site.btaBalgarsko Sartse Association's Dance Ensemble from Malaga to Take Part in Munich Festival

The dance ensemble at the Balgarsko Sartse [Bulgarian Heart] Association for Folklore and Culture in Malaga, Spain, will take part in the eleventh edition of the travelling festival Expats Join Hands in Worldwide Dance, which this year will be held at BMW Park in Munich, Germany from May 15 to May 17.

“We will present this year at the festival the dance First Meeting and Something More. The dance is both lyrical and slightly playful. We have selected it in such a way that everyone – from the youngest to the oldest members of the ensemble – can take part in the performance,” Atanaska Todorova, chair of the association and head of its dance ensemble, told BTA’s BG World Department.

She noted that the choreography was created jointly by the members of the ensemble, while the music is traditional folk. According to her, preparations are proceeding normally, with a great deal of enthusiasm, but also with intensive work to refine the details.

“The message we want to convey through this dance is that together we can achieve anything. It may not be at a high professional level, but when we are together, we are strong,” she added.

The ensemble includes participants aged between 11 and 76, all of whom actively take part in rehearsals. Some of them travel between 50 and 200 kilometres every week to attend, Todorova said.

The Balgarsko Sartse Association and its dance ensemble were founded on May 2, 2017. According to Todorova, initially five women took part, rehearsing in a home setting, and later other participants joined them, with the ensemble now numbering around 15 active dancers. She added that since last year two children from the Bulgarian school in Malaga have also been part of the group.

“The name Balgarsko Sartse is inspired by nostalgia for the homeland and by the idea that everyone remains Bulgarian at heart, regardless of where they live,” Todorova added.

“We have been taking part in the festival without interruption since 2018. Back then, the fourth gathering was held in Milan. For us, every gathering we have attended so far is a memory that will remain in our hearts forever, because each one is different, captivating and inspiring,” she said.

The travelling festival, Expats Join Hands in Worldwide Dance, is organized by and for amateur folklore ensembles performing outside Bulgaria. The initiative was launched by the Ot Izvora group in Lyon, France, which hosted the first edition in 2015 and the tenth edition in 2025. More than 100 dance ensembles and over 4,000 guests are expected at the 11th edition in Munich in May. The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is the official media partner of the event and will present all participants.