Balkanitsa - What Is It?

Balkanitsa

HAIFA BALKAN DANCE GROUP

Balkanitsa is a group of recreational folk dancers open to all from Haifa and the North of Israel. It was established and led by Avinoam (Avi) Nir in 1984. The group meets weekly to dance Balkan folk dances. It is a non-profit organization and operates on a voluntary basis.

The original members of the Haifa Balkan Dance Group came from the international folk dance group of Nachum Shachar. Nachum encouraged and actively facilitated the beginning of our activity, and provided us with advice, music and dance notes.

Our weekly dance sessions are held in one of the parquet-floored sport halls of the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology. The affiliation with the Technion is based on its good will and is much appreciated. A large number of the regular Balkanitsa dancers are Technion staff.

Balkanitsa is the name given to Haifa Balkan Dance Group in 2009. Our 25th anniversary was celebrated in June 2010.

Balkanitsa cooperates closely with the Balkan folk dance group Dunav in Jerusalem and the international folk dance group Noa-Am in Tel Aviv in organizing joint workshops and special events.

You can see some photos from our activities through links in the Where and When , Saturday Dance Parties , Events and Anniversary pages.

You can see photos of many of our members in
regular dance session
Purim dance session