"Firedance" from Nestinarka Ballet

The dance drama NESTINARKA (Fire Dancer) remains emblematic in the composer's rich oeuvre to this day. Looking for a subject for an opera, he came across the story Nestinarka (Fire Dancer) by Konstantin Petkanov, which captured him with its drama: Reflecting on the means..., I decided unequivocally that I would not need words, but rhythm and gesture. Thus the idea for dance drama occured. He worked on it during his specialization in Munich, and upon his return to Bulgaria, he decided to see the archaic fire-dancing ritual of the feast of Sts. Constantine and Elena, preserved in the village of Bulgari in the Strandzha region. Under the accompaniment of bagpipe and drum, the women dancing on fire, in a trance, dashed over the the ambers. Goleminov recorded the melody of this wonderful The Firedance. Retaining the mystical thrill of the primal rhythm, he turned it into the most ecstatic moment in the dance drama. To this day, performed as a stand-alone concert piece, the Firedance ignites audiences and is the composer's most popular creation. Completed in two years in 1940, after many perplexities, Nestinarka was first performed on January 4^th, 1942 at the Sofia Opera under the baton of Assen Naydenov. The librettist and director was Hrisan Tsankov, the choreography was done by Maria Dimova (it was in the spirit of the avant-garde dance techniques of Mary Wigman and Martha Graham), the sets and costumes were by Neva and Nikola Tuzsuzov, and the barefoot Nina Kiradzhieva was in the title role of Demna. The innovation and original distinctive musical language of Nestinarka caused a furore, and the 34-year-old Goleminov became famous overnight.