The 60^th edition of the Balkan Games spring festival has ended at the University of Chicago. The event, dedicated to Balkan and East European music and dance, was a celebration of the life of John Kuo, a passionate fan of Bulgarian folklore in the US, who passed away suddenly in 2023. His wife Galia Miloucheva Kuo and his daughter Maria have carried on John Kuo’s work, investing their energy and efforts into organizing this event, BNR’s correspondent in Chicago Elena Tsaneva reports.

“Many Bulgarians in America and in the world saw John Kuo for the first time at the FIFA World Cup in 1994 when, at the opening, Kuo, who is Chinese, led the Bulgarian national football team onto the pitch at the head of his dance group, opening the way for their success at the championship.  Passionate about Bulgarian folk dancing, Kuo fell in love with a professional dancer from Bulgaria, and they were soon to dance the horo together at the Balkan Games, and in life - as a family. Today their daughter Maria is continuing his work, together with her mother.”

As usual, this forum of musicians and dancers from the Balkan countries spanned 3 days and featured many dance and music workshops, a gala concert and a dinner. Six Bulgarian dance ensembles took part in this year’s edition, alongside groups from North Macedonia, Greece, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, Greece, Turkmenistan, Spain etc.

The Bulgarian ensemble Horo from Chicago, with leader Irina Gocheva, presented three new dances at the festival – on 24 May, the day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Bulgarian alphabet, education, culture and Slavic literature. Actually, this is not the first time the group has taken part in the folklore festival. “Many Bulgarian ensembles from Chicago took part and celebrated the life of John Kuo. It was a truly diverse and colourful event,” says Irina Gocheva, and goes on to describe the programme of the Horo ensemble:

“I would say they are the new dances we have presented here in the space of two years – a dance by choreographer Ivaylo Ivanov, Galeno Horo by Nikola Kolev, a renowned dancer and choreographer who is also from the Philip Koutev ensemble. We also did a Kopanitsa – a very old dance, I would say 60-70 years old, and the more ordinary it seems the more enthralling it gets. Its author is the very talented Kiril Haralampiev.”

Horo is now eyeing its next major appearance – at a big festival of Bulgarian folklore in Europe.

“We are going to take part in Lyon, France, in the festival “In the village square of the other Bulgaria”. 105 ensembles are going to take part in it, all of them Bulgarian but working outside Bulgaria. We shall be in Lyon on 5,7 and 8 June, it will be a big celebration, massive in scale,” says choreographer from Chicago Irina Gocheva.

Translated and posted by Milena Daynova

Photos courtesy of Nikolina Kisyova and Irina Gocheva, eurochicago.com