Finding Home

5/20/2018 Finding Home

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FINDING HOME


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Finding HomeTis is a collection of stories and conversations produced by Americans who have fallen in love with

Balkan folk music and dance. Te explanations of why are elusive. Te reasons can be diverse. In the fewyears that weve both come to know Balkan music, it would appear that one theme sums it up: Tose who hearit, learn it and play it cannot live without it. But its still a niche pursuit, and the community is still small.

In writing this preface, and having read the content repeatedly, we realize how difficult it is to framea subject that we are so intimately tied to. Te only fair frame is that these stories are only the stories of 8 people.Our hope, through this publication, is to awaken awareness of this creative yet historic music style through these

interviews. And although theyre just snapshots of long conversations we had, hopefully they will give you somecontext for what you will participate in tonight.


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able of Contents

Paul Brown 8

Mark Levy 10

Amy Mills 12

Eva Salina Primack 14

Ruth Hunter 15

Stephen Kotansky 14

Polly apia Ferber 18

Yuliyan Yardanov 20

glossary 23


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You cant control or foresee what you will end up loving, what you will end up being as aresult of what you love. Tis is certainly true for my experience with Balkan music. Te passion I have

for it, and the place it occupies in my life are inexplicable.

Inexplicable is a word that came up a lot in the conversations that inform this small text.Sure, you could explain away the fascination with Balkan music and dance with the realities of exotic

time signatures, intervals, instrumentation, and the need for community and roots in America, but atthe heart of it, for me at least, there is no explanation. It just brings me joy every time I hear it, playit, dance to it, or sing it. It brought me out to Santa Fe, in part. It has been hugely present in my lifesince I discovered it in 2005, in the forms of what I listen to, what I do, where I want to go, and whatI think about. It took me across the Atlantic to urkey, Bulgaria, and Greece. It informs many of mythoughts and questions about the intersection of art and community.

But most of all its inexplicable, and Im OK with that. At this point, I prefer hearing whatothers have to say about it, because my experience with it is comparatively short to those who are

featured in this text.

- Alysha Shaw

editors notes


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I am a graduate of the Contemporary Music Program at the College of Santa Fe (now Santa Fe Uni-versity of Art and Design). I was first introduced to Balkan music in 2006 while a part of this music programwhen I was 20 years old. I had transferred to this program as a 3 rdyear music student, essentially looking forsomething other than what other programs had to offer, I had no idea what I would find. At the end of my

first semester at the college, I heard a performance by the Mid-East/Balkan ensemble, directed by Polly apiaFerber and Paul Brown, and I immediately knew it would change my life. Although only 4 years have

passed since that moment, Balkan music has definitely become a prominent part of my musical life and willcontinue to be so.

Initially, I was drawn to this music for the odd-time rhythms and intricate melodies constructed onscales I had never heard in Western music; but as I continue to delve into this music, I am finding a deeper

passion than just the technicalities of the theory. Te sense of community I have experienced when around thismusic and dance is absolutely incredible, and the pure joy it brings me is almost unexplainable.

My recent travels in Eastern Europe to Greece, urkey and Bulgaria allowed me to experiencefirst-hand some of the cultures from which this music originated; I have fallen in love with it. Interacting withpeoples from these countries made the music much more real and also solidified my desire to become even moredeeply involved in this community both in America and in the East.

So my curiosity was piqued as to why some Americans, either whom Ive met or whose stories Ive onlyheard, choose to make Balkan music & dance culture their life. Trough the various interviews conducted forthis publication I have learned so much about the ever-ongoing community of Americans who perform, teach,study, and ultimately just love and cant live without Balkan music. Tese stories are inspiring on a completelydifferent level, and I hope they will be for you as well.

Folk traditions are an ever-evolving entity that will always be available if you seek them or in somecases, you just stumble upon them. I maintain that nothing is coincidence and am so happy to have foundmusic that makes me feel at home more than any other music ever has.

- Jenny Luna

editors notes conti


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Paul Brownhas been playing music for 37 years, studying bassand improvisation at the Berklee College of Music in Boston,and oud and makam with Haig Manoukian and Necatielik. Comfortable in all styles of music from Eastern Europe,he has been house bassist for the East European Folklife CenterWorkshops since 1996. He currently teaches bass and is co-director of the Mideast-Balkan Ensemble in the Contemporary

Music Program at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design.What first attracted you to Balkan music?

Originally, it was the Bulgarian Womens Choir and the harmonies.Ten, out of that, I started hearing more of the styles of music,and all of the rhythms of the different styles really appealed tome, being a bass player. So it was a combination of those twothings that really got me listening to it. Ten I found a band in LosAngeles and got a cassette from them, and got even more hooked. Ididnt know anything about it, so I just listened to it a lot. When Imoved to the Bay Area, I heard another vocal group that was basedthere and sounded like the Bulgarian Womens Choir, but smaller.

I went to see them, and thats how I found out about Balkan camp.Once I went to Balkan camp, it was all over.

What do you mean by that?

Just that when I saw the scene and heard the variety of the styles, itjust felt right. It was kind of like I was home. It was something thatI really wanted to do. Being able to go back and work at the Westand East coast Balkan camps, and being able to play with all thestaff members made it even more special for me. So it was all overin the fact that I found a home, and its been a huge part of my lifeever since. Both the music and the community, they fascinate me.

How has Balkan music changed your life? Could you imagineyour life without Balkan music?

Te second question, no. Te first question, Ive gone throughperiods where Ive thought about not playing music any more. Istarted playing Balkan music, and then I found a good place tokeep music in me, to keep playing music. And then a few years intoit, I discovered urkish music and especially the improvisationalside of it. Its given me a new focus that Im excited about, thatIm challenged by, that I like doing. Tat keeps me fed, musicallyspeaking. I play a lot of different styles: I can play jazz, but I dontconsider myself a jazz player, because I dont apply myself in thatway to it. If I were applying myself Id learn more inside of it. It

could change, tooI might get back into jazz or start somethingelsebut no, I dont really see myself as not playing Balkan music.Teres too much about it thats exciting to me; I dont think that Icould stop. And being a bass player in that style of music gives mea unique perspective on it. Tere are not a lot of bass players thatplay this style.

Can you tell the specific story about how you got involved inBalkan music?

I went to West Coast Balkan camp in 1994 for a day and washooked on the scene and the redwoods and everything. I went back

in 1995 with another friend of mine, and we went for a weethat time I met some of the staff members and there was a bathe house bass player; his name was Alan Cline. He and hisplanned to move to urkey a few months later. He was playinband at that time, and his band needed someone to cover forand I was asked to play in that band. While he was gone, was killed in an auto accident in Greece. It was a huge blow tcommunity. So all of a sudden, Alan was gone, and I happenhave been the person who replaced him in the band, so they me if I wanted to step into that role the following year in Auas the head bassist for the camp. Tis is the role that I have hcamp since 1996, and it is more or less a perfect fit for me. Bable to play different styles, being able to learn songs quicklybeing fairly personable, makes it kind of the perfect role. I

telling them that they need to find someone else who knowsto do it, because its better for the community if more people how to do this stuff, but they dont listen to me.

Can you describe the Americans who go to Balkan campwhy it felt like a home for you?

I felt like I was home because of the support; everyone waswelcoming to me. Te year I went for one day only, I calledtold them that I was coming up. But the camp was sold out asonly have a limited number of cabin spaces, so they asked mcould tent, and I said, Sure. So I took my tent, but I forgosleeping bag. George Chittenden, who has been with the c

for a long time, said, Hey, whats up? and we started talktold him about forgetting my sleeping bag, and he went and fme a sleeping bag with no questions asked. I went in to dthe first day and sat at the first open seat with Carol Silverwho was one of the people who started the camps, and MiGinsburg, who teaches brass band. Tey started asking, Whayou interested; why are you here? And I thought that wasspecial: there was no exclusion.

Its also very multi-generational, which I find fascinating. Tekids who go to both East and West Coast camps now. Balkan cwas started in the 70s, and it was a bunch of 20- and 30-somet

(photo courtesy of Paul Brown)


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that wanted a place to play this music. Now, theyve grown, andstarted having families of their own, so their kids have come. Tecamps have gone through periods of bringing different people in.

So, its multi-generational; its very welcoming; its a communitythat takes care of its members. Te kids can hang out together. Tedifferent generations like to hang out together. Teyre safe there,so their parents can go off and do dance classes. Everybody just

looks out for each other; its exciting that way. Now there are kidsbands and kids activities so that the kids are taken care of duringthe day and the parents can still do what they love to do.

I think that when you find something that you are passionateabout, and when you find others that are passionate about it too,it makes it easier to be with them. Its not about money, its aboutpassionand thats an exciting thing to be a part of. People arethere because they are passionate about the music and the dance.Tat was another thing that really got me into it. And then add theart and music on top of it.

Has Balkan music in America changed since youve come into

the scene?

In the last 5-10 years theres been a major brass explosion, and evenin the Balkans. Since that movie Underground came out, theresbeen a brass Renaissance. In America, there have been some brassbands that have inspired more brass bands, in Portland and the Bayarea and New York. And a lot of the members in those bands arepeople in their 20s and 30s, so in that respect I think a lot of theyounger people are more excited. I think live brass music is moreexciting in general. But I dont think that Balkan music is changingin America per se.

America is a hard place to make a living in music. Good music

will always win out, but will it be popular? Who knows? Tatsjust the way our culture is. We export the vision of market andselling things, instead of just creating art, and thats not good forthe music. But in America theres still a lot of good Balkan musicwith the ethnics, especially in New York, where they are actuallyplaying this stuff. A lot of world-class musicians who cant make aliving in their own country and cant make a living here are drivingcabs and limos and might play at restaurants once a week. Its justthe nature of this country. And maybe thats the way its supposedto be: maybe art is not supposed to make money; its just supposedto be art.

Is Balkan folk music viable in America?

It will never go away, but I think its a constant struggle to getyounger people interested in it. I think when people hear it, theylike it. Te players like it. Its a valid art form, so I dont thinkit will ever die that way. Will it grow and change? Tat kind ofgets into your definition of what art is. I mean, you couldnt docubism now, and you couldnt do twelve-tone music. You cant doclassical musicits not the same, and minimalism isnt the same.John Adams, or Steve Reichits very different than what theywrote in this 60s because stuff has been heard. So, artists want todo something different.

With folk music, it may be even a little weirder because theseolder traditions. So, how do you make them vibrant and livnow, while still maintaining your respect for where they cofrom? Some people dancing to music dont want to hear live muTey only want to hear recordings. I find that a little weird musician. I think youd want to hear and experience the interpbetween dancers and musicians because thats where the excitemis. But a lot of dancers dont want it to be different. Tey wan

know whats coming upOkay, here comes this partinstof saying, Oh, well, they are doing this a little longer; lets do step a little longer. Part of that comes with your comfort level wthe dance, the music and the quality of the music.

Do you think there is a Utopian thing going on in the campthe redwood forest and with the folklore?

No, I tend to think most people in the Balkan scene are fagrounded, actually. Tey generally have good jobs and are vintelligent people. Tey just happen to love this.

Is it an unusual example of music and dance form creat

community?

As opposed to any other music or dance form creating communNot really; its what people love to do. Its got actual valuespecially in a world that leans towards mono-culturalizatwhich is bad. Any monoculture is bad for the life of anything. Abiologist will tell you that the less diversity you have, the worse for culture. I think thats definitely true for art as well.


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Mark Levyis a co-founder of the Eastern European FolklifeCenter (EEFC). With a degree in ethnomusicology fromUCLA, he currently teaches ethnomusicology at the Universityof Oregon School of Music. He has traveled extensively andresearched in several Balkan countries, focusing on learningtraditional village instruments of Bulgaria and Macedonia.

Can you just tell me a little bit about yourself, what your

relationship to Balkan folklore is and how you got into it?

So, I was in college in the 60s, and in the 50s the national folk bandsmovement was a huge phenomenon on college campuses all acrossthe country. Its not like today. I started going to international folkdancing, and gradually I was just really attracted to a certain kindof music and dance, which was Balkan, and especially Bulgarianand Macedonian. I just fell in love with it. It was unexplainable.So I just tried to get all the recordings I could and just listened toeverything and learned all the dances. I was dancing for fun everynight. You could say I was a normal music major at that time.

Tere were a few instruments that really grabbed me, mainly gaida

and zurna. Tere was, of course, no one to teach me, and therewere no instruments.

I moved to Los Angeles after I graduated college, and I did graduatework at the music college at UCLA and got involved in the wholeBalkan music and dance scene there, which revolved around agroup called Aman, which was a touring, performing Balkan musicand dance ensemble. It was so great for me, because there were somany people concentrated in one place with a shared passion forBalkan music and dance. It was just an incredibly lively scene.

I started going to the Balkans in 1971. During the 70s, I madea number of summer trips to Bulgaria and Macedonia. So that

started my habit of hanging around in villages and trying to learnby just observing. In Bulgarian and Macedonian village culture,theres no one constantly teaching somebody how to play. Youjust have to hang out and observe, because thats the way they alllearned.

So I was there a number of different summers, and I boughtinstruments and learned directly from the villagers and throughrecordings. Meanwhile, working on my musicology degrees, onesignificant thing that happened was I finally had an opportunity toplay village instruments such as gaida, kaval, gadulka, etc.

So there were a number of things happening simultaneously. Ten,

I got a graduate teaching assistantship at UCLA. Tere I led aBalkan ensemble and, with the help of my friends, we taught allthe Bulgarian village instruments: gaida, kaval, tambura, gadulka,tupan.Tese were mainly friends of mine in Aman, and we werejust meeting separately from the official ensemble rehearsals,because we were enamored with these folk instruments, and therewas not an opportunity to play them in Aman. In Aman, we playedmore clarinet- and accordion-based music, and although I did alsoplay clarinet with Aman for awhile, my desire was to play thesevillage instruments. So, we started this group called Pitu Guli,which was actually the first American group that played Bulgarianvillage instruments. Our mission was to get live music going for

folk dancing. At the time recreational folk dance groups were odancing to recorded music, and it was unheard of to dance to lmusic.

We acquired a following and performed for a lot of different fdancer types. It just became a subculture within the Balkan dacommunityreally dancing to live music. Every Wednesday took over the music building at UCLA, with this Balkan ensemand in separate rooms we had a miniature Balkan camp. We hall the instruments. I couldnt have done it without the help of friends in Pitu Guli.

So Pitu Guli was getting hired for a lot of different events, especiin Northern California. We were hired to perform live musicperiodic weekend Balkan music and dance festivals. One of main places for weekend festivals was a place called Sweets M

which was a facility northeast of Fresno. It was a very rustic plaYou had to bring your own tent and your own food, but thwhere a lot of this energy for live music, live Balkan music redeveloped. It happened at these weekend festivals at Sweets MSo, one summer, the fellow who owned the facility, Virgil Bigsasked me if I wanted to lead a week-long Balkan music and daworkshop. I agreed, and this was the first camp in 1974. Te swas mainly Pitu Guli. We did that for two summers, 74 and 7

So, we had done these two week-long workshops at Sweets Mbut it was just a little too rustic there, and we wanted to do it our own. So we had the first week-long Balkan Music & Dancamp in Mendocino in 77. And thats when we invited sevepeople from New York. Tat was one of my visions, to bring peotogether across the country, people who have a passion for Balkmusic.

Tere was an amazing singing group happening in New York caZhenska Pesna. Carol Silverman was a part of that, and there wan amazing Macedonian band called Novo Selo. Tat was the sin that first Mendocino camp: Pitu Guli, Novo Selo, and ZhenPesna. So that was an amazing thing, because we all met each otfor the first time.

So that is the story of the Balkan camps.

(photo courtesy of Mark Levy)


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How would you describe Balkan camp to somebody whos notfamiliar with Balkan folklore and whos never been to one?

I suppose I would use the word magical. Its something thathappens when you get a lot of people in one place who all share apassion for something. Its an explosion. Tese camps are one weeklong, and all I know is that theres not much sleeping for a wholeweek. Its music all day and all night.

Really, theres a lot of learning. Being an academic, the educationalcomponent was always very important to me, but its a lot oflearning and a lot of fun, too. o start it was experiential learning,which I think is so valuable. Tere was also a lot of chaos. Ive justalways loved the wayonce it is all set up it just kind of goes.

It seems like theres a massive community that really seems to focusin on the Balkan camps and some specific festivals. Te Balkancamps especially seem to draw people into the community. Can

you speak to that at all?

Its all true. I know it sounds corny, but its true, you know? Its ahigh point of the year for so many of us and the word is community.Tat was my vision. Tis music is all about community. I saw thatso clearly when I spent time in Balkan villages. Its a big family. Abig concern of mine is that we always be friendly to newcomers.Tat can be tricky if a lot of us old timers have known each otherfor a decade, but we always want to encourage new people.

But, yes, its something we think about all year, and its always soinspiring and tremendous. Tere are times when I dont play musicfor a while during the year, but then while Im at the camp, andafterwards, I just feel so inspired to get back to it.

What do you think it is about Balkan music and folk dancingthat attracts Americans who often have no ethnic ties to any ofthe countries or the folklore?

Tere are a lot of reasons. o be perfectly honest, what I would sayapplies especially to me is that I was always shy and introvertedand had difficulty connecting with people. So I found this to bea great avenue to be involved in the community, and I feel like I

grew up to something and connected music to dance. Its a natway of connecting. Obviously, the dance line is literal connecti

Whenever I do this kind of music, I just feel like I really belonsomething, to a group effort.

I was coming from the classical music scene, which now seso stiff to me, where youre performing to a seated audience. Salways love playing for dancers. Its such a cool interaction. Its fantastic energy.

I think it fits a mysterious vibe, for some of us. Its all about feelings of homage when you feel so connected with others.

It seems like a lot of people come to it for very different reasas far as things that they like and are drawn to.

Since I teach about music from all over the world, there are timwhen I dont listen to Balkan music for a while. Ten I wonder wI learned it to begin withthen I sit down and listen to it, andjust so beautiful. Its just so fantastic. How do we verbalize whythink something is beautiful or great?

Do you think there are any ethics involved in terms of dofusion music, or in terms of Americans creatively evolving otcultures musical traditions?

Oh god, yeah. Tese are such complicated issues, you know? I ththe main question about ethics generally comes down to monemoney and acknowledgement, lets say. For example, lets sa

record a gaida player in a Bulgarian village playing something, I bring it back here, sit down, and learn it, then I teach it at Balcamp and I get a salary for teaching that. So thats going backthe village that I learned it fromunless I paid him, which ofdoesnt happen. So, if theres money involved, its tricky. Personamost of the people I knowCarol, me, and other folksweto give acknowledgment as much as possible. So if were givout a sheet of music or lyrics, we include the name of whomlearned it from. Tats at least acknowledgment. As far as financompensation, that often doesnt happen.


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Amy Millshas been involved in folk dancing since she was achild. Trough her various degrees, including anthropology, historinternational studies, and folklore, and having conducted researchin several Balkan countries, Amy has a lot to offer to the AmericanBalkan community. She currently resides in Los Alamos, New Mexand is heavily involved in balkanalia! and organizing in the PacifiNorthwest.

Why dont you tell us how you got into Balkan folk dancing, awhat the context of that was?

My mom did folk dancing, so there was always folk music arouthe house. I have always done dancing from several diffecountries, but I tend to be more engaged with Balkan dancingthink I keep on coming back to it, and I put more of my eneinto it, because the sense of community is really strong.

Can you describe line dancing?

Balkan line dancing is not what you think of when you hear dancing. Its not Country/Western line dancing. You hold han

and usually dance in a circle, but the circle isnt always closedthe Balkans, circles tend to go to the right, because in the Balkto the right is considered the lucky direction. One person lethe line at the front, and everybody holds hands facing towardsmiddle, while they move. Its almost like dancing around a bon

So, you were basically born into this whole communitydancing. Now, there is a very specific community around Balkmusic and the folk dancing. Can you describe your involvemin that? How would you describe that community?

I think you can say theres one big community, but really therea bunch of different little communities. But all of them inter

at various kinds of events.

I grew up with international folk dancing and there were alwaylot of Balkan dances. Tats how I got involved. I became the mengaged when I started going to the Mendocino Balkan MusiDance camps. I think that those camps create community, rathan just rely on an existing community. Tey treat community disparate bunch of groups of people. Tere are people who camit from folk dancing, or because they really liked the music. Tare musicians who started folk dancing. Tere are also professioartists from the Balkans.

When its the best, you have all of those people together at ca

or an event, and those dividers, those things that make peodifferent like being an ethnic vs. being a folk dancer become important, because the focus becomes enjoying the music, hava good time together and being creative.

How has participating in this community, doing these fdances and being involved in Balkan music affected your lif

Te Balkan world and the folk dance world in general himpacted me in most of the things I think about on a daily baHow do you build community? How do you sustain communI dont believe you just build community and it kind of sustaon its own. Its like you have to keep putting money in the me

Ten theres more of what youre saying, what happens whenAmericans transform music into something else, and thatshappening in the Balkans too. Its a very hairy issue and, for me, itboils down to acknowledgement and compensation. Tose are thehuge ethical issues, I think. Sometimes people dont give credit,and sometimes credit doesnt have to be financial. It can just beacknowledgment of where you learned it from.

Whats the role of Balkan folk culture in the Balkanswhatsthe function of folklore? In America do we have something likethat generally?

Well, maybe thats why a lot of us really were attracted to this sostrongly, because it was part of a human desire that was beingmet. Tere was music making in an active way and dancing ina community involvement way. When we grew up, and its moreextreme now, music was being listened to in a passive way, andthere wasnt quite so much live music.

I mean, what percentage of music thats heard today is really livemusic? Especially with such advanced technology nowadays, its so

easy to become disconnected. So maybe that active engagement,that direct participation, is what really attracted us initiallyandwe couldnt verbalize that, but were verbalizing it now.

I studied piano when I was little, and I hated it without knowingwhy. Now I see it was just such a solitary thing; it was mainly asolo endeavor. So when I started playing clarinet in junior highschool, it just turned my life around, because it was social and itwas playing with other people. Tat became the focus of my lifein junior high school and high school, playing in various bands,orchestras, and school, because it wasnt just practicing piano bymyself.

So, what is the function of folklore? Well, nowadays, how do youdefine folklore? You could look at high school concert bands asa culture and you could look at folkloristic aspects of being in ahigh school band. Maybe the difference with Balkan folklore in theStates is its not really related to your family heritage and it doesntreally go back that far. When we were hanging around villagersin the Balkans, it was just so meaningful to them because theirparents and grandparents did it, they learned from their parentsand grandparents, and theres a historical perspective. Even thoughthis sounds like a stereotype, it really created meaning with thembecause they were attached to a place with family histories. Here, alot of us dont have that.


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I think thats true for relationships of any kind: being able tosolve problems when everybody in the community needs to feelwelcome, needs to feel like theyre allowed to be there. Beingwelcoming to new people, being welcoming to all the folks whoare involved--even if theyre really, really different.

Tere seem to be some really heated debates on traditionalism inBalkan folklore in Americaabout how the music should sound

and how the dancing should be performedand they seem tooften come from Americans who are not from the Balkans. Can

you speak to this?

Folklorists, and people in general, talk about this word traditionall the time, and it is such a loaded word. A lot of people inboth the Balkans and in America think of tradition as somethingthat never changes. Folklorists dont define it that way. Folkloristsdefine tradition as something that has a conservative force anda changing force. Teres always some innovation. And theinnovation comes from individuals and it comes from groups, andit comes from people moving halfway across the planet. And so,with that definition, I find its a lot easier to understand why peopleget so excited about tradition, because when theyre operating onthe basis of it being something that is frozen in time and space,then its very easy to get accusatory about something not beingtraditional.

I think thats a normal process, and when youre so far removed,youre going to have some people who want to codify it, and otherpeople who want to just make it their own. Ten theres peoplewho make it their own, but want to be aware of where it camefrom and have that respect and the regard, so they use whateverinformation they can to live within that spirit.

One question that was asked to me when I presented tosome people in Portland about this project is, Is it cultural

preservation, or cultural appreciation or appropriation?

I think mostly its cultural appreciation. I think that if it was onlycultural appropriation, you wouldnt have people who were fromthese places, who are very knowledgeable about their music ordance, receive invitations to come and teach. And when they docome and teach, theres almost a reverence that people have.

Do you think its preservation?

I think sometimes theres too much cultural preservation. Dowe want to preserve the artifact, or do we want to continue the

practice? I personally prefer that the practice continue to go on. Itcreates that sense of community, as opposed to putting somethingin a big archive that no one may ever look at.

Do you think that globalization changes the question of whetherits ok to evolve somebody elses culture? Or does that becomeirrelevant, when we have so much access and are constantlyincorporating so many things from around the world into ourlives?

I think everybody has to solve that for themselves on some level.People have always borrowed and appropriated each othersmusic. I think any kind of improvisation or innovation is based

(photo courtesy of Amy Mills)

on knowing where youre coming from. Every person whos

been an artist of any kind learned from other people, worked rehard and learned the tradition that they were being trained in.a lot about knowing where youre coming from. People can hso much access to so many different kinds of cultural informatand it can kind of boil down to a sludgebut I think a lot oftime that doesnt happen.

Do you think people romanticize the Balkan cultures?

Americans definitely romanticize it from a perspective of knowing much about it. And people in the Balkans acturomanticize their national identity partly around folklEverybody does it to some extent. Te further you are away,

easier it is to do.

What role do you think this kind of stuff has in America?

In the big picture, I think everybody needs something like tand I dont really care what color they are, or race or backgrouor ethnicityeverybody needs a sense of community, becauthink the community gives people a sense of responsibility to another. Our society in the United States has gotten to the pwhere people arent as engaged with various communities. Wat this point in the United States, where a lot of people really ccommunity. Tey crave human closeness. Te internet is not goto provide all of that. You cant hug the internet. You cant la

with the internet, and you cant look at its eyes, and you cant hits hand and do a dance, and you dont have as much of a strsense of responsibility to the people on the internet. It does hsome value, but you cant replace a sense of community, faceface community.

I think thats what the Balkan community does; it provides thasome people and what were doing is a tiny piece of that for particular group of people. I think that needs to happen all overUnited States, in whatever realms people are going to choose, whatever realms theyre born into. I do know that this particcommunity is not the answer for everybody, but I like people toit in the first place so they can make that choice.


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the exchange, the contribution, finally seems tangible to me: helping people, giving to them, and the act of doing it is somethI truly love. My work as a performer has become somuch stronbecause I have released my inhibitions and the voice in my hthat says dont shine so bright, and thus Ive begun to embomy gifts more fully. Ive come to realize that its crucial to find yown way within whichever community you belong to and nerely on a group of people to dictate your relationship to the thiyou love the most.

Folk tradition is in constant evolution, and traditioculture should be acknowledged as an ever-shifting, livibreathing thing. Ruth Hunter once told me that you havebelieve that theres something intrinsic in you thats connectedthis music, and that you have to put yourself in it, you must

yourself; I know who I answer to. Tats what I try to teach, yhave to be youand sing with your own voice. Balkan music provided incredible opportunities for me, and I feel truly fortunto have had my path revealed to me at such a young age. Granits an ever-shifting path, but an increasingly rewarding one. Onthe things that characterizes my relationship with the music is tI have somewhat of an inside/outside perspective, precisely becaIm notan academic. If theres anything that I can do by waya personal contribution to the cultural survival and growth, helping people to access and understand the joy and fundamenof these musical traditions. I am grateful to have had such a hvariety of experiences in my short life, positive and negative alifor each of them informs the next steps I take, and together t

make up the fabric of my life.

(photo courtesy of Eva Salina Primack)

Eva Salina Primackhas been studying, performing, andteaching Balkan music since she was a young child. She hasworked and recorded with many Balkan and Americanmusicians in the genre of Balkan music. She currently tourswith Ash (), a duo with Aurelia Shrenker that sings throughand around the vocal traditions of the Balkans, Appalachia,the Caucasus and Corsica.

Growing up in Santa Cruz, Calif., in the late 1980s, Iwas fortunate to be exposed to Balkan music at the age of seven.With a bit of creativity on my parents part, I found the initialteacher, Ruth Hunter, who I studied with and learned a great dealfrom and still consider one of my chief mentors. I started out asa child in a musical community largely composed of adults, andas such came up against some negative reactions from membersof that community, but Ive moved through that into adulthoodand landed in a place where Ive begun to understand my what myrole is. I am proud of what I have accomplished in my life thus far,considering that I am still young and have lots of work ahead ofme. Ive earned respect from the people I respect most, and I spend

my life performing, teaching and studying Balkan music.

Te role of young people in the Balkan communityhas shifted tremendously since I first became part of it. I felt quiteisolated as a child in the scene, especially in the very beginning.But, over time, children and young people have come to comprisea significant part of the Balkan community in the US, and withthat the older generation has gradually become more receptive totheir presence and contribution. Young people are now recognizedas a vital presence, a demographic upon which the communityssurvival depends. On my end, assuming the role of a teacher in thecommunity has brought things full circle.

I started teaching when I was about 14-15 years old,at an annual musical gathering called Sweets Mill that takes placeoutside of Fresno. It was a blessing to me to be able to cut myteaching teeth in a much less structured and discriminatingenvironment. I felt appreciated without expectation, and mypresence there was neither threatening nor disruptive. Sweets Millwas an independent world for me, at that time a scene mostlyseparate from the Balkan one (though thats completely changednow), and one where I was allowed to be free, to play, and makemistakes, and break through my inhibitions, without feelingconfined to the replication of tradition. My experiences there reallyhelped me develop as a teacher and a musician.

Tings shifted in a dramatically positive way whenI was 21 and was invited to teach at Mendocino Balkan Camp.After an adolescence peppered with internal conflict about myrelationship to the scene, and a few years of feeling questionedby many in regards my commitment to the music, I finally feltlike I was validated for my contribution; that there was a placefor me within the community. Teres no real limit to what I cangive as a teacher, because the reward of teaching is so great. Asmy teaching has grown, Ive felt different elements of my life shifttowards equilibrium; if Im giving freely to people, sharing what Iknow, helping them sing and experience joy through singing, then


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Ruth Hunter has been involved in Balkan music since she wasa teenager. She is an active singer and multi-instrumentalist.

She is married to Christos Govetas, and together with their twochildren, Bobby and Eleni, they are deeply involved in the SeattleGreek community as performing musicians and teachers, as wellas being involved in the EEFC Balkan Music & Dance camps.

How did you come to find this music, and what is your role in it?

I got involved in Balkan music and dance as a high school studentin Honolulu. My German teachers wife was an international folkdancer, so wed have an after-school program of international folkdancers. I was a linguist and musician already, and I liked to dance,so it was just a perfect confluence of things: I could do everything Iliked at once. When I heard about Balkan Music & Dance camps,

I just had to go. I was completely sucked into this dream world.You get there and youre living this imaginary kind of fantasy musicworld.

I met my husband at the Balkan camp on the East coast, and westarted playing music together. Over the course of time, the Balkanworld went from being a place where I went once a year to camp, tohave fun and run around in the woods in a fantasy-like world, toreally being the cornerstone of the my life year-round. Now Balkancamp is just one piece of this whole, real life. Its not just aboutplaying music and living in a fantasy world in the woods.

So what is it that attracted you? What do you think attrpeople to the folk music and the traditions?

Its almost hard to say now; its been so long that it just senormal to me because its in every aspect of my life. Tinkabout it, thoughfor me, it was exotic. Im sure for me and mAmericans, were attracted to that link to some kind of cultexperience that we feel like we dont have.

At the same time, the reason some Americans dont go for Amerimusic is the same reason that some Bulgarian kids arent gofor Bulgarian music. o us, its crusty, old people music, andunderstand the nationalistic roots of what it represents, beyond pure music. When you step into another culture, or language,dont have those associations. So, when we hear Bosnian musicdont associate it with a religion. When we hear Serbian music,dont associate it with nationalism. When were singing a Bulgasong about chopping off the heads of urks, we think its quand cute, and we dont associate it with the really fraught histoand we dont have to take sides. So, I think it appeals to us idifferent way.

Tese days, I think what pulls people in is that it is authenits imperfect; its colorful. Te tone and the notesthe flat kof quarter tonesare appealing. In current pop music, everythis auto-tuned; everyone has to be perfect. I think that our eare looking for something a little bit more dirty. You can seshifting in popular music. Were trending back towards vinyl


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Stephen Kotanskyis a versatile dancer and teacher of Balkfolk dance. He has taught, performed with and choreographfor many performing ensembles throughout the U.S. and

Europe. He currently resides in the New York area where hecontinues to teach and is also a folk dance instructor at theEEFC Balkan Music & Dance camps.

How did you discover folk dancing?Ive been involved in Balkan music and dance since 1967/19which is about 43-44 years now. I really should write about theories and experiences with dance, dancers, music, musiciand general characters and scholars Ive met over my many yeof involvement. I first got involved as a junior in high schooPalo Alto, Calif., and became very active immediately with varikinds of Balkan music and dance groups. Quickly thereafter

1970, I went to the Balkans and had my own Balkan dance groin Europe. Ive worked with professionals, semi-professionals aamateurs. It has been my lifes passion, and for a large period of life I have pursued this path: collecting, teaching, choreographetc.

Im third-generation Slovak and Carpatho-Rusyn on my dads sSo there is a connection, indirectly, but I didnt know that uI got interested in folk dancing. In high school, I would go fdancing with a number of my friends on Friday nights at StanfUniversity. Very quickly, I got hooked and it became my passiOne night, we learned a dance called Horehonsky Czardas, a vpopular folk dance created by Ukrainian/Yugoslav ballet ma

Anatol Joukowsky, who had immigrated to the United Statesthe 1950s with his wife and later became a dance teacher at SFrancisco State College. I came running home from folk dancand asked my dad where we were from, explaining that we hlearned a dance that ended with S-K-Y, like our name. All osudden, my dad started singing in Slovak. Until that point, I hno idea he even spoke Slovak, but it was in fact his first languaUltimately, I went with my dad to Hungary and Yugoslavia. was always very supportive of my strange interest in dancing.

Folk dancing let me see the whole world in a new light and piq

trending back towards an analog kind of sound. I think theres anaspect of looking for that authentic, rough sound that hasnt beenoverproduced; it has a little bit of grit to it thats really appealing.

How would you describe the community that exists around thismusic and the dancing in America?

When I first got involved in Balkan camp, it was almost allmusicians. Tere were some folk dancers who danced to recordsonce a week, and there were some dance classes, but it was reallyabout the music. It was mostly full of crazy, stay up all night,party-hardy musicians. Over the years, its mergedin my mind atleastwith the folk dancers.

Do you think the traditions are static, or are they fluid? AsAmericans practicing traditions from a different culture, whatresponsibilities or abilities do we have to evolve them?

Tey are fluid, and we need to respect that they are fluid. I dontthink we have a responsibility to do anything with them except tobe truthful about what were representing. If were representing themusic from a certain area, we have a responsibility to name it forwhat it is. We have a responsibility to be respectful to the positionand I think we should try to understand the context that it comesfrom.

What do you think these traditions mean in the context ofAmerican life?

Tis whole community has evolved into a real serious communitywhere, if you need something, if something happens to yougod forbidyou are sick, you lose somebody, someone dies, youreceive real, serious support. Its not just pretend anymore. We arenow family. We didnt know anything about each other, and nowwe really are part of each others lives.

Now, Balkan Camp is a very multi-generational kind ofexperience. What do you think its future is, and what do youthink teaching this to children does?

For me, its not about teaching the music to the children; its aboutgiving the children a place to be in the community. Of course, themusic is huge, its important, but whats most important is thattheyve got their own community of kids. Tey are evolving theirown culture. What they have is a community where they haveadults who arent their parents, who care about them, who keep aneye on them. Teyve got some freedom at camp.

What role do you think art has in society and in the lives of

people?

Everybody thinks you dont need it until its gone. I just think thatin our current United States culture, we are so focused on certainways of measuring progress that we are ignoring the multifacetednature of humans and the need for the artistic expression.

Do you think theres any kind of community or thing comparableto this sort of specific community based around these Balkantraditions?

Of course. Like any group or church, its a place to go to find tcommunity that we dont have in our families. I prefer the Balcommunity, personally, but I think there are plenty of groups tpull people in. Community is something that is not so commonAmerica, and people are really realizing the importance of it.

Could you imagine your life without the Balkan community

I could not. I look at other peoples lives and the way that theyto work, they go home, and what do they do when they get homTey watch football? I guess football is a community, but I cannot imagine a life without it, not at all. Its unimaginable.


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my interest in foreign cultures. Everything suddenly involvedfinding out more about the Balkans and Eastern Europe, includingthe language that I chose to study in high school, where I chose to goto college, and how I ended up in Europe. Nothings coincidental,and through the course of my life theres always been a connecting-string of Balkan music and dance, although I have extended myinterests to a few countries beyond the Balkans. Countries Ivebeen to include Hungary, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia,Serbia, urkey and former Yugoslavia, including Slovenia.raveling to these countries broadened my view when it came to

folk dancing. Tese dances and dancers have a lot more in commonthan they do in difference, although they dont always like to admitthat. When you observe and dance these dances again and again,over and over, you begin to understand the common forms andit makes it easier to get up and join in. Te picture I had in thebeginning of many different dances remains, yet Ive developeda deeper understanding of dance and dancing as opposed to justmany individual dances being performed. I understand a newrelationship between dance and music, but that would require amuch longer conversation. Isadora Duncan said, If I could tellyou what it meant, there would be no point in dancing it.

After being involved in this for so many years, what would ysay draws people to folk dancing?

I like to think that music is the first appeal. People are first drato the music, some then, to the movement and forms, and somthe whole social aspect. My experience is that people are not jgoing out there and thinking that it is the coolest dancing. But oyoure hooked on the music, you are drawn to the social aspecthe dance, the fact that youre dancing in a circle and you dont na partner. As people get more involved, they see the intricacie

the music and dance, and its soulfulness. Another aspect tdraws people is that it has age; its time-tested. It survived into20thand 21stcentury when other countries in Western Europe wevolving in a different directionout of court dancing into coudancing, for example. So there is an archaic nature to the Balkthat people are interested in, too; it has strands and connectito older ways that were pan-European at one point. We can that the late medieval dances/early Renaissance dances are relato Balkan dances where they still exist. So theres the historconnection, theres the musical, the kinetic, the socialso mways that we can look at all of it.

(photo courtesy of Stephen Kotan


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When we talked, you mentioned a spiritual dimension to folkdancing. Can you elaborate on that?I like to think that every dance has a story, and every dancer anddance teacher is telling a story related to the dances. I know allmy dances have stories, and some stories are short, some storiesare long, some stories may be boring, some are exciting. Ive cometo believe that you put yourself in a certain frame of being when

youre dancing and then certain things can happen. I use the wordspiritual for lack of a better word, but for me, there has to be thatspiritual connection. For example, in folk art and music, theysort of exist on multiple levels, and I like to think of the levelsas being utilitarian, artistic and spiritual. And then at the sametime, especially with the Balkan music, theres both an individualexpression and understanding of these three functions as well as asocial, a larger group expression and understanding of these threefunctions. So at the same time that youre looking at the individualor group, youre looking at a dance as being utilitarian, beingartistic and being spiritual, and to differing degrees depending onthe individual or the group.

How does folk dancing currently manifest in your day-to-daylife?A day doesnt go by where Im not at least thinking or researchingdance. My mind is often processing dance-related activities andmaterial. I still teach fairly regularly and am often planning forseminars that Im invited to.

Tis publication is being geared towards many people who areunfamiliar with these traditions. Do you have anything youwould like to convey to that particular audience?

Dance has to be experienced, and Balkan dance is very hospitable.

Tere are many dances with simple, repeated patterns, which holdan open invitation for anyone, at any age, to join in. Dance isprobably a universal human activity, so get up and get with it.Join the human race or at least the Balkan pace. Dance has alwaysopened new doors in new places for me.

Eastern dance troop perform. Later in the day, a dance group caBaba Ganoush came on the stage followed by a band called PGuli. Te band consisted of a bagpipe, a clarinet, a violin, a lobell-shaped wooden trumpet and a loud field-drum. I didnt knthese last two amazing-sounding instruments, and I didnt knthis music at all. It was a jaw-dropping experience. I felt as if I quit breathing for their entire performance; I was in such awwas completely blown away by this group, and I wanted to find

more about them. When I inquired into it, I found out that twere Balkan dancers and musicians.

As soon as I got back to Albuquerque I was going crazy tryingfind Balkan music. What I found was a folk dance group. I starfolk dancing and met other dancers who were also interestedforming a performance troupe, which we eventually did. In midst of all this someone mentioned a newsletter put out by International Folk Dancers called Mixed Pickles. I got my haon a copy, and on the back was an advertisement for an event caMendocino Balkan Music and Dance Camp. Tat was in 19Ive been going to this camp ever since.

How did you first come to choose the doumbek as your minstrument, and how has this particular choice affected ylife?

I met Armenian doumbek player Jack Carian and oud player AAkgulian in 1972. At the time, Albuquerque was a small city Jack and Avak were the only ethnic musicians in the area. Tplayed for all of the Greek, Arab, Lebanese and Armenian sofunctions. I had been belly dancing for a couple of years, and three of us became a performing unit. Sometime during the nyear or so, they gifted me a beautiful aqua ceramic doumbek thad brought back from Chicago, where they were originally froand I started playing with them. My career in that world of mu

began to develop and blossom.

Shortly thereafter, having become a Balkan music fanatic, I starattending the Mendocino Balkan Music and Dance CampMendocino, California. I had only been attending for a couplyears when I was asked to teach doumbek (at the time, doumhad not been taught at the camp). So Ive been teaching at tcamp ever since and, in fact, I was one of the first women the teaching staff. Ive only missed two years in all this time. Torganization that heads the camp is the East European FolkCenter (EEFC), which has opened many doors for me.

How would you describe your style of playing rhythms in

way that could be understood by someone who does not ppercussion, or to someone who does not play music?

Balkan rhythms tend to be complex meters, so it can be challengeven for trained musicians. Te best way to get a handle on thcomplexities is to get a large Balkan music library and listenit, a lot. Ten get some instruction. It might take some timbut eventually the rhythmic structures begin to make sense. TBalkans is a large area with many differing styles and methodplaying, but the basic concept is the same. Over the years I hdeveloped a method that works for me and, it appears, that wo

Polly apia Ferber is a music educator, performer and recordingartist who specializes in hand percussion from the Middle East, urkey,

North Africa, the Balkans and Spanish Andaluca. She is on facultyat the Santa Fe University of Art and Design Contemporary MusicProgram where she teaches percussion, classes in World Music, anddirects the Mideast Balkan Ensemble.

How did you discover Balkan music?

When I was seventeen, I started taking belly dance lessons inAlbuquerque and that changed my life. Tat year, I went to TeBlack Forest Renaissance Fair in northern California, just outsideof San Francisco, to see the well-known Jamila Salimpour Middle


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(photo courtesy of Polly Tapia Ferber)

for my students. Like all musical genres, you have to like the musicfirst and foremost, and then youre motivated to learn it.

You have become a pivotal figure in the lives of so many peoplethrough your teaching career in Santa Fe, NM. Can you describehow you first came to teach at the College of Santa Fe and how

your contribution pertaining to Balkan music developed in themusic program over the years?

In the early 80s, I had a company called Hand Springs Productions,and I started bringing Middle Eastern and Balkan musicians toSanta Fe. I brought musicians such as Haig Manoukian (oud) andSouren Baronian (clarinet, duduk) and we had a belly dance showat Club West, a really popular club in Santa Fe at the time. I hadthat company for about 10 years, and so all the musicians in SantaFe knew me through that. Tey knew I was a Middle Eastern/Balkan musician and that all these shows I would bring into townwere always pretty successful.

In 1992, Kevin Zoernig started the Contemporary Music Programat the College of Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and he askedme if I would be interested in teaching a Middle Eastern/Balkanensemble. Ive been in the program from the beginning, and Ivebeen teaching the ensemble from the start. It was really small atfirst, but it has really grown over the years.

How many students have you seen go on to form careers inBalkan music or careers that draw on Balkan music, and howdoes this knowledge affect you as a teacher, as a performer?

Many students have participated in the ensemble or have takenlessons with me, but only a few have really taken it to the next levelin their musical careers. I stay in touch with these students andoften collaborate with them. Tese students are riveted and havethat same desire for the music that I had when I first heard it. Ifyou gravitate towards it and want to immerse yourself, you quicklyrealize the limitations in Santa Fe. You quickly realize you have togo to the camps, or the cities that have live Balkan communities,or directly to the Balkans, to really get it. But once you start goingout, you see how vibrant and alive this music is. I am enormouslyhappy when students are motivated to delve deeper. Tere is nobetter way to share this music that I love than with others who loveit just as much.

Besides making Balkan music a part of the local collegecurriculum, you have also been active in making Balkan musica part of the local scene. Why is this so important to you, andhow do you think it affects the already flimsy music scene inthe area?

Tis is a question I often ask myself. Its not easy creating a Balkancommunity out of one that doesnt exist, but having internationalfolk dance groups in and around the area helps a lot. Tere is noBalkan music scene or Balkan community in Santa Fe to speak of.Were not like a big city where these communities have culturalactivities, where the greater community can learn what theseactivities are. I travel, on a regular basis, to areas where Balkanmusic and dance happens in order to get stimulated, learn newmaterial, and bring that ecstasy I experience when Im around it.


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(photo courtesy of Yuliyan Yordanov)

Yuliyan Yordanov is a Bulgarian folk dance instructor. Growing upin Bulgaria he was raised in a village culture, learning these dances

from childhood. Since his relocation to the United States, he has spentmuch of his time teaching traditional Balkan dances to children.Tis summer he will be teaching Bulgarian Dance at the MendocinoBalkan Music & Dance Workshop.

Could you start by talking about your background, what you do,what brought you here, and where youre from?

I grew up in North Central Bulgaria. I spent the first six years ofmy life with my paternal grandparents in a village called Doyrentsi.When I was six, my parents took me to the city of Lovech, theclosest city to Doyrentsi, to live with them. I attended school inLovech, but I spent every possible weekend, holiday, and vacationin Doyrentsi.

I grew up around the brass band tradition in North CentralBulgaria that was very popular and active in the 70s and 80s. Iplayed trumpet in school brass bands starting in fourth grade.

When I was 14, I began performing in a dance troupe. Up untilthen, I had only danced in a village setting and at celebrations, butthis group was recruiting younger members in Lovech. A friend of

mine asked me to go with him, so it wasnt even originally my ideato join the group.

Joining this troupe was a major turning point, because it gave mea chance to travel around most of Europe and attend differentinternational folk festivals. Tere, I met people from differentcountries who participated in the festivals by dancing, singing,and playing the music of their cultures, and it broadened myperspective about folklore.

I ended up attending the Academy of Music and Dance Arts inPlovdiv. After graduating, I worked at the Municipality ChildrensComplex in Lovech for 10-12 years, teaching children ages 5 to

19. In 2001, I moved to the States, and I lived in Wisconsin, whereI learned about the International Folk Dance community in theUS. It was such a treat for me to see people with no Bulgarianbackground dancing Bulgarian dances. I found it quite fascinating.

Soon after my arrival in the States, I started teaching, firstin Wisconsin and then in Chicago. I established two groupsin Chicago of Bulgarian-American kids, and I also workedwith Serbian-American kids at the Serbian Cultural Center inMilwaukee. In Milwaukee, I also worked with a performingensemble for Bulgarian Dance called Na Lesa. Tey were allAmericans, although there were some Bulgarian and Hungarianwomen in the group. I also danced for seven years with a Greek

group in Madison, called Mesoghios Greek Dancers, andthrough that I had the opportunity to learn some Greek dances .

What is the village dancing like in Bulgaria and how is itdifferent from performing and what Americans here do?

I can only speak to my own experience, in which there was dancingat every major life event except funerals-- at every wedding andbaptism, and also before entering service into the military. Tiswas always a big event many relatives would celebrate a youngmans transition into adulthood before he went into the army to

start his two-year obligatory service. Teyd call it a wedding wno bride, because it was almost as big a celebration as a weddwould be.

In the performing group, it was a different story. Te warm up wsimilar to that of classical ballet. All the pieces we performed wbased on traditional dances, but were choreographed; the stwere enhanced and a bit more staged, so everything would lsharper and shinier and more uniform, which was not the wpeople danced in the village.

Another thing about village dancing: lets say in one village people would know 25 or 30 dances. Tey would know themheart, they would dance them very naturally and unpretentiouand its because these were all the dances they used to do. Tdidnt know many dances from other regions of Bulgaria, even, to mention other countries. But now, its completely differen

Bulgaria, there is more information there and more exchange. Aresult, younger people have the opportunity to see more places atraveling around the country, and they have started recreatiodancing, which is something like what happens in America. blossomed in the last seven or eight years. Before, folk dancing either in the village, or the performing groups, or at celebratioNow theyve created some sort of hybrid, because in moccasions along with the traditional dances from different regiof Bulgaria they also do some newly created dances that tfind cool. Tere is nothing wrong with this sort of developmenfolklore. It changes. Its the evolution of traditional dancing.

What I can say for an average recreational group of folkdancer

the States, is that they know so many dances from many Balkcountries. Te American groups have so much information; impressive, its very impressive. One funny thing I have notithough, about the folkdance community in the States, is tpeople get attached to a particular piece of music, and they ththis particular music is the only music that dance can be done which in 90% of the situations, is not the case.

It seems that globalization makes these things so much maccessible to many more people. Does that contribute to evolution of the folklore?

I think globalization definitely contributes generally to


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evolution of the dance, because there is a greater exchange of culturalinformation. One interesting thing is that in the United States,there are some dances whose older forms have been preserved byeither the immigrant or folkdance communities, while in the oldcountry, those same dances have developed and changed greatlyover the last 50 or so years.

Globalization has led to a great deal of musical fusion. I have

observed that the recreational dancers enjoy dances where themusic and movement are loosely based in tradition; the dancesare often choreographed and the music is more like a fusion ofdifferent music styles or even straight pop music from the Balkans.It seems like people are embracing that a lot here in the States,which I would call a sort of evolution of traditional dances. I thinkit is good to be open-minded, but I also think its very importantfor people to stay connected to the essence of the music and thedances, and to remember their social function.

Why do you think Americans, for instance, are interested inBalkan music or folk dancing? What do you think they get outof it?

Im still trying to figure that out. I mean, talking with friends because I have many good friends in the folk dance community--they like the music. Tey connect to the passion in the music andthen they enjoy moving to it.

Te other thing is that Balkan dance is not only popular in theStates, but also in Western Europe. It has something to do with theintricate meters and rhythms, which are not 4/4 and 3/4, but 5/8,7/8, 12, 15 and such. Te diversity of the rhythms, the intricacy,and the complicated meters is what draws people in.

Also, my perception is that according to the overall culture orunderstanding in America, boys dont dance. We are completely theopposite of that in the Balkans. In the Balkans, it is very attractivefor a young boy or man to dance. I think that this is what drawspeople to the Balkan dances here in the States: it is for everyone,its about community. Its not just for women, and it doesnt requireyou to dance in couples.

Ive noticed that in recreational Balkan dance groups, there aremany people who come there to feel a part of some community.Most of the people are definitely there because of their passionfor the dance, but there are also people who seem like they leadvery lonely lives. Te folk dance community is generally verywelcoming, because the nature of the dance is inclusive. Usuallythere is a teaching session in the beginning, so it allows people tocome there, have some instruction, and hold someones hand. ohave your hand be held by someone, to experience this physicaltouch in its purest way, to be among other people, and to holdhands I think this is also something that draws some people tofolk dancing.

What is it about folk dancing for you?

Im glad it exists, because when I started teaching here it broughtme back to my childhood, it brought back memories of a beautifulpart of my life. I remembered many details about dancing as achild, how the children observed the adults dancing together and

then we tried to replicate their steps. Its heartwarming heresee people gathering and dancing dances from all over the Balktogether in the same community, and enjoying themselves. Andnot only people who dont have any ethnic background, but people from those particular ethnic groups. I think its beautiflove it.

In the Balkans now, would you say the folk traditions are pr

vibrant? Are people keeping them alive?Yes, but, villages in Bulgaria, in particular, are not what they uto be. With globalization and increased urbanism, the village of life has declined. Older people have died. Not many yopeople are compelled to live in the villages. So, theres a big gTere are still some villages that are vibrant, but its nowhere nthe way it was. Now, in the cultural houses of the villages they hgroups working on preserving the folklore. Groups from mvillages attend the largest folklore festival in Koprivshtica everyyears to share their particular songs, dances, and customs.

Tere are still a handful of professional folk ensembles in Bulgabut its nowhere near how it used to be. Te recreational (amatdance groups that have formed in the last decade organize festiof recreational dance, and in their groups learning dances frdifferent ethnographic regions of the country.

But I think its good. I think the changes are good. Some peoare trying to create variations on the traditional dances that arexactly what our grandmothers and grandfathers used to do, it still stays true to the nature and the core of the tradition. So

is different, but it still goes on, which is the most important th

What do you think the future of folk dancing will be?

I think that as we continue in the direction we are going, peo

of different ethnic groups will start asking, Okay, but whatI exactly in the world? What do I represent? What is my callWhat is my tradition? I think that this will help the diffeethnic groups maintain their traditions, as people start lookingconnections. So, in the long run, I dont think anything willost.

Is it weird when people who dont have any ethnic ties ttradition end up preserving it, emulating it, and participain it?

No, because they found beauty in it, so why not embrace it andto keep it, even if its not by blood but by choice?

What do you think the role of folklore is in a culture? What dit do for people and for communities?

Ive been thinking about this lately. I know that it gives peoa sense of themselves. Tey come to a point where, especiallythe atmosphere of globalization and the internet culture, theythat they are getting lost. Tere are some people who are getseparated from the folklore, and these traditions are what kthem connected with what they are and where they come frIts about coming to the world with the knowledge of who you where you come from, and what you can contribute. Tats hI see it. Whenever they get lost, they can always look back to t

as their roots.


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GLOSSARY OF ERMS

EEFC Balkan Music & Dance Camps Te Eastern European Folklife Center (EEFC),is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate people on folk traditions of theBalkans. Each summer they put on two Balkan Music & Dance workshops. One on theWest Coast in Mendocino, Calif., and one on the East Coast in Iroquois Springs. Tesecamps present an opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to come learn about

Balkan traditions. Instruction is provided by some of the best Balkan musicians, dancersand scholars in America.

Doumbek a hand drum with a goblet shape used mostly in the Middle East, NorthAfrica, and Eastern Europe

Oud- a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North Africa and in MiddleEastern music. Te oud is readily distinguished by its lack of frets and smaller neck.

Duduk- is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it arepopular in the Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Makam- a system of melody types which provides a complex set of rules for compos-ing and performance. Each makam specifies a unique intervalic structure and melodicdevelopment.

Gaida (bagpipe) is a musical instrument, aerophone, using enclosed reeds fed from a

constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag.

Zurna is a woodwind instrument used to play Anatolian and Middle Eastern folkmusic. Te zurna is a conical oboe, made of apricot wood, and uses a double reed whichgenerates a sharp, piercing sound.

Kaval a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout Azerbaijan, urkey,Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, southern Serbia, northern Greece, Romania andArmenia.

Gadulka a traditional Bulgarian bowed string instrument. Te gadulka is an integralpart of Bulgarian traditional instrumental ensembles, commonly played in the context ofdance music.

upan a large double-headed drum, commonly used in the folk music of Iran andurkey, as well as Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia, Iraq, Armenia, and portions ofGreece and Serbia,. Tis drum has both a deep bass sound and a thin treble sound due toits construction and playing style.


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HANK YOUBalkan Festivals Northwest, PSU Art and Social Practice Program, Open Engagement,Paul Brown, Mark Levy, Amy Mills, Eva Primack, Ruth Hunter, Steve Kotansky, Polly apia Ferber,Yuliyan Yordanav, Kafana Club, Brian Celio, Alexa Schirtzinger, Margaux Hale, Leslie Sakal, and

Susan Reagel.

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