International Folklore Festival Veliko Tarnovo

It started in 1975, when a group of Scandinavians visited Gorna Orjachovitza, arranged by Nikolai Apetri, and that was beginning to a still lasting contact. Sider Voivoda visited "Crihalma" in Denmark latest in 1992.
"Crihalma" have besides had a long lasting collaboration with the famous choreographer from Philip Koutev, Todor Karapcianski. He was several times in Scandinavia teaching Bulgarian folk dances and he made a choreography for "Crihalma".
"Crihalma" make many performances in Denmark in theatres, at festivals, in shopping centers, at benefaction arrangements only to mention a few. The group also perform abroad, in Romania at a festival in Bistrita Nasaud in Transsylvania, in Holland at a Balkan festival, in Norway at a dance festival and in Sweden at a festival for ethnic minorities.
"Crihalma" perform in costumes from the country in question, some of the costumes is made by the members themselves after original models.
The name, Crihalma, originate from the name of a Romanian village in Transsylvania. It is also the name of one of the favorite dances from the repertoire.


Foreign Ensembles have taken part in the Festival:
DENMARK "CRIHALMA"		ALBANIA, ARMENIAN FOLKLORE ENSEMBLE, BELGIUM, BULGARIA, BURYATIYA, CANADA, CHINESE TAIPEI, CROATIA, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, DENMARK, EGYPT, GEORGIA, GREECE, HUNGARY, INDIA, INDONEZIA, IRAN, ISRAEL, ITALY, JAPAN, JORDAN, LATVIA, MACEDONIA, MEXICO, MORDOVIA, NIGERIA, PERU, POLAND, PORTUGAL, PUERTO RICO, ROMANIA, RUSSIA, SCOTLAND, SERBIA and MONTENEGRO, SPAIN, SWITZERLAND, TAIWAN, THAILAND, TURKEY, UKRAINE, USA
	"Crihalma" folk dance group was founded in 1972 by the Romanian choreographer, Nicolai Apetri. "Crihalma" is a group of people living in Copenhagen, both Danish people and people from ethnic minorities. The group perform dances and song from the Balkan countries, mostly from Bulgaria, Romania and former Yugoslavia. "Crihalma" had during the years a big activity with exchange with folk dance groups from Balkan. Sider Voivoda from Gorna Orjachovitza was the first group from Bulgaria, that "Crihalma" had collaboration with.
It started in 1975, when a group of Scandinavians visited Gorna Orjachovitza, arranged by Nikolai Apetri, and that was beginning to a still lasting contact. Sider Voivoda visited "Crihalma" in Denmark latest in 1992. "Crihalma" have besides had a long lasting collaboration with the famous choreographer from Philip Koutev, Todor Karapcianski. He was several times in Scandinavia teaching Bulgarian folk dances and he made a choreography for "Crihalma". "Crihalma" make many performances in Denmark in theatres, at festivals, in shopping centers, at benefaction arrangements only to mention a few. The group also perform abroad, in Romania at a festival in Bistrita Nasaud in Transsylvania, in Holland at a Balkan festival, in Norway at a dance festival and in Sweden at a festival for ethnic minorities. "Crihalma" perform in costumes from the country in question, some of the costumes is made by the members themselves after original models. The name, Crihalma, originate from the name of a Romanian village in Transsylvania. It is also the name of one of the favorite dances from the repertoire.