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I recently saw an ad for a beginers class in Plovdiv.

We have traditional dance classes twice a week right in our village.

@sogy

That sounds interesting and good news for me 😀

Pretty much everywhere! Most villages in our region have a cultural centre (chitalishte) any many also have active folkloric groups keeping the traditional songs and dances alive. I don't even live there full time yet but I'm considered a member of our village group. It's great fun! There are regular concerts and competitions, and the groups sing at various events.

There's certainly one in our "village" (suburb) here in Sofia; they even have an outdoor stage next to the municipal offices for performances during the more clement months.

Sadly, many of the locals consider themselves too sophisticated for such things, so participation - as both participants and spectators - is usually rather disappointing.

It's similar for some of the events in our area -- the audience at many of the concerts is almost entirely other groups waiting to perform. But a few of the outdoor ones are huge! Our village hosts a midsummer festival and usually manages to get some better-known singer to perform an evening concert. That draws a big audience, and there are massive circle dances in the village square.

It's also good to see that though many of the groups are older women and men, reflecting the village demographics, there are kids getting involved, too. The local primary school does some excellent performances, and I've been stunned by the talent of a few teenage soloists at some of the concerts.

@janemulberry

I'll come and do my solo rendition of "Йовано, Йованке" - I'm confident that not just you but the entire village will be totally stunned..... 😂

If you're not familiar with the song, here's a reasonable version of it:

Beautiful song! So should I suggest you're invited as the guest singer next year? I'm just a teensiest bit concerned -- will a Greek singing a Macedonian song at a Bulgarian music festival cause a diplomatic incident?

Probably not - but calling it a "Macedonian" song in Bulgaria will certainly bring a mob of locals with pitchforks and burning torches to your front door!

Better call it a "Balkan Classic", at least until you've got fire insurance..... 😎

Thanks for the warning!