Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance: Добруджанска Рька

When I was doing preliminary research on this case, I remembered the story about Tlazolteotl.' [Mulder] glanced at the old archaeologist. 'Am I pronouncing it correctly? It sounds like I'm swallowing a turtle.'
Kevin J. Anderson

Today's post is about a very popular dance from Bulgaria.  If you requested this dance in Bulgaria the way it's pronounced in North America they would think it's a river in Dobrudja!  This is another example of confusion in the world of folk dance.

The reason the title above is in Cyrillic has to do with the difference between the Bulgarian words: râka, meaning "hand" and the word "reka" meaning river.  The "a" in râka sounds almost like a "u".

Today's post features four variations of the dance Dobrudjanksa Râka. Each one is done to different music.  Notice that all of them have strong arm and hand movements.

Video #1 is from the series "Teach Yourself Bulgarian Folk Dance." This is Râka in its most basic form, performed by dancers in elaborate embroidered costumes. The yellow head scarves on the women are typical for Dobrudja.



Video #2 is a variation popular in Bulgaria performed by the folk dance club 7/8.



Video #3 is the variation of  Dobrudjanksa Râka most popular with groups in North America. The ladies are members of the New Orleans International Folk Dancers.

Years ago Dobrudjanksa Râka used to be performed only by women. It has become an "equal opportunity dance" for a long time.  Men are allowed in the line, too :)



Version #4 is presented by the Bulgarian folk dance club Акцент (Accent).



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance Chichovo Horo

Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance Trite Puti

Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance Povlekana

Some Equal Opportunity Folk Dances


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Variations on the Greek Folk Dance: Tai Tai

Choreography isn't written in stone, nor does it exist in a vacuum.
-Katley

My approach to folk dance is one of flexibility.  I find that too many people focus on one choreography whereas I focus more on "feeling the music" and letting it take you where you want to go. The basic choreography is a guide, the variations are like frosting on a cake. There is room for creativity in folk dance, and different "villages" have their variations on a basic theme.

Today's dance is Tai Tai from the Greek region of Thessaly, usually performed around Easter.

Video #1 is the version done by recreational folk dancers.

The music is haunting and beautiful, sung by a female chorus and accompanied by a clarinet.   This dance has two parts: part one with a front basket hold (slow) and the second part with step hops, pas de basques (crossovers) and raised hands.



Video #2 is the Greek version.  The melody is the same, although the music has a definitely different quality, with a male singer and a lower octave on the clarinet.

The choreography is different than the previous video.  The first figure resembles a slow Pravo Horo (three steps forward and one to the side);  the second figure looks like Sta Tria, the Greek version of Lesnoto.  The dancers also do turns and swings into the middle of the circle.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Fun and Easy Folk Dances from Greece

Tai Tai reminds me of another Greek dance: Paraliakos.


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Variations on a Romanian Folk Dance: Arcanul

"No sane man will dance." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

I've never understood why men in the United States are afraid to dance.  It must be a cultural thing.  Fortunately, in the Balkans, dancing is an expression of masculine prowess, and there are certain dances in which the men love to show off.

Today's post features two different variations of the Romanian folk dance Arcanul. The first is a very lively and energetic dance, very masculine in nature. By the way, Arcanul is also popular in Moldova, a country north of Romania, where the language and culture are similar to their neighbors to the south.



Arcanul Batrinesc, according to the dance notes, is for senior citizens who still want to show off their dancing prowess with deep knee bends and stamps.  This can be especially painful if they suffer from arthritis.

If you're a regular visitor to The Alien Diaries, you'll recognize the Dunav group from Jerusalem in Israel.  They have a website and YouTube videos.  Go visit them sometime. 



If you enjoyed this, you may also like:

Variations on a Romanian Folk Dance: Hora de Mina

Three Variations on a Romanian Folk Dance: Trei Pazeste

The River of Many Names Part 3: Folk Ensembles Named Dunav


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Two Variations on an Albanian Folk Dance: Valle Pogonishte

I smell of sweat. I don't like people smelling of all these weird things. I think deodorant is disgusting.
Rupert Everett

Today's featured dance is Valle Pogonishte from Albania. Valle is the Albanian word for dance.  Pogonishte comes from "pogonisios", a similar dance from Greece.

Version one is very popular amongst recreational folk dancers around the world.; this group is from Austria. They are part of a dance festival titled Schwitz-mit-Fritz, which translates to "Sweat with Fritz." If you listen carefully, you'll hear the instructor calling the steps in German and the dancers humming along to the music.  Although I wouldn't consider Valle Pogonishte a dance for working up a sweat (and grossing out the people next to you) these people are having lots of fun with it.



The second video was taken at a summer event that I went to several years ago.  Although it was advertised as a Romanian festival, there was neither music nor dance from Romania.  It was held in the park by the Romanian Orthodox church in the small town of Southbridge, Massachusetts.  The church,  however, imported a very good group from St. Mary's in Worcester.  This is an easier version of Valle Pogonishte with different music. Notice the young woman and young man taking turns leading the line, doing the;fancy steps. There's a camera man following the dancers around. He seems to have trouble keeping up with them. Maybe he needs to exercise more.



If you enjoyed this you may also like the following posts:

Two Variations on a Romanian Folk Dance: Hora de Mina

Two Variations on a Bulgarian Folk Dance: Opas

Two Variations on a Macedonian Folk Dance: Bufcansko

Two Variations on a Serbian Folk Dance: Stara Vlajna

A Taste of Albania at Balkan Music Night (featuring the group Valle Tona from Worcester, Massachusetts.)


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Two Variations on a Bulgarian Folk Dance: Opas

Today's featured dance will be Opas, from the region of Dobrudja in northeast Bulgaria. Like last week's Romanian dance, Hora de Mina, it has different "flavors" with different music and choreography. Opas is the Dobrudjan variation of the dance Pravo Trakiisko Horo, shown here:



This link goes to Eliznik's Web Page a very informative source on folk dances from Eastern Europe.
If you scroll down and read the last paragraph, it explains the regional differences of Pravo Horo, the most popular dance in Bulgaria.

The version of Opas done in Bulgaria is a relatively easy dance, although the front basket-hold raises the challenge level a little, especially for beginner folk dancers. I happen to like this video because it's part of a series for learning Bulgarian folk dances, and the people wear elaborate embroidered costumes from the different folklore regions.



If you're a regular reader of The Alien Diaries the people in the next video will be familiar to you. The Dunav group from Jerusalem in Israel has a new series of videos featuring dances from the Balkans. I happened upon this when I was doing a search for the version of Opas that's done by recreational folk dance groups here in the States. This one rates 9.5 on a difficulty scale from 1-10; the belt hold makes it especially challenging. An especially difficult element of the dance is the deep knee bends, this is definitely off-limits if you have arthritis :)



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Two Variations on a Romanian Folk Dance, Hora de Mina
http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2013/03/two-variations-on-romanian-folk-dance.html

Dancing Across Bulgaria: The Pravo and Regional Folk Dance Styles:
http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/06/dancing-across-bulgaria-pravo-and.html

More dances from the Bulgarian folklore region of Dobrudja:
http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/06/more-stamping-it-out-reka-sborenka-and.html



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