Folk Dance Group Dragatuš
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The traditional guiding principle and aspiration of the Folk Dance Group Dragatuš is to bring the folk art of the past to life as an appeal to the modern person—for joy, friendship, tolerance of diversity, laughter, and the beauty of life.
The FOLK DANCE GROUP DRAGATUŠ is an association that brings together nearly 100 members across different generations. United by their love for music, dance, singing, performance, and other forms of intangible heritage, they recreate the folklore of Bela krajina through instruments, props, and traditional costumes.
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The association is based in Dragatuš, located in the heart of Bela krajina in the municipality of Črnomelj, along the Črnomelj–Vinica road. To the west, it is surrounded by the Kočevje hills, where remnants of Turn Castle can still be found among the vineyards of Tanča Gora and Zapuže. To the northeast lie vast fields that meet the picturesque Lahinja Landscape Park to the south. Oton Župančič, who spent his youth in Dragatuš, referred to the little valley where the Dobréč spring babbles nearby as “the quietest dell in the world.”
Since its founding, the group has been recreating the cultural heritage of Bela krajina through the folklore of the entire region. In addition to the published written and audio sources and scholarly materials, their programs are based on their own field research, carried out in collaboration with folklore experts such as ethnocoreologist Mirko Ramovš, Dr. Marko Terseglav, Dr. Bojan Knific, Dr. Marija Makarovič, Nina Volk, and Dr. Bruno Ravnikar.