Events

Weekly session with Bulgarian guests    

Iî this special evening we hosted the Bulagian group Ermena Quartet (Sorina, Tania, Milena, Ralitsa).

The 4 singers have wonderful voices, singing a cappella.

They were accompanied by a band 3 great players, Dinko (gaida), Yanush Horwitz (accordion) Amit (drum)

Here are a few video clips:
Idam Ne Idam     Singers and band
Liljano Mome     Singers and band
Liljano Mome     Another versio of the above
Graovsko         The singers are also good dancers...
kopanitsa Gankino  
Pravo
Ograjdensko Horo

In this evning, we also danced a few other balkan dances:
Pou neta Hrnonia Greece music
Hora pe Loc     Romanian dance

The singers sing beautifully a cappella!
Emerena Quartet-1
Emerena Quartet-2

Photos album     Thanks to Shimon Mor Yosef.
It was much fun to host the singers, the band and guest from all over Israel!

20.9.19 - Aviella Turns 70!

Once in 70 years it is possible to make such a great surprise. A huge success. The party took place at Nir's place on 21.9.19. It started as a regular annual party, with food and dances until... a band of 5 wonderful, professional players appeared in the yard... It was a total surprise!

Thanks a lot to:
Chave and Avi Nir for the whole production, setup, hosting at their house and the nice and meaningful blessings. And of course for the great musical surprise.
Irit Peled for her funny powerpoint show.
Whoever took care of the impressive and so tasty birthday cake
Shimon and Shalom who took pictures
To all Balkanitsa members who were so warm and sympathetic.

Attached photos and videos album.

Thank all for a very touching evening.

Balkan dance party, at Nir's place, 18.10.16

Long break of weekly dance sessions due to holiday season.
Full of energy we all dacne happily at the party.
Dances from all Balkan countires, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria and other countries.

And some ball roon dances, like tango and others.

Much fun!

Happy birthday - Chava and Avi are 75! 6.9.2016

Watch!

A special dance pary was held on that evening, to honor Avinoam who initiated the activity of Balkan Dances in Haifa and his spouse Chava.
The activity started in 1984. During the years, our non profit organization, Balkanitsa, was established, and since then Avinoam serves as the chairman.
Friends congratulated the couple, Avi played Ludo Mlado, a dance which we all love to dance.
A video clip which tells Chava and Avi's story as well as documents parts of Balkanitsa' history was prepared (unfortunatly was not able to show in real time).

We all wish the couple many healthy and fruitful years in Balkanitsa and many happy returns!

A bit of nostalgy- interview for a local TV station in 1992. We were small group, young beautiful and enthsiastic!

Balkanitsa with Di Gassen Trio 7.5.16    

For no special reason, we decided to organize a "social" evening for Balkanitsa members and their respective partners at the Garden Hotel in Haifa, with the musical addition of Di Gassen Trio.

It was a perfect evening!
The food, the hotel hospitality and the trio with its talented musicians (Gal Klein-clarinet, Yanush Hurwitz- accordion and Daniel More - double bass) sufficed to create a wonderful ambience. It was a special occasion to meet and talk with Balkanitsa members and their respective partners; and not on the dance floor, although we even managed to squeeze in a couple of dances and even encouraged our respective partners to join in.

You can get the feeling of this lovely evening in a couple of video-clips below:
Clip 1       Clip 2       clip 3       dance 1       dance 2          
Our heartiest thanks to Liora Dreifuss and Shalom Brown for their photographic and video contributions.

Chanuka Party in Hararit 5.12.15    

On Saturday 5.12.15, lots of friends, dancers, dance teachers and music players met in Hararit, at Ruthie and Joe Pardes' place. We enjoyed the lovely view and their lovely house.
Joe was responsible for the food and Ruthie for dance, music and move. It was a lovely experience which lasts about 7 hours!
Lots of music, dances, food and finally candle lighting; Warm, happy and positive energy filled this wonderful day all day long.
Here are a few videos that preserve the wonderful atmosphere of this day!
ùéø çñéãé -- ùí áàçå -- îçøåæú -- öãé÷ ëúîø éôøç -- ëì äîìéí äùîçåú -- äúàäáúé áê -- äãì÷ú ðøåú

Zvi Zitron turns 90 on 17.11.2015

On Tuesday November 17th, we celebrated the 90th birthday of Zvi Zitron, our treasurer since 2008.
Zvi is a walking history book, who has donated much to society at large for many years.
He has a long history of volunteer work, is young in spirit, and active in his many hobbies.

On his birthday, the walls of our dance hall were decorated with many personal greetings to Zvi, of which only one was read out aloud, leaving most of the time to Zvi to share with us some of the exciting episodes of his life.
We sang songs, including “Laugh, laugh at my dreams - my belief” reflecting our belief that there is still a chance for good in this life.
We toasted Zvi with wine and ate of the Orit Ben Artzi decorated special birthday cake.
Amikam played a few tunes on his clarinet, we danced a waltz, not exactly a Balkan dance, and finally we all danced sirto, “Window to the Mediterranean” a dance that Zvi likes a lot.

We wish Zvi health, happiness and many more dance evenings with us at Balkanitsa.

Balkan Dance Party, 26.9.15

On Friday 26.9.15, a dance party, celebrating the new yar, took place at Chava and Avi Nir's place.
Photos. Thanks to Yair Meraz

Purim party- 2015

Photos. Thanks to Yair Meraz

Balkan Dance Party, 27.9.13

On Friday 27.9.13, a dance party took place at Chava and Avi Nir's place.

Our dear and knowledgeable helper, Feruz, took some photes and a video clip which was uploaped to youtube.


Watch us dancing Sirba Pe Loc- Romania

Balkanitsa Meeting in Hararit, 1.10.11

On Saturday 1.10.11, we met again in Hararit, in the home of Ruthie and Joe Pardess. Ruthie, is a beloved member of our dance group and a seasoned folk dance teacher herself.
This time Ruthie told her painful story of a child who survived the Holocaust.

Thanks to Ruthie and Joe Pardess for their kind hospitality.
Photos. Thanks to Shalom for the photos!

Chava and Avi 70th Birthday Dance Party

On Tuesday, 23.8.2011, we celebrated Chava and Avi's birthday. Many members of our group mentioned their special characters and their enormous contribution to Balkanitsa. Avi read a "poem" (in Hebrew). written by Chava and himself. Then Aviella read her brahca (in Hebrew) and we all started to dance Cocek, when the music and the words are played in the background.

Photoes from Birthday Party. Thanks to Shalom, Rosalie,Ami Dovrat and Avraham Yurman.
More photos from Birthday Party Thanks to Reuven Adler.
Photos from Recording Studio

25th Anniversary

Saturday, June 19th, 2010
A special dance party celebrating our 25th anniversary.
Read more

Balkanitsa Meeting in Hararit

On Saturday 6.3.10, we met in Hararit, in the home of Ruthie Pardess, a member of our dance group and a seasoned folk dance teacher herself. Hararit is located at the top of a hill in the Galilee and as we toured the area we observed the beauty of the Valley of Bait Netofa, Mt.Arbel and the Kinnereth – Lake of Galilee. We sang and danced, ate and drank and had much fun. It was an experience that will not be forgotten and we are very grateful to Ruthie and her husband Joe for their kind hospitality.
Photos taken by Avraham Yurman
Photos taken by Aviella and Elisheva
More photos taken by Elisheva