Rosen Idealov is a celebrated musician, tutoring chamber music, orchestral music and the clarinet at the Lyubomir Pipkov National Music School and working with the top musicians of Bulgaria. Success was not late in coming to his son – Rosen Idealov Jr. - who is a stage dancer and runs an Irish dance school. Music proved but a temporary pastime for young Rosen; he was 14 when he discovered the rhythm of the land of the Celts. His first contact with the magic of Ireland was when he saw Michael Flatley and “Lord of the Dance”, a film aired by Bulgarian National TV. Since then Rosen has been paving the way for Irish dance in his own country.

“The music of Ireland is an expression of freedom, of the wide open spaces in front of me. It has a special vibe that makes me feel good. When you hear it, there is no way you can stand still, your feet start dancing all by themselves,” Rosen Idealov Jr. says.

“There are a great many similarities between Bulgarian and Irish folklore, even the music itself is similar, the difference is in the rhythm. Bulgarian music has compound meters but I have heard Irish melodies that have compound meters as well and that struck me as incredible. Even the Irish and the Bulgarian dance steps have a lot in common, it is difficult to define what it is but is interesting to see. We are even working on a project combining Bulgarian folk music with the rhythms of Ireland. We recently shared one stage with the Bulgarian folklore formation “Drums and bagpipes” and we came up with a blend of Bulgarian and Irish folklore. The audience wasn’t expecting so much fire and emotion. It was an experiment I would like to repeat in future. The idea of presenting some kind of story through the music and dance of the two nations has been arousing quite a lot of interest.”

What artists like Rosen Idealov have been demonstrating on stage is folklore, taken to a higher level, evolved into a performing art. Authentic Irish folklore is much simpler which means it is able to reach a broader audience. Precision in each and every step is vital to a professional, as is a rigid upper body, something that takes a lot of practice and hard work. There is one more thing that is essential to Irish dancing and it is the shoes - a special kind of shoes that are themselves an instrument for creating rhythm on stage. More about the shoes from Rosen Idealov:

“The shoes are distinct, there are hard and soft shoes. The step dance shoes are called jig shoes and are made of fiberglass or pure wood. The heel has a specific sound and, for the time being, they have to be ordered abroad. The other kind are soft shoes, they are very beautiful and support the foot in a very special way. When they are on stage, dancers always dance on their toes. This is especially true of women dancers, because they have to really stand high on their toes. Performing arts are grueling physically and psychologically and the secret lies in mastering the technique. The Irish themselves are impressed to see people in Eastern Europe doing Irish dances and, as they say, so professionally. To begin with, people there look on us with some doubts because we are foreign, but once we start dancing they are really excited. We always get a warm welcome, they are really pleased to see us practice their folklore dances.”

Rosen Idealov Jr. will be dancing on one stage with his students from the Sofia-based Irish Dance Academy which he founded and is running:

“On 11 December we shall present a show programme at Studio 5 club in Sofia, a combination of two styles – flamenco and Irish dance. The musicians include a bagpiper who has honed his Bulgarian bagpipe playing skills to perfection. Flamenco will be presented by my colleague Stefan Nikolov, an acknowledged master of the art.”

English version: Milena Daynova