Re: Freilekhs or Bulgar?

[Matt Jaffey <mjaffey2...>]

re: Sanna and Mars Longden's comments on the Bulgar - I attended a workshop
with Eric Bendix maybe about a year ago that Sanna and Mars also attended.
Eric studied with Michael Alpert back in the days of Buffalo on the Roof
workshops with Brave Old World.

Anyway, Eric taught us a version of the Bulgar from Michael Alpert. This is
a set dance involving two couple sets, and a specific sequence of steps
that changes with each section of the tune. Eric's son, Noah, played the
music on violin, with a local backup band. Because the music was live, it
was possible to have the A, B and C sections of the music match up to the
changes of steps that are part of the set dance. I remember the Longden's
asking about recordings, and Eric pointing out that it was difficult to
find recorded examples that follow the sequence needed.

On the other hand, the A, B and C sections of a Bulgar are rhythmically all
the same, so in fact, it is perfectly possible to use recorded music to do
this set dance, which I have done to very good results. It isn't necessary
that each time through the dance sequence, the same set of steps correspond
to the same section of music, even though it would be nice for the dancers
if they did.

Last point - my understanding from John Parrish, another Chicago area folk
dance instructor (Hyde Park), is that these structured set dances were a
relatively late arrival, and that for most of the Eastern European Jewish
dances, there would be no issue about the sequence of sections in the music.

Matt

At 11:04 AM 4/17/2000 EDT, you wrote:
>In a message dated 04/17/2000 9:59:35 AM Central Daylight Time, 
>itzik (at) mail(dot)utexas(dot)edu writes:
>
><< Just curious from whom you all learned to dance a bulgar? If there are
> different versions, they should be documented. If from Michael Alpert, via
> klezkamp, that Bulgar was learned from Tsunye Rymer from the Ukraine/Bronx.
> Rymer also danced a khosidl as a slow, solo improvisational dance as
> Beregovsky described it. - Itzik
>  >>
>
>Sanna and Mars Longden of Chicago also learned most of their traditional 
>Jewish  dances (including the Bulgar) from Michael.  They have often
lamented 
>to him that he should provide recordings of the music to go with the dances, 
>because there are so few correct ones available.
>
>
>
>

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