Vrapčeto is a simple youth performance dance from the repertoire of the Pioneer Youth Ensemble of Sofia, Bulgaria. This particular dance is very popular in the recreational international folk dancing community in USA. Vrapčeto is very approachable in both movement and in music that is familiar to the ear of Western culture music that has not been initiated into the world of Bulgarian asymmetrical rhythms, polyphony, and dissonate chords. In fact, the song is dangerously close to earworm material. But the name of the dance has nothing to do with the music. Vrapčeto is Bulgarian form of “sparrow” (diminutive?) given in the dance notes as “little bird.” The accompanying music is an old folksong called «Pesen za kazatsite» = “A Song About the Cossacks” and mentions blond Russians and horses (I don’t know if the horses were blond as well), but says nothing about little birds.
| Dance Name: | Vrapčeto |
| Original Script: | Врапчето |
| Pronunciation: | VRAHP-cheh-toh |
| Translation: | Little Bird (sparrow) |
| Aliases: | Vrapcheto, Vrabčeto, Vrabcheto |
| Country of Origin: | Bulgaria |
| Region: | Sofia |
| Choreographer: | Pioneer Youth Ensemble of Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Presented in USA by: | Marcus Moskoff |
| Year: | 1982 |
| Dance Type: | Non-Partner | Circle/Chain |
| Dance Category: | Modern RIFD |
| Folk Status: | Arranged Folklore |
| Skill Level: | Easy |
| Energy Intensity: | Moderate |
| Song: | Песен за казаците Pesen za kazatsite A Song About the Cossacks |
| Recording: | Thrace State Folk Ensemble |
| Time Signature: | 2/4 |
| Introduction: | Start after 6 chords, before singing |
| Dancer Formation: | Short Lines |
| Hand Hold: | Front Basket |
| Leads to: | R w/ R |
| Styling: | Posture is erect |
| Published: | May 18, 2023 |
| Updated: | April 26, 2025 |
Spice it up with leader looping
In Fort Collins, for unsuspecting new dancers, the dance could be terrifying or it could be an opportunity to demonstrate leadership skills! To enliven things, the current leader of the dance peels off the line at the finish of a dance repetition and rejoins at the end of the line, promoting the second as the new leader. This isn’t in any notes I’ve read or videos on YouTube, so perhaps it’s just a Colorado twist?
Vrapčeto Ending Closer Variations
The ending of the dance has a little performance closer that shouldn’t be so hard to remember, but it is for me. Perhaps a mnemonic: RbLlRbLf = “Ribble-Riblf?” When the music hits the break and slows to a crawl, step a direction on each chord and close with the opposite foot at a walking tempo:
| Chord | Step | Direction | Abbr. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R; close L | Backwards | Rb |
| 2 | L; close R | Sideways Left | Ll |
| 3 | R; close L | Backwards | Rb |
| 4 | L; close R | Forwards | Lf |
| 5 | Bow from waist | Bow | bow |
Nearly all of the videos on YouTube where the ending was shown clearly use the above ending, but, of course, some IFD groups have deviated from this sequence. As with all folk dancing, the most important thing is that everyone moves in the same direction, so just pick a closer and stick with it. Here are some other variations:
| Group Name | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original from Marcus Moskoff | Rb | Ll | Rb | Lf | bow |
| Evansville IFD | Rb | Ll | Rb | Ll | Rf & bow |
| Fort Collins TNFD (Deryl) | Rr | Rb | Rr | Rf | bow |
| FDC of Sun City Oro Valley, AZ | Ll | Lb | Ll | Lf | bow |
| Radost Folk Ensemble | x | Rf | Rr | Rb | bow |
Dancing Examples
Teaching Examples
Music for Vrapčeto: Песен за казаците (Pesen za kazatsite) = “A Song About the Cossacks”
Песен за казаците · Държавен фолклорен ансамбъл Тракия [Pesen za kazatsite] (A Song About the Cossacks · Thrace State Folk Ensemble).
Lyrics to Песен за казаците (Pesen za kazatsite) = “A Song About the Cossacks”
Thanks to the audio fingerprinting algorithm that is used to inflict copyright© strikes against innocent IFD dance video postings on YouTube, I found the name of the song used for the dance, as it is not that of the dance: «Песен за казаците» [Pesen za kazatsite] “A Song About the Cossacks” sung by Thrace State Folk Ensemble. Those fine Don Cossacks, blond Russians.
Lyrics from Dunav.ilKatu dodaha dodaha,
Dodaha i pridodaha,
Pustite donski kazatsi.
Pustite donski kazatsi,
Kazatsi rusi rusnatsi,
Kazatsi rusi rusnatsi.
Vav Kotel serbez kasaba Kotel,
Kazatsi katu dodaha,
Kunete katu byagaha,
Prednite treva gazeha,
Zadnite pepel vdigaha,
Zadnite pepel vdigaha.
Vav Kotel serbez kasaba Kotel,
Kazatsi katu dodaha,
Kunete katu byagaha,
Pustite donski kazatsi,
Kazatsi rusi rusnatsi,
Kazatsi rusi rusnatsi.
Katu dodaha dodaha,
Dodaha i pridodaha,
Pustite donski kazatsi.When they came,
Came and crowded,
Those fine Don Cossacks.
Those fine Don Cossacks,
Cossacks, blond Russians,
Cossacks, blond Russians.
When the Cossacks came to that fierce village,
Oh, how the horses ran,
The first ones trampled the grass,
The last to come, raised clouds of dust.
When the Cossacks came to that fierce village,
Oh, how the horses ran,
When the Cossacks came to that fierce village,
Oh, how the horses ran,
The first ones trampled the grass,
Those fine Don Cossacks.
Cossacks, blond Russians,
Cossacks, blond Russians.
When they came,
Came and crowded,
Those fine Don Cossacks.