March 19, 2022
Traditions of the Rose Valley
with Iliana Bozhanova and Todor Yankov
2–4 pm EDT
online via Zoom
$10 is suggested but any amount is appreciated.
Donations support these events, leaders, musicians, and the Folk Arts Center.
Buy access to this presentation in the SOFA section of the FAC Music Shop. Download resources from this presentation.
About the Program
During this workshop, Iliana and Todor will share with us some of the many traditions associated with the Rose Valley in Bulgaria. Iliana is planning a very full program, including teaching a few dances from the region, sharing costume photos, and showing videos of performing groups. In addition, we will be treated to Todor playing his accordion and singing some of the traditional songs from the area. It will be a delightful afternoon, where we can imagine it is June and we are in this very special region of Bulgaria, where we have taken time to smell the roses and enjoy the traditions surrounding the picking season!
About Iliana and Todor
Iliana Hristova Bozhanova from Galabovo, in the Stara Zagora region of Bulgaria, grew up in a family of musicians and singers in South Thrace. She graduated from the National School for Art Instructors in Plovdiv. She completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in “Bulgarian Folk Dances and Choreography” at the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts in Plovdiv, the oldest folk arts academy in the Balkans and the most acclaimed in Bulgaria. She has since been active as a choreographer and teacher at workshops and camps throughout the world. Learn more about Iliana on her website.
Todor Yankov (accordion) was born in 1962 in Plovdiv, but he grew up in the village of Dobralak in the Rhodopi Mountains in a large family. His father, Vasil Yankov, was a well-known gaida player in the area. Todor began to play gaida, like his father, and then when he was 10 year old, he took up kaval. Soon after that he became an orphan and had no one to send him to study at Shiroka Lûka Music High School, which had been his dream. When he was 16, he discovered the accordion and began to teach himself to play.He is also a wonderful singer. For many years he played with the Hisar folk orchestra at different holiday celebrations. He has been the accordionist for the following folk dance ensembles: Rûchenitsa, Hebar, Pûldin and now, Ensemble Voivodintsi.