UNIQUE BULGARIAN DANCES

FIREDANCING

BABA MARTA

KUKERI

PANEURHITHMY

Baba Marta is celebrated on 1 st March. The martenitsa is a little ornament, made mostly of wool or cotton yarn in two colors - white and red. It is worn for health in the form of bracelets, necklaces or simply pinned on clothes.

The tradition calls for wearing the martenitsa until the person sees a stork or a blooming tree. The stork is considered a herald of spring. Therefore, the first day of March is a traditional holiday associated with sending off winter and welcoming spring.

Paneurhythmy is a method/dance offered by the Bulgarian Peter Deunov who established a Christian Esoteric School of the Universal White Brotherhood in Bulgaria. It is an organic part of his teaching and can be practiced to its full extent only on the basis of this understanding.

According to this teaching, Paneurhythmy is a science of the harmonious, conscious movements, based upon the laws of the Living Nature. The purpose of the Paneurhythmy is to establish harmony with Godand the universe. The term PanEuRhythmy is translated as “Supreme Cosmic Rhythm”.

Is a fire ritual originally performed in several Bulgarian- and Greek-speaking villages in Strandzha Mountains close to the Black Sea coast in the very southeast of Bulgaria. It involves a barefoot dance on smouldering embers (zharava is the Bulgarian word) performed by “nestinari”.

It’s a miracle how the dancers step on the fire-they always have an icon and feel in like a trance.

It is usually performed on the square of the village in front of the whole population on the day Constantine and Helena or the day of the village's patron saint. The ritual is a unique mixture of Eastern Orthodox beliefs and older pagan traditions from Strandzha region.

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A traditional Bulgarian ritual to scare away evil spirits, with costumed men performing the ritual. The costumes cover most of the body and include decorated wooden masks of animals (sometimes double-faced) and large bells attached to the costume.

It’s celebrated on a day soon after New Year and before Lent. This tradition may date back as far as 4,000 years to the ancient Thracians – and to Dionysus, the Thracian and Greek god associated with wine. The festival is full of mystical symbolism, representing the cycle of life, death and rebirth. The dances/ stamping feet rather/ are performed only by males.

Other traditions are:

Koleduvane

survakane

,lazaruvane

rachenitsa

horo

Other typical dances are :

Eli DimitrovaEli Dimitrova