site.btaFolk Dance Group in Jena Composed of Three Bulgarians, Twenty-Five Germans

The Gizdava Moma folk dance group, which is located in the German city of Jena, is "more or less unique because it is composed of three Bulgarians and 25 Germans," Evgenia Karadineva-Marx of the ensemble told BTA.

The group performs mostly Bulgarian traditional folklore dances, but also Serbian and Armenian dances, as its director, Uwe Cappel, who is German, has interest in various rhythms, Karadineva-Marx said.

In October, the ensemble celebrated its 10th anniversary with a concert, she added. 

"The concert motivated us a lot and showed us that what we have been doing during these ten years has been meaningful", Karadineva-Marx noted, adding that dance groups from other cities and countries were guests at Gizdava Moma’s concert.

The dance formation is described as a group of enthusiasts from Jena, mostly Germans, who are infected by the passion and magic of Balkan rhythms.

Karadineva-Marx said that the dance group is not the only Bulgarian culture representative in the city of Jena. The L. Bulgaricus Bulgarian-German Association organizes various annual events, including a folklore event, a classical concert, an exhibition, a reading, a film screening or theatre performance, she explained.