In order to understand why Macedonians dance some of the dances that
they dance, some understanding of geography and history are important.
First of all Macedonia is hemmed in by its neighbors. There is Greece to
the south, Bulgaria to the west, Serbia to the north, and Albania to the
east. Even greater Macedonia which included much of Greece and Bulgaria
and parts of Albania can be considered to be hemmed in. It is impossible
to consider Macedonian dance without considering the infusion of other
dances from its neighbors. Secondly Macedonia had been a part of the
Ottoman Empire for 500 years. This precluded much communication and
commerce with the western nations. It is as if time stood still for that
many years. (See map, next page, as printed in “The Politics of Terror”
by Duncan M. Perry, 1988, ISBN 0-8223-0813-4. This is while Macedonia
was part of the Ottoman Empire in 1903.)

Folk culture such as music and dance know no boundaries. What may be
Greek to some people is Bulgarian to others. Most cultures take what
they like from other cultures and call it their own, even if those other
“accursed barbarians” are historical enemies.

I start this out in this manner, because most of the dances that we
consider Macedonian are in reality danced by Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs,
Croatians, Albanian, as well as Macedonians. A case in point is the
dance Chamiko. This is a dance beloved by many Macedonians. It was my
father’s favorite dance. He would embellish it with many of his own
favorite motifs. To Greeks, however, it is a Greek dance that was
historically danced by the freedom fighters that liberated Greece from
the Ottoman Turks (klephts). What the Greeks do not know is that this
dance is really Albanian, named after the Albanian tribe called tsamia.
The same intertwined history may be said about virtually every other
Balkan dance.

Some dances have been handed down for many generations. Others have
more recent histories. Whatever may be said about communism, one thing
cannot be taken away from it. In all of the socialist countries, the
communist governments promoted the preservation of folk cultures. This
started out with the formation of the Moiseyev dance ensemble in the
Soviet Union and continued to every country within the soviet sphere of
influence. Within the former Yugoslavia, ensembles were formed for
Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Macedonia. The Tanec Ensemble of
Macedonia was electrifying in its early days (1950s). The alumni of this
ensemble went on to teach those folk dances to the rest of the world.
These alumni included Atanas Kolarovski, Petre Atansovski, Simos
Konstandinou, George Tomov, and many others. These alumni were
exceptional dancers. In fact Atanas Kolarovski, a choreographer of Tanec
and now in his 80s, still teaches dances and can out dance others half
his age. Many of the Macedonian folk dances that were introduced by
Atanas were in reality choreographed by him to Macedonian songs that
were popular. These include Vrni se Vrni, Belasicko, Ivanica, Star bel
dedo, and others. These dances are popular with American folk dancers
but in general are unknown to ethnic Macedonians. This syllabus will
include dances that are mainly danced by ethnic Macedonians whether they
reside in North America or overseas, or whether those dances are “owned”
by other nationalities.