BalkanFest Montreal, 4th edition
A celebration of the dance, songs, music, and food of bulgaria and its balkan neighbors
Saturday, April 22, 2023
Workshops: 2 pm-5:30 pm
Dance Party: 7 pm-11:30 pm
Venue: St. Ivan Rilski Church, 1191 Sauvé E,, Montreal
Bulgarika
We welcome to Montreal—from Bulgaria, via the USA—our featured teachers and performers, the ensemble Bulgarika: Nikolay Kolev (gadulka), Donka Koleva (vocals), Valeri Georgiev (kaval), and Stoyan Kostov (tambura).
To dance to live, authentic, traditional Bulgarian music — what a rare delight!
During his 50-plus year career Yves Moreau has taught hundreds of wonderful dances, mostly from Bulgaria, whose culture he loves. He has kindly selected 10 of his favorites, a stellar sample of regional styles, We list them below, and will dance them to the music of Bulgarika and our other bands, in grateful homage to the folk who created them, and to Yves, who collected them and shared them with the world.
Instrumental music
2 pm to 3:30 pm
Nikolay Kolev of the ensemble Bulgarika will teach two of the 10 tunes chosen by Yves Moreau:
Scores, audio recordings, and other resources are available by clicking the linked titles above.
All levels and instruments are welcome.
Instruction will be in English.
At the end of the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to play the tunes for dancers.
Dance
3.30 to 5 pm
Tsonko Stoyanov and Yves Moreau will teach a variety of popular Bulgarian dances, including some of Yves` chosen ten..
Song
5 pm to 6 pm
Donka Koleva of Bulgarika will teach singers the two Bulgarian tunes chosen by Yves and taught earlier to instrumentalists:
Lyrics, scores, audio recordings, and other resources are available by clicking the linked titles above.
Our kafana will be open from mid-afternoon to the end of the dance party, with Balkan specialties prepared by chef (and dance teacher) Tsonko Stoyanov, and wine, beer, slivova, and raika served by bartender Roger Gagné.
For all the evening’s dances. there will be dance leaders, including Yves Moreau, who will lead the 10 dances he has chosen, and Tsonko Stoyanov,
Program
7:30 pm: Kutsi Merki
8.15 pm: Bulgarika, set 1
9 pm: Domaći Trubači
10 pm: Sumak Brass Band
10.45 pm Bulgarika, set 2
Please stay home if you have symptoms, or recently tested positive for COVID.
We expect all participants to be fully vaccinated, and to use hand sanitizer as needed.
St. Ivan Rilski Church
1191 Rue Sauvé Est
Montréal, H2C 1Z8
Public transport: 10 minutes by foot, or 121 bus, from the Sauvé metro station
Easy street parking
Though registration is now closed, you can come on Saturday and pay at the door by card or cash.
Children under 12 are very welcome and do not need to register or pay.
