Balkan Links

The magnificent Stranja Folk Ensemble of Bourgas, Bulgaria, now has its own web site, including sound clips from their latest CD.

Vedafolk offers summer workshops in traditional dance, music and handicrafts in the very picturesque village of Arbanassi, Bulgaria.

Balkanarama's web site offers many useful Balkan links including a directory of Balkan bands around the world.

Piet Carels' International Folk Dance web site is undeniably the most complete listing of folk music and dance resources on the Internet. His country-by-country listing is breathtaking. I had no idea there were so many other folk dance fanatics out there!

The East European Folklife Center (EEFC) produces two week-long workshops and one weekend workshop in Balkan music and dance. Members can sign up for their e-mail listserve on Balkan music and dance. Both members and non-members can search the EEFC Archive.

Balkanfolk is a gorgeous web site with a growing catalog of Balkan CDs, costumes, musical instruments and dance and music workshops.
Recreational Folk Dancing includes instructions for more than 50 popular international folk dances, searchable by alphabetical order or by country.

Hosted by a Dutch folk dance teacher living in England, the Dance Cultural Subjects web pages include instructions for folk dances, by country, as well as links to a dizzying collection of sites covering traditional music, dance, costumes and folklore for more than two dozen countries.

Tambura Web includes a state-by-state calendar of Eastern European musical events, a bulletin board and audio clips from recent albums.

Sundian SubVersions features whacky renditions of standard Balkan folkdance tunes.

... And if you're going to Bulgaria, the Hotel Horizont in Sofia is a great place to start!