Folk Dance Scene
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Published by the Folkdance Federation of California, South Volume 57, No. 2 March 2021 Folk Dance Scene Committee Coordinator Jay Michtom [email protected] 818.368.1957 Calendar Fran Prevas [email protected] 310.921.2860 On the Scene [email protected] 818.368.1957 Club Directory Steve Himel [email protected] 949.646.7082 Dancers Speak Sandy Helperin [email protected] 310.391.7382 Proofreading Editor Carl Pilsecker [email protected] 562.865.0873 Jan Rayman [email protected] 818.790.8523 Design and Layout Editors Pat Cross, Don Krotser [email protected] 323.255.3809 Business Manager Gerda Ben-Zeev [email protected] 310.399.2321 Contributing Editor Elizabeth Wayland Barber Circulation Sandy Helperin [email protected] 310.391.7382 Subscriptions Gerda Ben-Zeev [email protected] 310.399.2321 Advertising Steve Himel [email protected] 949.646.7082 Jill and Jay Michtom Gerda Ben-Zeev Sandy Helperin 10824 Crebs Ave. 19 Village Park Way 4362 Coolidge Ave. Northridge, CA 91326 Santa Monica, CA 90405 Los Angeles, CA 90066 Folk Dance Scene Copyright 2021 by the Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc., of which this is the official publica- tion. All rights reserved. Folk Dance Scene is published ten times per year on a monthly basis except for com- bined issues in June/July and December/January. Folk Dance Scene is published to educate its readers concerning the folk dance, music, costumes, lore and culture of the peoples of the world. It is designed to inform them of the opportunities to experience folk dance and culture in Southern California and elsewhere. SUBMISSIONS: Information to be included in the Scene should reach the editor by the 10th of the month preceding publication. We reserve the right to edit all submissions for space considerations. Electronic submis- sion (including all photos) is required. Views expressed in Scene are solely the opinions of the authors. Neither Scene nor the Federation assumes responsibility for the accuracy of the information sent in. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Subscription orders and renewals should be addressed to Gerda Ben-Zeev. The subscrip- tion rate is $18 per year, USA , $20 for Canada or Mexico, all other foreign subscriptions available by email (pdf) only, $10 for pdf via email. Change of address or circulation problems should be addressed to Gerda Ben -Zeev; see table above. ADVERTISING: Ads must be consistent with the purposes of the magazine, accompanied by full payment, and either camera ready on bright white paper or in 300 dpi electronic format (TIF, JPG, or PDF). Ads that are not camera ready will be returned. Size (width x length) Federation Club Others Payment to: 1/4 page (3” x 3 1/2”) $10 $15 Folk Dance Scene 1/2 page (6” x 3 3/4” or 3” x 7 1/2”) $15 $25 121 101st Ave NE Full page (6” x 7 1/2”) $25 $40 Lake Stevens, WA 98258 On the cover: Harvest time in Sredna Gora, Valley of the Roses, wikipedia Folk Dance Scene 2 Folk The Corner Dance Scene PRESIDENT’S COLUMN We all have experienced feeling too tired, hassled Volume 57, No. 2 or busy to drive to an evening of dancing, but go March anyhow. Two dances later we’re smiling at friends, 2021 inquiring about their lives and feeling pleasure at moving to familiar music. Our people are there so Editors’ Corner we belong there, no matter the weather, unfinished chores, etc. In the book, When, Daniel Pink writes that moving synchronously with a group of people Welcome to the first of 2 issues on Bulgaria— costumes and regions. If you have been there and promotes a feeling of “belonging.” I wondered, does have story and/or photos to share, please submit to dancing with a group on Zoom, qualify as moving [email protected] by the 10th of March. synchronously? How is it different than viewing a The main story continuing for all is the CoViD-19 DVD from a dance workshop? Do folks who pandemic. In The Corner our Federation president regularly join geographically distant Zoom groups shares how people are experiencing their coping come to feel like they belong to that group? I asked. strategies. In Poetry Corner take inspiration from our poet laureate. Gail Wilson of San Diego Zoom dances regularly We thank Rich Duree and Betchen Barber for the with her home club, San Diego Folk Dance Center. lead articles on Bulgaria, and on costumes. In addition, she dances weekly with Lee Otterholt’s Choose your activities with help from Calendar and Laguna International Dance session, the Surrey, Club Directory. Canada group, Roberto Bagnoli’s class, the Folk Arts Be of good cheer, the vaccines are coming! Center of New England’s Saturday workshop, the Pat Cross and Don Krotser monthly Global Party and with other Zoom groups. She looks forward to attending all of these sessions, and mentions feeling “at home” after attending a teacher/leader’s session several times. She notes Table of Contents that she has become acquainted with a few people The Corner ...............................................3 and hopes to continue those connections after the Bulgarian Dance Regions ...........................4 community returns to “live” dancing. She especially Costume Corner ........................................7 feels like she belongs to a group when she is Calendar ................................................ 10 greeted at the opening of the session. She Dancers Speak ........................................ 14 compared the feeling of belonging she experiences Poetry Corner ......................................... 16 when dancing with her local club vs. distant groups Club Directory ......................................... 17 and concluded, “It feels pretty much the same. The main difference is that when I’m dancing with my Federation South Officers home group, I lead dances and that makes me feel more like an active participant.” She adds that Lee President Diane Baker 949.675.2199 Otterholt does a number of dances in which Vice-President Leslie Halberg 661.296.0481 participants are spotlighted and that promotes Treasurer Mindy Belli 714.914.7713 connectivity. Secretary Camille Dull 818.389.4205 Greg Solloway, a member of Laguna International, Membership admits that he has been “pleasantly surprised by the Historian Wen-Li Chiang 626.500.5035 The Corner is continued on page 12 For information about dancing in the area, contact the Federation at the Federation website: SoCalFolkdance.org 3 March 2021 Bulgarian Dance Regions Young people in Central Bulgarian costumes, dancing a line dance in typically segregated lines. The Balkan Range: Bulgaria is divided north from south by this branch of the Austrian Alps that gives the Balkan Peninsula its name. See map on page 6.The range has been a refuge for freedom fighters for centuries, even up through World War II, and maintains a certain militant character in many of its dances. Men dance with swords and bound high in the air in leaps typical of mountaineers whose livelihood develops powerful legs and a vertical view of the world. The Danube Plain: Sloping gently north from the Balkan Mountains to the Danube River, the plain ends in 600-foot cliffs which drop abruptly to the river; the Romanian border on the north side slopes gently up from the river, very much like the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. Ethnologists view the Danube Basin on both sides of the river as being a common folk culture, a theory hotly denied by both. However, many dances appear to have suspiciously similar figures and rhythms. Northwest: Extending like a horn to the northwest into a confluence of cultures from Banat, Serbia, Hungary, and the Vlachs (dislocated Bulgarians from Romania), this unnamed region possesses one of the most rich and varied dance cultures of Bulgaria. Vlach dances are very prominent in the recreational folk dance repertoire (Stara Vlajna, Raca, and Vlaško, among others). Folk Dance Scene 4 Dobrudža: To the east, next to the Black Sea, Dobrudža is a poor region with swampy lands and poor soils, relying much on Black Sea tourist trade and a pastoral agriculture for its economy. Some of the most interesting and beloved dances of all come from here, heavy and powerful with large, expressive arm and leg gestures and names such as Rŭka, Tropanka, and Zborinka. Sredna Gora: Little known to those who have not visited there, this small mountain range (Central Range) lies just south and parallel to the Balkan Range. Between the two, near the geographical center of the country, is the fragrant Valley of Roses, where millions of red, white, and pink roses are grown to produce one of Bulgaria's most famous exports: attar of roses, a major ingredient of most of the world's perfumes. Thrace: One of the most ancient names in the Balkans, Thrace is ethnologically divided into east and west regions and extends into northern Rose harvest in Sredna Gora Greece. Lying south of the Balkan Range in a high, arid plateau, it requires irrigation for its bountiful crops that have nourished the people since the ancient Greeks. Thracian music has an almost unmistakable style, characterized by long-held, plaintive notes, played as though the musician is reluctant to leave each one. Though many of the dances are quick, most here are characterized as slow, soft, and earthy – danced in a crouched position. The Râčenica, Bulgaria's national dance, takes a unique and beautiful form here, danced with the arms outstretched in beautiful gestures, men slapping the thighs in syncopated rhythms as partners dance face to face (without touching, of course). The Rhodope Mountains: To the southwest, three small mountain ranges, Rhodope, Pirin and Rila, comprise one of Bulgaria's most lovely areas. Deep gorges, high waterfalls, icy rivers, and the historic Rila Monastery make this a tourist attraction.