The Japanese audience will enjoy the folklore dances of Arsenal Kazanlak ensemble for the 18^th consecutive year. The Bulgarian ensemble headed by its art director Hristo Stoyanov will leave for the Land of The Rising Sun on September 13, 2015. The folklore group will perform in the cities of Munakata, Tokio and the Island of Goto. We are to look for new friends in Japan, Hristo Stoyanov told Radio Bulgaria and took us back to the history of the folklore festival.

“We will stay in Japan until October 3. We visited the Country of The Rising Sun for the first time in 1998 when we danced in Fukuyama - the city of roses and flowers. Fukuyama and Bulgaria’s city of roses Kazanlak are twin cities. Several years later we presented our art in the city of Munakata. The audience applauded us loudly. Thus, the idea of the World Festival of Bulgarian Folklore was born. The festival has already become a tradition. Some Japanese ensembles and solo performers also take part in it. ”

The Bulgarian ensemble is presented in Japan by 18 dancers and a five-member orchestra. The citizens of Kazanlak organize each year during the rose-picking season the Rose Queen beauty contest. This year Tsvetelina Ivanova who studies veterinary medicine became Rose Queen. Tsvetelina will also participate at this year’s edition of the World Festival of Bulgarian Folklore in Japan. A Bulgarian restaurant also opens during the Days of Bulgarian Folklore in Japan. The organizers invite a skilful Bulgarian chef to run the kitchen of the restaurant and serve the Japanese hosts selected meals from the Bulgarian national cuisine. Hristo Stroyanov brings us more on the festival program.

“We are to hold a total of 33 concerts in 20 days. Five of our concerts will be held in concert halls with a capacity of 1,400 seats and the rest of the concerts will be held on open-air stages. Our performance lasts for an average of 90 minutes, but the audience wants to watch more and more. We present 15 or 16 dances from different folklore regions. The Japanese like the Pirin Macedonia dances a lot. They are slower and match the Japanese traditions and lifestyle. Arsenal Ensemble also gives lessons of Bulgarian folklore during its concerts.”

Hristo Stoyanov has been an honorary citizen of the city of Munakata for 10 years now. He was awarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan with this high distinction in recognition for his exceptional contribution to the convergence of these two cultures. I am extremely happy, because we managed to turn the city of Munakata into a center of Bulgarian-Japanese culture during the festival days, Hristo Stoyanov says.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov