NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ provided financial support to implement a project titled ‘Singing and Dancing with Bulgaria in the Heart’ by the Bulgarian Education and Culture Society in Amsterdam, within the session announced by the Fund, ‘Young Bulgarians Abroad with a Focus on Bulgarian Folklore’.
The event took place on 28 May 2023, fulfilling its goal of showing children abroad the magic of Bulgarian folklore, which has, over the years, preserved the Bulgarian spirit, traditions, and culture.
‘Our children, living thousands of kilometres away from Bulgaria, are increasingly losing touch with their roots. The principal mission of our school, in addition to teaching them to read and write, is to constantly tell them about this inexhaustible treasury of wisdom, lessons and virtues, to stimulate them to develop their skills by learning to dance, play an instrument, sing, or embroider,’ said Elitsa Yordanova and Kamelia Stefanova from the association.
The programme included performances by children from the Folk Dance and Horo Club in Amsterdam; the ‘Balgarska Roza’ [Bulgarian Rose] and ‘Zora’ [Dawn] folk dance clubs in The Hague; the ‘Sborenka’ [Horo] Club for Bulgarian Folk Dances in Rotterdam; and performers from the ‘Chubritsa’ [Savoury] Folk Ensemble in the Netherlands. They became acquainted with unique images of Bulgaria, taken by the famous Bulgarian photographer, Alexander Kostov, as well as with the permanent exposition in Amsterdam—replicas of the Panagyurishte Gold Treasure, the Silver Treasure from Borovo, the Teres’ Golden Mask, the Golden Pegasus, the Pliska Rosette, and the Varna Gold Treasure.
‘We are grateful to NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ for their financial support, which gave us the opportunity to conduct this wonderful event,’ the Bulgarian Education and Culture Society, Amsterdam, rounded off their story about the project.