy in a positive way.  From what I've seen on their blog, Hopa Trop is a good sized group. I counted 19 kids on the blog's home page.



If you enjoyed this, you may also like:

The Best of Bulgarika

For more on Bulgarian folklore groups in the United States:

Bulgarian Folk Dance in the United States: Ensemble Lyush from Dallas-Forth Worth

Bulgarian Folk Dance in the United States (features Ethnic Dance Chicago, Ludo Mlado from Boston, and Rosa from Atlanta


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

The Best of Bulgarika

Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.
Herbie Hancock

Although I understand very little Bulgarian, their folk music speaks to me, and to many other fans of it as well.  When a Bulgarian folk ensemble comes to play, few people sit down (except perhaps to rest for the next dance).  The rhythms are compelling and sometimes hypnotic; it is easy to get into a trance while dancing.

Bulgarika is a folk ensemble that played last month in Amherst, Massachusetts, and I was at their dance party in early September. Right now they are on tour in the United States.If you do a Google search on them, you can find a performance somewhere near you.

Nikolai Kolev and his wife Donka, originally from Bulgaria, now reside in New York City, and a number of years ago played in the Kabile Bulgarian Band.

The Bulgarika ensemble on tour this year consists of four musicians:  Nikolai Kolev, gadulka, Donka Koleva, vocals, Vasil Bebelekov, gaida and Dragni Dragnev, who plays several instruments: gaida, keyboard, kaval and tupan.  He just doesn't play them all at the same time :)

Although it was very hot and humid, and the hall had no air conditioning (for cooling we had the windows wide open and fans running at full blast) everyone had a great time dancing and sweating to Bulgarian folk tunes. I felt bad for the musicians who wore long pants and long sleeve embroidered shirts because performing in the heat is hard work. They absolutely love what they do, and played for us (with a short break) for about three hours.

Here is a sample from that evening that I captured in video: the dance is a slow pravo.



This was another dance event with Bulgarika which took place recently in Pennsylvania.  The music is a medley of songs from the Rhodope region of southern Bulgaria; the dance is Pravo Rhodopsko Horo.



And finally, an older video of Bulgarika from 2011 with Ivan Milev on accordion, and Donka Koleva's daughter Maria (vocals). It took place at an outdoor festival in Indiana. The dances are Pravo Trakiisko Horo, Devetorka, and Trite Puti.  

 It also happened to be Donka Koleva's birthday.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

An Unforgettable Evening With Kabile at Mt. Holyoke College

A Multi-Ethnic Weekend and Some Bulgarian "Free Software"

Dancing Across Bulgaria: The Pravo and Regional Folk Dance Styles

Don't forget to visit my other blog Light and Shadow.  The post this month is "Some Thoughts on the Autumn Equinox."


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

A Multi-Ethnic Weekend and Some Bulgarian "Free Software"

I like to see myself as a bridge builder, that is me building bridges between people, between races, between cultures, between politics, trying to find common ground.
T.D. Jakes

This week's post will be short, as there were two great ethnic events in the area this past weekend.  The first was the Springfield Massachusetts Glendi, a three-day festival of Greek music, dance, and food.  Too bad I forgot to take a picture of the moussaka before I ate it.  It was delicious.

Once my hunger was sated, I took a video of the dancers.  I was traveling light and used my phone instead of the camera to take the video, so the sound quality wasn't great.  You can hear it if you turn up the speakers to the highest setting.



Last year's video was much better because I used the camera. I was able to zoom in on the dancers performing a Pentozali and here you can REALLY hear the music.



There was also a Bulgarian event that I went to last Friday, and I remembered to bring the camera. Everyone got up and danced to Bulgarika, despite the fact that the Masonic Hall was very hot and sticky, and the only cooling devices were two large fans (no air conditioning.) Summer decided to come to New England in September.  It was running late this year.

I will write more on Bulgarika in a future post.  Bulgarika is currently on tour in the United States. They are a four person ensemble; two live in New York City and two traveled here from Bulgaria.

The dance is Sadi Moma, with vocals by Donka Koleva.



In another incarnation, Sadi Moma became the Free Software Song.  By the way, the time signature is 7/8, very common in Bulgarian folk music, and in this song the rhythm is pineapple-apple-apple.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

To Greece and Bulgaria and Back (in one weekend!)

Folklore, Food and Fun at Festivals

The "Flavors" of Greek Syrtos