Ten years have passed since 2003 when professional dancers and choreographers Irina and Todor Gochev, who had recently arrived from Bulgaria, founded the Bulgarian Folk Dance Ensemble “Horo” at our Chicago Orthodox Church “Saint John of Rila – the Miracle Worker.”
And so, on Saturday, November 17th, 2012, Bulgarian Chicago realized that we have among us something like a gem, a bright star of our Bulgarian spirituality.
It was a gala concert, a day when we, the compatriots gathered for the event, chose to honor each of the virtuosos whose art we observed with love and gratitude with the highest distinction our hearts can bestow: Irina and Todor Gochev—the founders, Petya Dimitrova and Mitko Dimitrov, Krasimir Marinov and Mariana Marinova, Biser Iliev, Elena Smukova, Krastyo Gochev, Bilyana Neofitova, Ivo Guglev, Lyubima Toshkova, Hristina Barganska, Veneta Tsonev, Stanislav Ivanov, Daniel Petrov, Persiana Simeonova, Beatrice Mineva, Eleonora Daskalova, Albena Daskalova, Ilka Komitova, Tsvetana Koleva, Mariana Mankova, Svetla Stoilova, Svetla Encheva, Stefania Stoilova, Mariana Popova, Atanas Petrov, Milen Ivanov, Ivanka Ivanova, Ivana Dechevska, Yonka Stancheva, Ramona Stancheva…
I know that listing so many names is not recommended by modern standards. But it doesn’t matter. Let this article be “bad.” Let it be. I know that nowadays only bad news makes headlines. Good news is said to go unread. No matter. This one will be that. Let it be anti-journalism to list the names of an entire ensemble from Chicago to Toronto, even if they deserve it. So be it.
But let everyone know that on Chicago’s square, the performance in the New World was played, raising the level and showcasing the talents of the Bulgarian people and the old culture, revived by today’s masters in their enchantment!
Bulgarian Folk Dance Ensemble “Horo” – Gala Concert in Chicago
We witnessed a performance made possible by the extensive choreographic practice of maestro Irina and her husband Todor Gochev.
“My whole life has been spent as if only in rehearsal halls and on concert stages,” says Irina. She graduated from the State Choreographic School in Sofia and the Academy of Music and Dance Arts in Plovdiv, which means nine years of solid training in a world-renowned folklore school like the Bulgarian one. Her dance practice and later work in elite dance ensembles built the choreographer who did something nearly impossible in a non-professional ensemble in Chicago.
“Oh, it’s not about how long you study,” she cools my insights, “it’s about having a spark inside you, something like a natural gift, a sense… I think I have it, and it gives me faith in my abilities and possibilities. Long experience strengthens it. It gives me confidence. I am very critical of everyone, especially myself. That’s why, I suppose, they accept and tolerate me. I also have patience. I wait. Talent develops in different people in different ways and at different times. I can, and am not afraid to, criticize and also to praise without it being harmful to the development of the talent.”
“I was close to the stage and it seemed to me that everyone was flying on the wings of inspiration, enjoying their dance and what they were doing on stage…”
“Oh yes, you can see that even more during rehearsals. Everyone has their own job and many other family and social responsibilities. But they overcome everything, arrive precisely at the appointed rehearsal time, and ‘train’ like professionals, without expecting material compensation for their work. Sometimes what is done with love is more effective than highly paid professionalism… My people, as you surely saw, are not only inspired but also ‘well-trained,’ as we say in sports. That’s why they can do anything on stage.”
And how they can!
The performance that Irina and Todor… you won’t believe… have been preparing for two years was extraordinarily perfect and harmonious. As a concept and mise-en-scène, as costumes and lighting, as rhythm and impression…
The stage spectacle “On the Square,” presented by the Bulgarian Folk Dance Ensemble “Horo” in Chicago, began with “The Silent Dance.”
The impression of this dance in the audience was shocking. Silent, with tense faces and piercing eyes, beautiful women in stunning traditional costumes, with heavy gold necklaces on their chests, stepped forward under the dramatic jingle of old gold coins…
“This dance is a gem in Bulgarian choreography,” says Irina, “It was choreographed by Ivaylo Ivanov, and we refined it; it has never been shown in this way before…”
Ivaylo Ivanov is now the chief choreographer of the National Folklore Ensemble “Filip Kutev”—the face of Bulgaria in many countries around the world. He was also in Chicago at the invitation of “Horo,” and I remember him as an exceptionally erudite and positive professional. He helped his colleagues in Chicago a great deal in a short time, as they wisely sought his expertise…
The “Second Scene” of “On the Square” in Chicago was “St. George’s Day.”
“This is a new dance for Chicago,” Irina Gocheva explains, “We choreographed it based on the work of Prof. Kiril Dzhenov, a great man for Bulgarian folklore, founder of Ensemble ‘Trakia,’ who wrote many works on folklore and is known and has contributed much to world folklore. He was my teacher and, I would say, my ‘spiritual father.'”
“Mood” was a dance performed by four “wild young girls” in the galloping mixed rhythm of “kopanitsa,” reminding us of our young beloveds in our youthful days in Bulgaria…
In the “Men’s Dance,” choreographed by Todor Gochev, the men of “Horo” showed mastery in a friendly competition among themselves!
“These boys,” as Irina called them, which is true even though some carried the years of two boys on their backs, “show us how a Thracian dances! My Toshko is a good Thracian, and in fact, all of them in this dance are ‘masters’ of Thracian rhythms!”
Seven girls and a soloist presented a dance choreographed by Siika Vasileva, characteristic of the young girls from the Rhodope Mountains.
“Severnyashki Rhythms,” performed by 10 female dancers and 6 male dancers, provoked particularly strong applause. The rhythm was captivating. We were all already warmed up in the hall, ready to jump on stage as well—1,300 people according to my count, though not quite that many according to an American usher, who clearly lacked the Bulgarian sense of positive imagination…
Finally, it was time for my favorite “Shopska Suite”! The stage boards rumbled like in a tornado, but the floor was apparently designed for such a force as the Shopska dance, and it held up. Irina admitted that the first part of the choreography was hers, and the second was by her teacher Kiril Dzhenov. The Shop is a special being. So cunning that he sometimes even deceives himself. And now—he starts the dance quickly like a sewing machine, and when he gets tired, he just changes the rhythm to look around and see who has come to watch him… The beauty of the Shop women in their tightly laced special parts of their black skirts is also stunning… But enough with my Shopophilia, it’s time for the finale!
In the final part, all the master performers from “Horo” poured onto the stage, creating something as beautiful as our Rose Valley. I don’t know if it still exists, but in Chicago, we recreated it for at least 9 minutes! And Irina Gocheva seems to be blessed by God with the ability to combine colors with our traditional costumes so that one could be mesmerized just by “Horo’s” wardrobe… Even two ladies and our good acquaintance Alafrangata appeared on stage, who instantly captivated the audience with a few pirouettes and his provocative French trousers and slippers. And when the entire folklore army performed the final rite of the concert—”Bre Petrunko,” we all realized that the Bulgarian community in Chicago had climbed several more steps up the ladder of the multicultural community here…
Throughout the performance, Irina held the reins tightly. She was at the sound and light console—along with Paola Ignatova and Ivan Mihov (photography and artistic design), who, according to her, were among the elite warriors who brought the grand victory of the Bulgarian-Chicago super-show “On the Square.” She told me that she chose this hall for its lighting, which accounted for 50 percent of the performance’s success. She also made sure to invite singer Desi Dobreva, kaval player and vocalist Angel and Temenuzhka, and prima ballerina of the Chicago Joffrey Ballet, Abigail Simon, to the show…
Irina and Todor Gochevi appeared on stage (he was already there with the “team”) to receive a whole garden of flowers and thanks from the Bulgarian-American Association and the Bulgarian-American Center for Cultural Heritage, from the Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria, from fans—women, men, and children, even a three-year-old girl, almost as big as the bouquet she presented… She is eagerly waiting to grow a few more months to join the children’s ensembles of the Bulgarian folklore empire “Horo,” “Vereya,” and others in Chicago.
Anyone who missed seeing all of this in Chicago can fill up their gas tank and make it to the afternoon of November 24th, Saturday, in St. Louis, where the performance will be repeated!
Kliment Velichkov
Bulgaria Now Newspaper, Chicago