Dancing Dunavsko horo is a strong tradition for New Year’s Eve throughout Bulgaria. I learned of this tradition from a few Bulgarian women who were living in Fort Collins and joined us at TNFD for a while. I also learned that it is very important to play a brass band version of music for dancing.
| Dance Name: | Dunavsko horo |
| Country of Origin: | Bulgaria |
| Region: | Severnyashka (northern) |
| Dance Type: | Circle/Chain/Line: non-partner |
| Dance Category: | Village Traditional/Living |
| Skill Level: | Easy |
| Energy Intensity: | Lively |
| Original Script: | Дунавско Хоро |
| Pronunciation: | do-NAHF-sko ho-RO |
| Translation: | Danubian horo, Dance from the Danube region |
| Aliases: | Svishtovsko, Tarnovsko, Severnyashko |
| See Also: | Pravo horo |
| Holiday: | New Year’s Eve |
| Tune: | Dunavsko horo |
| Composer: | Дико Илиев (Diko Iliev) |
| Time Signature: | 2/4 |
| Rhythm: | Q(hop)Q(hop), QQQ(hop), QQQ(hop) |
| Dancer Formation: | Open Circle |
| Hand Hold: | W, then V back & forth |
| Leads to: | R w/ R-step, R-hop |
| Date Taught: | 1/9/2024 |
| Teacher: | David |
| Published: | January 6, 2024 |
| Updated: | May 14, 2024 |
The dance is based on a simple 6-bar pravo horo, and many variations are possible. It seems most popular to move the arms forward and back quickly on the beats (Philip Koutev Ensemble version) rather than the slow down and back over two bars (Horo.bg).
In the most basic form, I am reminded of a Schottische step rhythm pattern, out of sequence order, although the comparison ends there. Being marching music in 2/4, every count gets a step or a hop.
| Bar | Rhythm | Step |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Q(hop) Q(hop) | Traveling LOD: Step (R) ● Hop(R) ● Step (L) ● Hop (L) |
| 3-4 | QQ Q(hop) | Facing center, stepping behind and to the R: Step (R) ● Step (L behind) ● Step (R) ● Hop (R & kick L, or just lift) |
| 5-6 | QQ Q(hop) | Reverse of previous, except just lift R, no kick: Step (L) ● Step (R behind) ● Step (L) ● Hop (L & lift R) |
Dunavsko horo is a musical work by the Bulgarian composer Diko Iliev. It was written on 18 April 1937, when Diko Iliev worked in the orchestra of the Thirty-sixth Infantry Kozloduy Regiment in Oryahovo with conductor Alexander Veiner. Originally arranged for brass band, it was first recorded by the Transport Troops Orchestra. The horo is written in 2/4 time signature, as is the right feel of the Northern horo.
This musical work is played every year at New Year’s Eve, after the anthem of Bulgaria, „Мила Родино“ (Mila Rodeno, Dear Motherland), and „Многая лета“ (Mnogaya leta, Many Summers/Years), [an Orthodox liturgical hymn] famously sung by the opera singer Boris Christoff/Hristov.
Translated from Bulgarian Wikipedia for Дунавско Хоро (with touch-up & editing by me)
Don has added a page with tons of info on Dunavsko horo on his site Folkdance Footnotes, including 8-bar and 4-bar versions.