More Quirky Odd Rhythms in Balkan Dance

I can tell by the way somebody walks if they can dance or not. Just by the rhythm. Bruce Forsyth

Today's post is more of a dance lesson than a math lesson. So don't let the numbers and the odd rhythms scare you. Many people find Balkan dancing intimidating for this reason.

Drăgăcuţa, a graceful and beautiful dance from Romania,is in 3/4 meter..  Most people associate this rhythm with waltz music. (1-2-3-1-2-3).  This is a quick-slow (with the accent on the second beat). It's easy to follow (most of it is walking) but difficult to lead because of the quirky rhythm. 

In Romania, women dance this at weddings to mourn the loss of the bride to the world of the married; in this instance it's an equal opportunity dance, since there are several men in the group.



The next number is five, and this Macedonian dance is Strumicka Petorka (pet is Macedonian for five).  It's has a totally different feel from Pajduško Horo, another dance with a five in the time signature.



I skipped over seven and nine since they have been covered in previous posts (see links at the end).  The next dance is Gankino Horo, a basic kopanitsa from Bulgaria. The rhythm for this is 11/16. (quick-quick-slow-quick quick).



Kopanitsa comes in different "flavors." Bulgarian dances are often named after cities and towns and sometimes regions, for example there is a Pazardzhishka Kopanitsa and a Shopska Kopanitsa. This particular dance is Bistrishka Kopanitsa. As difficulty goes, I would rate this as a 9 on a scale of 10.



Perhaps the people who work at the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute taught these cute little penguins how to dance Bistrishka Kopanitsa.  If the video looks familiar, you have probably seen the movie Happy Feet.



If you enjoyed this you may also like: The Travels of Padjusko Horo

Balkan Folk Dancing and its Relationship to...Math?

Dancing in Sevens, Parts One and Two

If you like the number nine, this post on Daichovo Horo, a Bulgarian folk dance, is for you.



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

Bulgarian Folk Dance Around the World

Elitsa Todorova, Bulgarian pop/folk singer plans to lead 50,000 young people from Bulgaria in the the longest folk dance in the world on June 9th and 10th, in Varna. She hopes this event (Horo 2012) will make it into the Guinness Book of World Records. Read more about it here:

http://www.elitsatodorova.com/public/news/

*Update from Novinite June 11, 2012: The longest folk dance in the world has been cancelled due to lack of funding. Read more below:

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=140131

On my forays in the Universe of You Tube, I have found Bulgarian folk dancing in many locations around the world. You don't have to be Bulgarian to dance like one :)

Our journey begins in Kodiak, Alaska, a small town in the United States on an island in the Pacific Ocean. It is known mostly for one of the most fearsome creatures, the Kodiak bear. Before Alaska became a state it belonged to the Russians, who sold the land to the Americans for a bargain basement price. Alaska is sparsely populated, averaging about 1 person per square mile. What's surprising is that even in a remote location like this one, Bulgarian folk dance has made a foothold. About half the population in the state is here :)



There are a number of videos of this Chinese group on YouTube. They describe themselves as a "Bonding Folkdance Class." Here they perform Tervelska Tropanka, a dance from the Dobrudja folklore region.



Do you have a sense déjà vu? If you're a regular reader of this blog you'll recognize this group from Jerusalem, in Israel.



If this is your first time here, check out the Dunav website:

http://www.dunav.org.il/

Now we go south of the Equator. Bulgarians have settled in the most remote regions of the globe, and they have a sizable population in Australia. Everywhere they went they brought their culture with them, so they wouldn't get too homesick.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_Australian

This group, Horo, is from Brisbane and they dance the Shopska Rachenitsa. Horo translates to "chain dance" in English, and as it turns out, this is not the only folk ensemble named after a dance.



At the bottom of the world in a land of ice and snow is the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute. There have been sightings of dancing penguins, this happens to be one of them. If this video looks familiar, you have probably seen the movie Happy Feet.



If you take a look at the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute's website, you'll see more dancing penguins. Rumor has it that the scientists there have been teaching them :)

http://www.bai-bg.net/index_files/Page304.htm

It's back to the European continent. This ensemble from Silistra, Bulgaria, performs in Spain.



If you enjoyed this you may also like Bulgarian Folk Music Travels Abroad
http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/06/bulgarian-folk-music-travels-abroad.html

The national dance of Bulgaria is the rachenitsa. Read more about it here:

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/07/flavors-of-bulgarian-rachenitsa.html

There are also ensembles named after folk dances.

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/01/folk-ensembles-named-after-dances.html


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