Traditional Bulgarian music

• “Rachenitsa” is a traditional Bulgarian folk dance in size 7/8 or 7/16. The rachenitsa is danced alone or in pairs. The dance is widespread throughout Bulgaria but in the different ethnographic areas it is danced with the style characteristic for the respective area.

Lyrics:
Let's all play rachenitsa for a hand, once - two, once - two - three stamp with your feet.
Put your hands on your waist, straighten your shoulders. Lift your right leg and start with a smile.
Count to three and then stop, make three jumps. Remember that rhythm, stamp the rachenitsa with me.
Let's all play rachenitsa for a hand, once-two-three stamp with your feet:
Iha, iha, ha, ha.

• The Bulgarian traditional dance “horo” is a line dance or in circle with asymmetrical rhythm and complex repetitive step patterns. It is an integral part of the Bulgarian culture. Bulgarians’ danced horo for hundreds of years, it has been a part of Bulgarian feasts, celebrations and even of mundane everyday moments. In recent years, for the majority of people, the horo has become an older dance, reserved for weddings and national holidays.

One of the most popular Bulgarian horo is “pravo horo” (straight horo). It is one of the easiest and usually the first a foreigner learns, since it has only four simple steps.

Lyrics:
Boryano Boryanke
Boryano Boryanke, are you only a girl,
Boryano Boryanke, are you only a girl,
Are you only a girl, do you only a sing,
Are you only a girl, do you only a sing?
Your voice is hearing to our field.
Your voice is hearing to our field.
To our field to our vineyard.
To our field to our vineyard.
I leave my sickle to listen to you.
I leave my sickle to listen to you.
You are singing gently but it is hearing far.
You are singing gently but it is hearing far.

• Game “Pots”

An odd number of children are playing.
They stand in two circles – inner and outer.
In the inner circle, the children squat (they acting as “pots”) and behind each of them stands an upright child.
The child who does not have a pot goes around the outer circle, stands next to a friend and asks:
- Good afternoon, grandmother/grandfather! Аre you selling your pot?
- I sell it, I bet it, I still don’t give it to you.
The two children run in opposite directions, going around the circle and whoever is the first to stand in the empty space becomes the owner of the pot.
The child who have left without pot goes to buy another one.