SEDI DONKA Bulgarian
PRONUNCIATION: SEH-dee DOHN-kah TRANSLATION: Donka is sitting SOURCE: Dick Oakes learned this dance from Dick Crum who originally taught Fig I and Fig II (Fig IV is a repeat of Fig II). Fig III was added later and is as danced in southern California. BACKGROUND: Sedi Donka originates in the area of Thrace around the towns of Pazardzik and Plovdiv in south-central Bulgaria. The name of the dance derives from the first line of the song, "Sedi Donka na dyukyanche" (Donka is sitting in her shop). Some twenty variations of the dance exist in this region. Three are described below. Pazardzik impresses visitors with its beautiful houses and clean streets. In Pazardzik, the Church of the Theotokos preserves the most impressive icons in Bulgaria by master artists of the Debar School, wood-carvings of New and Old Testament scenes, and icons by Stanislav Dospevski; among the town's landmarks are also the clock tower, the ethnographic museum, and history museum. Plovdiv has a Roman Theatre which is probably the best known monument from Bulgarian Antiquity. The Roman Stadium is another important monument of the ancient city. Located in the middle of a rich agricultural region, since the beginning of the 20th century, Plovdiv grew as an industrial center. Food processing, tobacco, brewing, and textiles were the main pillars of the industry. MUSIC: Xopo (LP) X-LP-4, side 1, band 3
Bruno (LP) BR 50163, side A, band 6 "Horo"
Monitor (LP) MF 384, side 2, band 3 "Horo of Sofia"
Bay Records (LP) 205, side 2, band 4
Du-Tam (45rpm) 1001 BGeisler, Richard. "Sedi Donka" (sheet music), The Bulgarian Collection, The Village & Early Music Society, 15181 Ballantree Lane, Grass Valley, CA 95949-7633.
FORMATION: Short lines (5-6 dancers) of mixed M and W holding belts ("na lesa") in "X" pos, R arm under. METER/RHYTHM: 7/16 + 11/16. The music is written in a combination of two meas of 7/16 and one meas of 11/16 meter. The rhythm is SLOW-quick-quick, SLOW-quick-quick, quick-quick-SLOW-quick-quick (3-2- 2 = 7, 3-2-2 = 7, 2-2-3-2-2 = 11) for a total of 11 accented beats and will be counted below as 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-4-5. STEPS/STYLE: CHUG: Sharp low scooting jump. The dance has a moderately heavy quality with the upper body straight and proud.
MEAS MOVEMENT DESCRIPTION
INTRODUCTION - None. I. TO SIDE WITH BOUNCES 1 Step R swd (ct 1); hop R (ct 2); step L across in front of R (ct 3); 2 Repeat action of meas 1; 3 Step R swd (ct 1); step L across in back of R (ct 2); step R swd (ct 3); closing L to R, bounce twice on both with wt predominantly on R (cts 4,5). 4-6 Repeat action of meas 1-3 to L with opp ftwk. 7-12 Repeat action of meas 1-6. II. TO CTR WITH TAPS 1 Step R fwd (ct 1); hop R (ct 2); step L fwd (ct 3); 2 Repeat action of meas 1; 3 Step R fwd (ct 1); small step L fwd (ct 2); tap R heel lightly next to L (ct 3); small leap R in place (ct 4); tap L heel lightly next to R (ct 5); 4-6 Reverse action of meas 1-3 bwd with opp ftwk. 7-12 Repeat action of meas 1-6. III. TO R WITH TAPS AND TO L WITH SCISSORS 1 With ft parallel and wt evenly distributed, "chug" fwd with both ft (ct 1); hop R (ct 2); step L across in front of R (ct 3); 2 Step R swd (ct 1); hop R (ct 2); step L across in front of R (ct 3); 3 Step R swd (ct 1); step L in back of R (ct 2); tap R heel lightly next to L (ct 3); small leap R in place (ct 4); tap L heel lightly next to R (ct 5); 4-5 Repeat action of meas 4-5, Fig I; 6 Step L swd (ct 1); step R across in back of L (ct 2); step L swd, extending R ft low fwd (ct 3); step R in place, extending L ft low fwd (ct 4); step L in place, extending R low fwd (ct 5). 7-12 Repeat action of meas 1-6. IV. TO CTR WITH TAPS 1-12 Repeat action of meas 1-12, Fig II. Repeat entire dance from beg. Copyright © 2012 by Dick Oakes