Programme
Our programme (re)creates vast dance, vocal, musical, and other intangible heritage of Bela krajina. We engage with the material culture of the region through costumes, instruments, and props.
The program is differentiated according to:
Mode of performance:
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Dance, vocal, theatrical, instrumental (folk musicians, tamburitza players, traditional folk instruments)
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Combined forms
Folklore layers – ethnological themes:
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Bridges, rituals, and customs – performed in white costumes
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Songs and music of Uskok origin – performed in white costumes
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Songs, dances, and tunes that arrived to Bela krajina from the Central Europe via Dolenjska in the 18th and 19th centuries. We perform them in dark, festive costumes accompanied by folk musicians. These include: waltzes, polkas, mazurkas, schottisches, ‘pajeriši’, ‘zibenšriti’, ‘šuštarske’, etc.
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Dances and songs that, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, spread from Croatia through tamburitza players, especially in the villages along the Kolpa River. These became the foundation of Bela krajina folklore (e.g., Lepa Anka, Sirota, Carska kasa, Hruške, jabuke, slive, Lipa moja, etc.). This part of the program is performed in white costumes, accompanied by tamburitza players or traditional folk instruments.
Choreographies/Stage Productions:
1. Programmes in white costumes, accompanied by tamburitza players:
- LEPA ANKA
- ŠENICA
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TANCAJ, TANCAJ ČRNI KOS,
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NA IVANJE VEČERO,
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PEKEL – NEBESA,
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VESELA BELA KRAJINA.
2. Programmes in white costumes, accompanied by tamburitza players:
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POLČKE,
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MIGAČA,
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OFRKLI,
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KROSNA,
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MASKENBAL,
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OTONOVI ASI.
3. Folklore ANIMATION program (also developed for the projects:
LAS Lahinja Landscape Park and Bela krajina Evening):
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GODOVANJE,
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BELOKRANJSKO VOŠČILO,
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BELOKRANJSKE NAPITNICE,
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DANCING GAMES – (stolecpolka, špegeltanc, beksel),
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DANCING GAMES – PRETIKAVICA (pretikavica, Abraham, Lepi Janko, kačo vit).
Bela krajina songs:
A rich selection of traditional folk songs from Bela krajina.
Bela krajina tunes:
Performed by folk musician or tamburitza ensembles, including the playing of traditional folk instruments.
Bela krajina folklore stories:
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VODNI VELIKAN,
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VARALO,
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V CESTNIKOVI DELAVNICI,
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SUHE SLIVE,
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KOLINE,
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ŠTELINGA.
Costume design:
The Dragatuš Folk Group performs in the traditional white work costumes and dark festive costumes of the Bela Krajina region.
All folklore elements—music, dances, songs, and clothing culture - are regionally and thematically interwoven and overlap with the periods in question, reflecting the lives of our ancestors through the folklore costumes.
White Bela krajina folk costumes:
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research and design: dr. Marija Makarovič (1994)
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sewing/manufacturing: Anica Matkovič in Ivanka Mravinec
Dark Bela krajina folk costumes:
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research and design: Anita Matkovič (2012)
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sewing/manufacturing: Anica Matkovič in Ivanka Mravinec
Responsibility, long-term maintenance, and care for the costumes:
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Kristina Zajc and
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Anica Matkovič
The association also includes the Children’s Folk Dance Group Dragatuš, which offers a rich programme of Bela krajina children’s folklore.