FOREIGN GROUPS
GROUP PLAIURILE DORNELOR (Romania)
The group, founded in 1977 in Vatra Dornei, northern Romania, consolidates children and young people from 7 to 20 years old. The group’s repertoire consists of seven different programs from the historical regions of Dorna and Romania – beloved dances accompanied by the wearing of regional costumes, the playing of authentic folk instruments and the singing of regional songs. Songs and dances related to winter customs and traditions – Christmas carols, Horse dance; Mask Dance; Dance of the Bear and the Gypsy; Deer and Goat Dance and several others – have been a great success in the performances of the group Plaiuri Dornelor. The supervisor of the group is Vasile Morosan.
FOLKLORE GROUP RATI (Latvia)
Rati (translated as “cart”) comes from Jēkabpils in Southeastern Latvia. The group, created in 2010, consists mainly of middle-aged folklore lovers, who mostly sing, but also play traditional folk instruments, dance and are interested in Latvian tradition. In Rati’s heart is to preserve and popularize the tradition of Krustpils, Jēkabpils and the historical Selonia region. They also introduce the folk costumes of Krustpils and the folk calendar. The members themselves like to introduce themselves with the sentence: “Where I used to go by myself, now a rati, or cart, takes me there.” The group’s supervisor is Aīda Bikauniece.
DIADO DRAGOI (Bulgaria)
Diado Dragoi, an authentic folklore group, is a unique gem not only in the Shumen region, but all over Bulgaria. The group was created in 1960 with the aim of researching, preserving and popularizing the authentic folklore of its region. During all this time, several hundred people between the ages of 10 and 70 participated in the group’s activities. Different customs – “babinden” or grandmother’s day, kukeri-sandi, blind doll, shaving of the son-in-law, Midsummer’s Day, wedding bridge, Dragoevo’s wedding Monday, etc – are central to their humorous and engaging folklore programs. It is with the presentation of Dragoevo’s wedding Monday traditions that the group has been nominated for the UNESCO list of living human treasures. The folklore group is supervised by Krasimir Savov.
FAMILY FOLKLORE STUDIO GARATAKA (Latvia)
In the folklore studio Garataka, seven families from Riga and its surroundings have joined forces. The members of the studio want to learn about their traditional culture and the traditions to pass on to their children. The participants in the studio learn songs and dances from different regions of Latvia, as well as play folk instruments and make them themselves. However, Garataka’s interest goes even further. In addition, they do traditional farm work together, e.g. cutting rye with a sickle, write down stories from storytellers and learn other ancestral jobs, e.g. raft building. The supervisor of Garataka is Asnate Rancāne.
FOLKLORE GROUP RAGS (Lithuania)
Folklore group Rags (translated as “horns”) has been operating in the town of Pasvalys in Northern Lithuania since 2001. Its members are people working in different fields on a daily basis who gather for rehearsals in the Pasvalys Cultural Center from all over the Aukštaitija region. Rags present the song, dance, and oral traditions and customs of Pasvalys and Northern Aukštaitija. Especially important for them is the popularization and presentation of Lithuanian multi-part songs (sutartinės). They welcome guests at every folklore event in Lithuania, as well as abroad. The high-quality performance of the group and the work of the supervisor have been highly valued also at the national level. The supervisor of Rags is Daima Adamkaviciene.
