The Philip Koutev National School of Folk Arts is not just any school - it is a talent laboratory. It is the first school not only in Bulgaria but in the Balkans for professional study of folklore. It is located in the heart of the beautiful town of Kotel, which was declared an architectural and historical reserve for its authenyic Rennaissance athmosphere.
Currently, 280 children from all over Bulgaria are trained in the school. They study Bulgarian folk instruments - kaval, bagpipe, gadulka, tambura - folk singing, Bulgarian folk dances, and accordion.
Maria Gradeshlieva has been a head of the the educational institution for 25 years now. For that time the school has become a home for talented children drom across the country. In an interview with Radio Bulgaria, she tell us how the school manages to attract more and more young people to folklore, to inspire in them a love of tradition and a desire to preserve our Bulgarian identity:
At the end of the 19th century, the Czech artist and folklorist Ludvík Kuba travelled to Bulgaria with one goal in mind: to explore the country's rich song heritage. The melodies he collected were published in a separate volume of his Slavic Song..
In the Bulgarian folk tradition, the feasts of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday are related holidays. From Lazarus Saturday (Lazarovden in Bulgaria), girls prepare for the ritual kumichene, which is performed on the morning of Palm Sunday. A very old..
In April and May the visitors of the Strelcha Historical Museum will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the traditions connected with the Easter holiday cycle through the exhibition A Fine Easter, a Finer St. George’s Day . Easter..
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