Bulgaria/Dance
There are no national festivals on which people don't dance on the village square. Bulgarian national dances are various: lively or clumsy, fast or slow.
The "horo" and "ruchenitza" are most popular dances. The "ruchenitza" is fast and difficult dance. It is very lively and beautiful to watch.
The "horo" seems like a long living line of people. Everyone holds hand in hand while moving in different forms—most often a ring. This ring symbolizes the circle of life and holding hand in hand symbolizes the force created from the union of people.
One of the most distinctive features of Balkan folk dance music is the complexity of its rhythms in comparison to Western music. Although it uses Western meters such as 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4, Balkan music also includes meters with 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15 beats per measure, sometimes referred to as "asymmetric meters". These can often be understood as combinations of groups of "quick" and "slow" beats. For example, the dance lesnoto ("the light/easy one") has a meter of 7 beats with emphasis on the first, fourth, and sixth beats. This can be divided into three groups, a "slow" unit of 3 beats and two "quick" units of 2 beats, often written 3-2-2.
Today, festivals lose some of their authentic look—but there are many traditions which are kept.
© Gans 2011