site.btaYouth Group from Vienna Will Perform Shopska Kitka Dance at Munich Folk Festival

A youth dance ensemble from the Bulgarian Rhythms Association and the Prof. Ivan Shishmanov Bulgarian School in Vienna will take part in the 11th edition of the travelling folk festival “Expats Join Hands in Worldwide Dance”, which this year will be held from May 15 to 17 at BMW Park in Munich.

“The dance we will perform is Shopska Kitka, with choreography by Dimitar Petrov, music by Balkanfolk and traditional folk music, and the compilation by Georgi Monev,” Diana Stoeva, the group’s leader, told BTA.

“The children are deeply passionate about Bulgarian folklore -  they have a great love for Bulgaria and Bulgarian folk traditions. They dance and prepare for performances with great enthusiasm and dedication,” Stoeva commented.

According to her, by participating in the festival, the children show that although they live outside Bulgaria, they manage to keep a “small flame” of Bulgarian identity within them - speaking the Bulgarian language, studying Bulgarian folklore, traditions, and history, and presenting the beauty of folklore on stages around the world.

At present, the Bulgarian Rhythms Association in Vienna includes around 20 children and teenagers aged between 4 and 20. The Prof. Ivan Shishmanov Bulgarian School in Vienna also has about 20 children and adolescents, from preschool age to the upper grades.

The dancers come either from Bulgarian families or from mixed marriages, in which one parent is Bulgarian.

The children’s and youth dance ensemble of the Bulgarian Rhythms Association was established in 2016 and from the very same year began participating in international events, such as the annual UNWG International Festival Charity Bazaar at the Austria Center Vienna (an international festival bazaar organized by the United Nations Women’s Guild). In 2019, the Prof. Ivan Shishmanov Bulgarian School was founded in Vienna, and a children’s and youth dance group was also created there.

Joint groups from the two ensembles present Bulgarian folklore at both Bulgarian and international events, including performances in the Goldener Saal of the Wiener Musikverein, at Viennese events marking International Mathematics Day, at the UNWG festival, on Bulgarian stages, and at many other occasions.

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 both 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.