Archive for keyword: Festivals

‘Va dorim success, felicitare’: competition and community participation in Romanian dance festivals

This chapter explores Romanian dancers’ participation in organized dance competitions, both within Romania and internationally, and investigates the informal competition that exists between the members of the Banat Romanian dance community. It includes three themes. The first traces a historical trajectory on the changing importance of performances of local, regional, …read more

The cultural development of folk dance festivals and the sustainability of tradition: Introduction

This book is a collection of case studies written by authors who have a long term research interest in folk dance festivals as part of their overall research as dance ethnologists, ethnochoreologists or anthropologists. The chapters that follow draw on the authors’ research on the role of folk dance festivals …read more

Presentational folk ensembles on the festival stage: a window into a participatory and social local dance scene in Banat Romania

This chapter discusses the relationship between local dance groups at festivals and sustaining local dancing in the community. Festivals in south east Europe traditionally include food, drink, music and dancing, and in Timișoara this format is used for many events from the village Saint’s day to the large international folk …read more

What is an (ideal) international folk dance festival? Voices of participants and organisers in international folk dance festivals in Romania and beyond

This chapter explores the question of what is considered as an (ideal) international folk dance festival by drawing from longitudinal ethnography among festival organisers in Romania, participants in international folk dance in festivals within Romania and Romanian participants in festivals elsewhere, as well as from archival and published sources. It …read more

Bulgarian tracks: the road to the Koprivshtitsa Festival (and back again, and again)

The Koprivshtitsa, National Festival of Bulgarian Folklore, has been held (around) every five years since 1965, and throughout its fifty-year history has drawn an ever-increasing audience of Bulgarian music and dance enthusiasts from all corners of the globe. This paper asks why many participants travel to this festival for every …read more

Dancing through the city and beyond : Lives, movements and performances in a Romanian urban folk ensemble

This thesis investigates the lives, movements and performances of dancers in a Romanian urban folk ensemble from an anthropological perspective. Drawing on an extended period of fieldwork in the Romanian city of Timisoara, it gives an inside view of participation in organised cultural performances involving a local way of moving, …read more

Dancing ethnicity: a case study of Festivalul Etnilor, Timișoara

This paper examines performances of dance and music by the various co-located ethnicities in Romanian Banat at the annual ethnicities festival in Timișoara. By considering each participating group in turn I consider both the participants, and their performances. The multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi confessional ethos of Banat is reflected in …read more