The HORO is the traditional dance component of Bulgarian rituals. Originally it was performed with the vocal accompaniment of others, but musical instruments were later added.

Horos are performed in either open or closed circles, or in a chain or short line. The grip of the players involved often differs as well. Sometimes they hold each other by their belts, or they let their hands fall freely at their sides. Other times they simply place them on their neighbour's shoulders. However, during mixed-sex-dances traditional beliefs forbid direct contact between single women and bachelors. They must instead hold a handkerchief between them.

According to the national folklore, the horos are dances which can be quiet, crazy, dragging, kicking or walked. Depending on the direction the dance moves in, it is grouped as either "left" or "right." They are also associated with different regions in the country. Some are considered Shopski (from the region around Sofia - the people are also called Shops), Trakya area, Northern Horos, Dobrudja Horos, Pirin and Rhodope Horos.

The dance is traditionally performed at weddings and other family and national calendar celebrations, but Bulgarian folklore tradition forbids the dancing of horos during the Great Fasts. There is an inherent sense of ancient symbolism that is connected to the Cult for the Sun with separated totemic beliefs and notions based on the Predecessor's Cult.

Not surprisingly, dancers are most capable of performing the traditional dances from the region they come from. There exists a saying that you must preserve the tradition and the folklore of your birth roots. Performing your horos strengthens this tradition and stabilizes it by passing it on to future generations.

The Shopi from the Sofia region plough a barren field without many opportunities for cultivation - a reality which forced them to become conniving. This is the origin of the Shop's sense of humour, which is reflected in their horo. People from the Traks' and Dobrudja areas are likely to grow rich through their crops. People who take care of such affluent harvest are more self-assured and walk with their heads held high. They possess bigger houses and expanded yards where dances take place regularly. For this reason they have more enthusiastic horos.

Dobrudja's population was quite attached to land, praising it as their main source of income. The Shopi, on the other hand, reflect a desire to run away from the land and launch into the skies if possible. Because of this, dancers from the Sofia region lack a physical connection to the land that is reflected in the absence of truthful movements from their dance. The Shop is constantly trying to lead the spectator to a different perspective and vision.

"The dancing Shop quite looks like a bird in the air," said Bisser Grigorov, the artistic choreographer of the Rosna Kitka Bulgarina Dance Ensemble. "His movements are fast and abrupt just like his language." Another very traditional type of rhythmic dance is the Rachenitsa. It has been danced in every Bulgarian folklore region, though its style varies from place to place. One specific form of the dance is only performed by men. The performers, mostly young boys, make movements that resemble digging. They crouch and jump quickly and abruptly. The dance, which resembles hoeing, has been popular since the 1930s. "The Bistritsa Four were distinguished Rachenitsa dancers who even had a street named after them in memory of their wonderful performances," said Grigorov, who also teaches at the Academy for Music and Dance Arts in Sofia.

Enyov's Day, June 24, is celebrated in folklore regions all over the country. As part of the female ritual, a family's youngest child (usually a four or five-year-old, who is often slightly sick) is chosen to be in the middle of the dance procession. The girls gather around the chosen child and the rest close the circle. They hold handkerchiefs with handmade motifs taken from traditional myths. The girls surrounding the child are called "Momi" (unmarried young women) and they sway the child in the centre in an arm-made cradle.

"We perform our Enyov's celebration to Filip Kutev's musical tunes," said Grigorov, whose Rosna Kitka Ensemble regularly perform at summer festivals and gatherings around the country. Another type of dance is performed by The Ruseans, who are a group of male performers whose dancing is symbollic of Slavonic mythology's day of the dead. During the dance, the men carry swords and fight evil. Their movements are warlike and aggressive, much like the dead's day.

Dancing has always been an important part of weddings - especially long ago when such events used to last for days on end. Back then, there was always a certain dance of the sisters-in-law or the brothers-in-law or by the bride and groom themselves. This form of traditional wedding planning, which still exists today, requires a family to form a large circle, at which time a big dough bun is carried by a young dancer who offers it to all. Pantomime is incorporated into the dancing technique of the wedding horos.

Northern Bulgarian dances are associated with valley terrain, which influences their way of dancing. The dances are full of vividness and freedom and arm motion. From this northern region also came the creation of many bands which utilised brass instruments.

The Rhodopes area on the other hand, which is occupied mainly by hills and mountain ranges, restricted dancers into less expanded fields or tiny house-yards. As a result, their dances are more compact and performed by fewer people at once.

In the country's rural areas, people live a much more humble life that is filled with moderate motion and style. Trakia's horos are performed in a ring - resembling the spiral-type appearance of a snail's shell. The central parts of the country near Sliven, Stara Zagora and Yambol perform their horos by stamping their feet while holding on to the belt's of others. A male and female move back and forth in unison, and the lady is sent to the right side of the man then taken back to the left. "This dance pretty much corresponds to the polish Polka or the Czech beer dance," said Grigorov.

Another form of dance that has grown quite popular in Bulgaria is called Nestinarska. The dance originates in the Strandja region and the southeast parts of the country and is performed by women called "Nestinarski," a Greek term meaning fortuneteller. A culmination of this dance form will be performed on May 21, and will display the abilities of the Nestinarski to dance on hot glowing embers - a talent they are said to be born with.

Nowadays, this presentation is a great tourist attraction. Crowds are impressed by the fearless manner in which the pagan girls walk across the hot coals in a trance-like manner, said Grigorov. The constant beat of a drum and the high-pitched noise of a pipe, which accompany the dance, produce an awkward mood in the dancers. "The fire and the contrast of the night together with its sparkles form an impression of mysticism," added Grigorov.

At present Nestinarska dances can be seen in the Gorublyansko Hanche (Gorublian's Pub).