Martenica Folk Dance Ensemble

Martenica Bulgarian Folk Dance Ensemble was founded in 1982 with the purpose of taking part in the Hungarian popular television talent-scout competition. We had already known some Bulgarian dances from the Balkan “dance house”, but the serious learning just began after the competition. We did not suspect that we established the future of a very successful amateur ensemble. The intensive work in the first year was an eternal base for Martenica. We were lucky that diligence was joined with talent and we won the television competition to everyone’ astonishment in 1983 (which was a big surprise for us).

The success gave us additional motivation and the ensemble’s story has continued unbroken towards fulfillment. After performing within the country we were invited more and more to foreign shows and festivals where we incorporated the wide repertoire of the Bulgarian dances into our repertoire. We won the first prize twice in the World Folk Dance Festival at Palma de Mallorca. The most outstanding moments in the 1990’s were the performances on the Bulgarian festivals.

Martenica received the “Minorities Prize” from the Parliament of the Republic of Hungary in 2002 and the “Pro Cultura Minoritate” prize from the Hungarian Cultural Institute in 2007. We made a guest appearance in Sofia in 2007, where we celebrated the 25th anniversary of our forming together with Bulgarian state offices', ministries' and dance ensembles' representatives.

Because of the position Bulgaria, history and the knowledge of surrounding folks' dances we may have noticed the similarity and the difference in the folklore of the Balkan. A lot of renowned, acknowledged Bulgarian choreographers helped our work and we also undertook some journeys in Bulgaria to get personal experiences and to recognise the wide circle of Bulgarian folk dances.

Martenica is a real success story of which we are proud of infinitely. With a lot of work we brought a value from our own strength, which is acknowledged by the audience and by the professional folk dancers as well. The personal connection is as important for us as the professionalism. We are a friendly community, which was formed by the common programs, the hard work and the success endured together. We feel great and we love what we do.