For Bulgarians in Athens, folk dancing is the strongest connection with their homeland

published on 1/7/24 10:25 AM

Photo: Facebook /Desislava Zlateva

Talented choreographers and dancers created dozens of folklore ensembles in Bulgaria in the middle of the 20th century. Due to the idea of having a representative group in every city to promote local folklore and revive traditions, the Pazardzhik folklore ensemble was created in 1962. Dozens of musicians and dancers from the city and its surroundings were part of it. Today, even if many of them are not professionally engaged in performing arts, their love for Bulgarian folk dances and folk rhythms is preserved deep in their souls.

An example of the fact that there is magic in Bulgarian folklore is the life story of Desislava Zlateva. More than 15 years ago, she was part of the Pazardzhik folk ensemble where she participated in concerts and tours throughout the country. But it happened that the young woman left her hometown and went abroad. However, wherever she travelled, she brought with her her love for all things Bulgarian and especially for the traditional dances from the Thracian folklore region. ‎

In 2007, Desislava settled down to live in Athens and a little later founded the Bulgarian folklore group Detelini there. When she chooses the name, the beautiful song sounds in her mind with the words - "When you find a clover yourself, with the tempting four leaves, you will have the happiest year and the things you most want...". This is also the message with which this folklore group in the Greek capital welcomes its audience, and they are not only Bulgarians living abroad. ‎

"Detelini" group has unforgettable dance performances behind it - participation in international festivals, charity concerts, events of the Bulgarian community and performances in front of Greek audiences. "We don't have the ambition to be like the professional teams, but our desire is something else - to try above all to preserve what was created by our forefathers and what we have learned, to be able to pass it on," Desislava Zlateva tells Radio Bulgaria:

"The years of our group's existence are not few, but the obstacles we had to go through were many. The idea to create a group came to life after I was helped by a Bulgarian school in Athens, it bears the name of Paisiy Hilendarski. Then we tried to inform the Bulgarians there that a similar folklore group was being created, which had never existed before. We went through a thorny road, but we moved confidently forward, and at the moment there are four such groups in the capital of Greece, which are developing extremely well and I am proud of all my colleagues who are doing something to popularize Bulgarian folklore. There is no competition between our groups, on the contrary, there is mutual respect and friendship." ‎

There are about 200,000 Bulgarians in Athens, but no one knows their exact number because there are also many illegal residents, Desislava Zlateva tells us. Otherwise, the people who participate in the Bulgarian folklore group have a variety of professions - some are economists, others are school directors, others are employed in the field of tourism, etc. All of them, however, share that when they deal with Bulgarian folklore, they feel freed from everyday worries and as if more firmly grounded. ‎

The positive energy of folk music gives energy and strengthens the bonds among Bulgarians abroad, confirms Desislava Zlateva:‎

"Folklore unites us, but we also have a Bulgarian church in Athens. The father who heads the church does a lot to support our community. This is Father Stefan, he is a very young man, very human and works fully in our support, so that there is a connection between us and between the Bulgarian schools, as well as between the dance groups, because these are our institutions there. We are extremely grateful to this person. You know, in everyday life everyone lives with their commitments and worries, but he finds a way to attract us and include us. The embassy in Athens does the same. Events are organized to which everyone is invited and thus the Bulgarian spirit is maintained among the people. For me, dealing with Bulgarian folklore is true love. It gives me love and I give my love to folk dances and I am looking for nothing more than this good feeling that I felt in Bulgaria. Yes, the fact that we are far from our roots, from our families in Bulgaria - this fills us with nostalgia, but everything we do in the dance halls for Bulgarian folklore brings us back to our roots and connects us with our country. We want to hold hands and feel closer to God and to Bulgaria through the Bulgarian rhythms. Our folk rhythms contain this magic. There are many young Bulgarian families in Greece and their children attend Bulgarian schools and go to Bulgarian folk dances. This pleases both the eye and the soul, because I see that we are leaving some kind of mark behind us, and this is for the sake of our homeland."‎

Photos: Facebook /Desislava Zlateva

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English publication by Rositsa Petkova

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