site.btaUPDATED Representatives of 57 Bulgarian Folklore Ensembles and Choirs from 18 Countries Meeting in Sofia

The 4th Meeting of Heads of Bulgarian Folklore Ensembles Abroad is held in Sofia from October 7 to 9. Participating are representatives of 57 Bulgarian dance ensembles and choirs from 18 countries (Austria, England, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, USA, Northern Ireland, Ukraine, Hungary, and France).

The meeting is organized for the fourth consecutive year by the Association of Bulgarian Folklore Ensembles Abroad (ABFEA), a non-profit cultural organization set up in 2016. 

The three-day programme includes a theoretical module for performers and a practical module for dancers, six lectures, a screening of three documentary films on folklore, and a presentation of the ABFEA's project to create a digital catalog of popular folk dances and songs to assist in teaching them to Bulgarian communities abroad.

The opening was held at New Bulgarian University on October 7. Among the official guests were Vice President Iliana Iotova, Deputy Culture Minister Georgi Sultanov, Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad (EABA) Executive Director Raina Mandzhukova, ABFEA Chair Radoslava Nedyalkova, and New Bulgarian University Vice Rector Emilia Dimitrova.

Opening the meeting, Nedyalkova described it as a holiday of Bulgarian culture, spirit, and community - what connects Bulgarians around the globe through song, dance, and love for the homeland.

EABA Executive Director Mandzhukova expressed her gratitude to the leaders of Bulgarian folklore ensembles abroad, emphasizing that "Bulgaria appreciates what you are doing, and step by step we are moving towards ever closer cooperation." She added that institutional presence at the meetings is growing every year – from a lack of representatives in 2022 to the participation of deputy ministers in 2024, and this year – the Vice President.

Vice President Iotova shared her excitement at meeting so many familiar faces. "There is something that unites us – all Bulgarians, no matter where they are. These are our hearts beating with Bulgarian spirit. And you are the people who make them beat to the rhythm of music and dance," the Vice President noted.

Deputy Culture Minister Sultanov expressed his appreciation for the work of the leaders and performers in Bulgarian folklore ensembles abroad and assured that his Ministry would continue its cooperation with the EABA and other institutions to provide real support for their activities.

Association of Bulgarian Schools Abroad Zornitsa Gogan sent a congratulatory address to the ABFEA on the occasion of the opening of the 4th Meeting. "Your mission is noble and deeply meaningful to preserve, transmit, and inspire love for Bulgarian folklore, traditions, and spirituality among people who live far from their homeland," Gogan said. Addressing the heads of Bulgarian ensembles abroad, she called them "contemporary bearers of memory and living guardians of Bulgarian cultural identity around the world."

The programme for October 8 included lectures by Madlen Bozhilova (on authentic methods for creating Bulgarian folk costumes) and Assoc. Prof. Georgi Garov (on the specifics of the Pirin folklore region), as well as practical modules for dancers and theoretical ones for choir performers, led by Assoc. Prof. Georgi Garov, Mariana Manoleva, and Kinche Valcheva.

The day's programme was closed with a premiere for Bulgaria of Milena Milotinova's documentary The Magic of the Bulgarian Horo. It was filmed at the Festival of Letters in Milan on May 24, 2025, and during the 10th edition of the travelling festival Expats Join Hands in Worldwide Dance in Lyon in June 2025. Addressing the audience ahead of the screening, Milotinova said that the film is a meeting with Bulgaria's spirit as it exists around the world. She shared that during the filming process, she was most impressed by the stories about the horo [folk chain dance] - when and how people started dancing, how they teach their children Bulgarian rhythms, what motivates them to create dance groups abroad, and how they connect with each other, no matter where in the world they are. "In the film, you will see familiar faces, but you will also see foreigners – people who dance with such passion and love that sometimes you forget they were not born in Bulgaria," Milotinova said.

Among the official guests at the screening were EABA Executive Director Mandzhukova, representatives of the EABA, folk singer Guna Ivanova, and eight-year-old Alexandra Bedola, who is one of the participants in the documentary film.

The programme for October 9 includes a talk by Aida Markovska on "Ancestral Rituals," a lecture on "Veiling in the Pirin Region - On Stage and in Everyday Life," presented by Antoaneta Asenova, a presentation with a lecture part, in which Sava Dragunchev will discuss the topic "Preparing Projects for Funding – National Culture Fund and EU Programmes, and presentation of the ABFEA's project to create a digital catalog of popular folk dances, designed to support their teaching among Bulgarian communities abroad. There will also be a lecture on "Music and Dance Folklore from Southwestern Bulgaria: Traditions and Interpretations," followed by a panel discussion for the exchange of experience among the ABFEA members.

On Sunday evening, BTA Director General will present the Agency's work, followed by a screening of the documentary The Other Bulgaria about the 10th Expats Join Hands in Worldwide Dance festival in Lyon in June.