Balkan folk dance music downloads

Zajko Kokarajko is the most popular tune among recreational folkdancers for this classic dance from Macedonia. We've also uploaded the lyrics to the song.

Bajrace or Zensko Berance is woman's dance from the western part of the Kostur area in what is now Greek Macedonia. It has an unusual rhythm - 12/8, 12/16/ or 18/16 depending on who you ask. Originally called Bajrace, the name of this dance was later changed to Zensko Berance by Pece Atanasovski. Zensko means woman's, and Berance comes from the word Berat, which is a major city in Albania. So it means "Like a dance from Berat" or "The Berat Dance".

We have footage of this dance from a Tance performance filmed by Radio Television Skopje sometime in the 70s.

One of Atanas' dances, Banjsko is a Macedonian dance that seems to be a favorite among folk dancers almost everwhere.

Berovka takes its name from the town of Berovo in eastern Macedonia. According to Mihailo Dimoski, Stanimir Visinski, and Elsie Dunin in their book Makedonski Narodni Plesovi, the dance was learned from a group of women from the village of Rusino, near Berovo, at a festival in Skopje, 1948.

It is also danced in the area of Pehčavo and Delčevo. It's a women's dance, danced in an open circle or line with the leader on the right end.

Cije E Ona Mome is a Macedonian dance that we've been dancing for many years.

This lively melody is from the Krusevo region. This version is from the The Favorite Macedonian Songs CD by the Bisserov Sisters.

Devetorka is a basic Macedonian dance in 9/8 music (for the dancer: QQQS or 12-12-12-123).

Gurga Pere is a 9/8 measure melody from east Macedonia, very similar to the Bulgarian Daicovo. Coincidentally, the dance also looks a lot like the Bulgarian Daicovo. We think Daicovo, like a lot of other dances, traveled to another country, changed its name, and took out dual citizenship.

One of Atanas' dances, this is the popular recording by Petranka Kostadinova. The lyrics and the music score are also available for downloading.

Beautiful version of this classic Macedonian folk dance.

Jovano Jovanke is a popular lesnoto (pravoto) from Macedonia.

According to Atanas Kolarovski, when Kopacka was first introduced to Tanec by the village dancers, the original name was Sitnata (the litte one). Tanec changed the name to Kopacka and the dance subsequently became so famous that the villagers adopted this name of Kopacka for both the dance and the name of their group, to remind everyone from whence this dance originally came. More

Krstacka is a traditional dance from Macedonia.

Krivo Zensko is a women's dance from Macedonia that we adore. Great music, and if you add a tiny bit of style, it's a lot of fun to dance it. It's one of my favorites.

A popular lesnoto (pravoto) from Macedonia.

Makedonsko Devojce is a Macedonian song composed by Jonce Hristovski (also the author of Ako Umram). It's one of the most popular tunes for dancing Lesnoto.

Lyrics | Score

We know this as a very simple dance, great for all levesl of dancers. (belatedly noticed that it's the same music as Skopski Sa Sa).

Memede is also known as Toska Memede. It's a basic dance with great music, and this version with the shouting is just outstanding.

A Rom dance from Macedonia with exceptionally pretty music, by the Zlatne Uste band. We've nicknamed it "Hava Nagila" and now no one remembers the real name.

Pajdukso (also: Paiduska, Payduska, Baiduska, Paidusca), is danced all over the Balkans. This version is by the famous Macedonian accordionist, Goran Alacki.

Rakija i cigari (Rakija and cigarettes) is a modern Macedonian song by composer Chris Bajmakovich, performed by Balkan Cabaret, with lead vocals by Mary Sherhart. It's great for dancing Indijski Cocek.

I haven't been this excited about a song in a very long time and highly recommend that you check out their site where you listen to samples of their music or buy their CDs.

Ramno Velesko, a sweet Macedonian melody, is another great "start of the evening" dance.

Raspukala Šar Planina is a modern rendition of an old song from Kavadarci about what happens to three shepherds on the Šar Planina mountain range just NW of Skopje. It has become one of the “classic” tunes for the dance Lesnoto/Pravoto. More

Ratevka, a classic folk dance from eastern Macedonia, has been introduced by many teachers.

A classic Macedonian dance from the Skopje region.

Sarena Gajda (Zeniv Se U Popa) is a simple Lesnoto style dance from Macedonia, introduced by Paul Moulder.

Shopka, or Shopkata, is a mixed Macedonian dance from the town Sveti Nicola in the Ovchepolia region in Macedonia, southwest of the Shope region in northeast Macedonia. It was brought down from the mountains by Shope people who came down to inhabit Muslum towns whose occupants migrated to Turkey. Among themselves, the dance is called Troika. [see the video]

Sine moj (My Son/Son of Mine) is a Macedonian song sung by Pepi Baftirovski, who died last week from liver cancer.

Pepi Baftirovski was a native of Lerin (Florina) in the Greek-Macedonian region who later moved to Skopje, Macedonia. He was one of the most beloved singers and interpreters of Macedonian songs. He was famed not only in Macedonia but also in the surrounding countries, such as Serbia, Bulgaria, and wherever Macedonian music is popular.

This is a Sa Sa from the Skopje region in Macedonia. We dance it with alternating two- measure / one-measure cocek-like steps, which probably makes it not a cocek but some other dance entirely. You can see something similar to it in our video of the gypsy wedding.

Strumicka Petorka is a dance in the Macedonian style arranged by Bora Gajicki and inspired by a recording of the same name composed by Nikola Stefanov released on a Zagreb-based Jugoton LP. The piece is named either after the eastern Macedonian town of Strumica or the Struma River, which winds through Pirin and eastern Vardar Macedonia.

Bora Gajicki's own Borino Orchestra recorded a cover of the Aleksandric recording, and it is one of these two recordings that are best known to international folk dancers and enthusiasts of Balkan music.

The music and dance are sometimes mistakenly classified as "Serbian" because the first widely available commercial recording happened to be by Dragan Aleksandric's orchestra, with Vilko Sedlar as the clarinetist, on an LP titled "Narodna Kola" (folk circle dances). Likewise, the cover of this piece and the arrangement of the dance was by a Serbian dancer Bora Gajicki. Nonetheless, the music was composed by a Macedonian. and the dance movements and styling is typically Macedonian.

Many if not most recordings of folk music in the Yugoslavia before its break-up were released either on the Zagreb, Croatia-based Jugoton or the Belgrade, Serbia-based RTB (Radio Television Belgrade). However, their place of production did not mean that all such music were either Croatian or Serbian. Pece Atanasovksi, the best known Macedonian gajda (bagpipe) player released his recordings on both Jugoton and RTB, but his music (and dancing) is distinctly Macedonian and typical of his home village of Dolneni near Prilep Macedonia.

Many thanks to John Kuo for the background information about this music: www.ChicagoSpringFestival.org.

Tesko Kavadarsko is a great melody from Macedonia.

A Tesko from Macedonia (zurna alert).

Great version of Tino Mori.

Usti Usti Baba is a Rom wedding song from the southern region of Macedonia. It's about a young bride who tries to awaken her father o n the morning of her wedding day.

“Get up, get up father, the in-laws are at the door to collect our little girl!” And someone calls: “Open the gates! Let in the wedding guests! Adorn the bride! And give the groom something to drink!”

This version of Usti Usti Baba is sung by Slavica Pavlovic & Jovanka Ivanovskaa. The music is great for Cocek.

Vrni Se Vrni is a love song from Macedonia. The dance is one of Atanas Kolarovski's early dances. After you fall in love with it, you can download both the lyrics and the music score.

Zensko Za Raka is a women's dance from Macedonia that we learned from Sasko Anastaso. This version is by the famous Macedonian accordionist and singer, Zoran Markovski. Ljupco Manevski uses this same music for Navestinsko Za Raka; the dance is very similar.