Cultural Art Associacion SLOBODA
Rumenka, SERBIA
The youth ensemble was founded in 1980 in Rumenka near Novi Sad in the north of Serbia. Several thousands of dancers and singers were a part of the group during its fourty years active. Nowadays, the ensemble consists of approximately 150 members most of them children or young adults.
In their performances, Sloboda presents folklore from different parts of Serbia but also from other areas where Serbians reside. They focus on showing Serbian traditions and festivities. The ensemble uses reconstructed costumes specific for each area, that were modified for dancing.
Student Song and Dance Ensemble POLONINY
Rzeszow, POLAND
The song and dance art group Poloniny is tied to Rzeszow University of Technology and its begginings date back to 1969. Today the ensemble has about a hundred members, most of the students from the university.
The ensemble covers Rzeszow folklore characterised by its spontaneity and dynamic nature, but also traditional polish dances and songs and folklore traditions of southern and eastern Poland. Dances are accompanied by singing and music made with traditional instruments such as violins, clarinets, double basses or accordions.
Folklore Group ČAČINARE
Spišská Nová Ves, SLOVAKIA
Folklore group Čačinare was formed in 2009 from the fomer members of another group – Čačina. This is also the origin of their name alluding to the rich evergreen forest of the Spiš region.
The ensemble focuses on the region of eastern Slovakia with dances from Spiš, Šariš and Zemplín and performs in costumes from eastern and central Slovakia, including some over a hudred years old. The group has its own cimbalom band and accordions are an inseparable part of their music as well.
Folklore Group SKEJUŠAN
Chomutov, CZECH REPUBLIC
Musical art group Skejušan was founded in 1990, when a few entusiasts among Chomutov ruthenians decided to form a folklore group. Their goal is to keep the customs and songs of their ancestors, who found work in Romania during the 19th century and then moved back to Czechoslovakia after the Second World War. Founding members named the ensemble after their native village Scaius or Skejuš in western Romania. Skejušan is the only folklore group in the Czech Republic that sing in the rusyn language accompanied by an accordion.
Folklore Group MATENÍK
Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
The Prague-based ensemble Mateník, that got its name from a dance in changing 3/4 and 4/4 meter, was founded in 1991 by choreographer Petra Tužilová. The ensemble continues the traditional treatment of folklore dancing in the spirit of J. Vycpálek and the Rejšeks and covers a wide range of etnographic regions of Czechia, Moravia and Slovakia.
The group has visited many domestic and foreign festivals since its founding, including one in Springwille, USA, it is regularly invited to IFF in Newport (GB), but they also take part in organising the folklore festival Jižní Město in Prague 4 city district.
Musica BALKANIKA
Brno, CZECH REPUBLIC
Hailing from Brno, Musica Balcanica was founded in 2015. As its name suggests, the group focuses on the traditional music of the Balkans, namely Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia and Bulgaria, but other closely or loosely related genres such as the folklore music of Ukraine of gipsy jazz have made their way into the group’s repertoire due to the various interests of its members
The band’s music ranges from slow and sombre to happy and up-tempo and icludes atypical songs in odd time signatures. Singing is accompanied by instrumenst such as cajons, darbukas, bass guitars, double basses, acustic guitars, violins, western concert flutes, frulas or mandolins.
Moravian Folklore Group ŠEVČÍK
Ostrava, CZECH REPUBLIC
History of MFG Ševčík dates back to 1950 when it was founded as a youth ensemble and took on the name of Ladislav Ševčík that it carries to this day. Nowadays the ensemble operates from Culture House Akord in the Ostrava-Zábřeh city district and its activities mainly focus on bringing the beauty of folklore dancing and traditions to the wider public.
Ševčík covers dances and songs from the entirety of Moravia Wallachia in its repertoire, and especialy from its southern part. Their performances are accompanied by cimbalom band Úsměv.
The ensemble has traveled to Taiwan, Serbia and Brazil in recent years. Its seventy year-long tradition makes Moravian Folklore Group Ševčík one of the oldest folklore ensembles in Moravian-Silesian region.
Silesian Ensemble of Helena SALICHOVÁ
Ostrava, CZECH REPUBLIC
Ostravian group that was founded in 1977 by etnographer Hana Podešvová and teacher Anna Buroňová with the name SATINA, under VŠB-TUO, where it operates to this day.
The group functions under its current name since 1982. The title draws connection to the name of academic painter Helena Salichová, who collected folklore art of Opavian Silesia – the region on which the group focuses in its work. The ensemble has perfomed at many exibitions in the Czech Republic but also in France, Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia.
The group stages multiple annual events – Silesian Ball, Vynášení Mařeny and autumn festival Třebovický koláč, that is slated for its 18th return in 2022.
Folklore Song and Dance Group HLUBINA
Ostrava, CZECH REPUBLIC
Folklore Song and Dance Group Hlubina is among the oldest dance ensembles in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1947 in Ostrava, formerly as a girl dance group that studied silesian folklore. After a short while the small group expanded to an ensemble that took on the name Hlubina – taken from the name of a no longer existing mine shaft and culture house, where it operated up untill 1990.
SLPT Hlubina nowadays functions under SVČ Korunka in the Ostrava-Mariánské Hory district. Its repertoire is based on the folklore materials of Silesia and Lachia, baroque dances and it traditionally focuses on the expression of the mining environment as one of the only collectives in the Czech Republic. The crown jewels of Hlubina’s repertoire are the choreographic interpretations of Leoš Janáček’s Lachian Dances
Children’s Folklore Group HLUBINKA
Ostrava, CZECH REPUBLIC
Folklore Group Hlubinka formed in the sixties under Hlubina mine club in Ostrava. The group functions under its artistic director Kateřian Macečková at Lidová konzervatoř a Múzická škola in Ostrava-Přívoz since 1992.
The kids focus on folklore games, customs, dances and songs of northeast Moravia – the Silesia and Lachia folklore regions.
The group’s performances are accompanied by Cimbalom Band Hlubinka under the leadership of Teodora Osuchová. The band formed in 2015 from the ranks of Hlubina’s current dancers.
Children’s Folklore Group OSTRAVIČKA
Frýdek-Místek, CZECH REPUBLIC
DFS Ostravička was founded in 1982 by Marie Nováková and Stanislav Novák in Frýdek-Místek. The young dancers are split into two groups and they cover folklore of the lachian region, but also that of Cieszyn Silesia and the moravian-slovakian border. The group is accompanied by its own cimbalom band.
Since 1994, Ostravička acts as the head organiser of the International Folklore Festival Frýdek-Místek, which became one of the most renowned folklore festivals in the Czech Republic.
Children’s Folklore Group KRASNIČANEK
Ostrava, CZECH REPUBLIC
Krasničanek was formed in 1999 under Elementary Art School of Helena Salichová in cooperation with elementary school in Krásné Pole. The ensemble focuses on dances from the region of Opavian Silesia, which it present in the form of longer connected perfomances.
The children’s group currently only consist of girls and they closely collaborate with kids from Elementary School Krásné Pole, who can attend a folklore dance club. Krasničanek organizes “Folklore Afternoon” – a meet-up with another children’s group in Krásné Pole every June. In recent years, they dance to the music of cimbalom band Grut from Háj ve Slezsku..
