The story of the most sad SAD Macedonian dance

One could not leave for profit without "The Difficult". The Macedonian dance "Teshkoto" originates from the Mijak region, it is associated with labor as the fate of the people from this mountainous area in Western Macedonia.

The dance begins with the beating of the drum and the screaming of the zurlas, the dancers moving slowly and forming a circle. The leader gives a signal with the handkerchief and the dancers hold hands, with calmness and dignity begins the dance with a story about the painful life of the Macedonian. It is "Teshkoto". "Teshkoto" originates from the Mijak region and its essence is associated by ethnologists with migrant work as the fate of the people of this mountainous area in Western Macedonia. Tradition tells usthat migrant workers from Lazaropole and other Mijak villages returned to their homeland on a religious holiday to attend their relatives' weddings. During the festivities, "Teshkoto" was performed with strong emotions, exclamations and sadness due to the recent departure of the migrant workers, and often to the bride and groom who leave their brides in the village. This is how this symbol of the difficult migrant life of the Mijaks came into being and survived. The story of "Teshkoto" is also told by "Tanec", our professional state ensemble for folk songs and dances. On the first international tour of "Tanec" in Langolen, England, the dance was performed for the first time in front of the world public and in that 1950 "Tanec" in Langolen won the first prize. Participating in the first performance of "Teshkoto" in the world was the unsurpassed and unique Aleksandar Sarievski as a drummer in the orchestra of "Tanec". Now the late doyen of the Macedonian folk song told that the nine dancers when they performed in Langolen they were nervous and at the beginning there were moments of anxiety until the moment when the legendary and unsurpassed leader of "Teshkoto", Dojchin Matevski, got on the drum. When Sarievski saw the faces of the frightened and pale heroes, he said to Dojchin "Kiss me Dojchine", he kissed him and at that moment the weight fell from the shoulders of the young boys, a smile spread on their faces and they danced the dance as it should, and so firmly and with dignity drove it to the end. The audience and the jury were delighted and were soon awarded the highest recognition of the festival.

THE SERIOUS MACEDONIAN DISOBEDIENCE AND DEFAMATION

The "difficult" is best felt and played by people from Mijacija, Lazaropole, it is their dance, the dance of the migrant worker. For centuries in Mijacija, weddings and festivities, sending and welcoming migrant workers, sorrows and joys began and ended with the pearl of Macedonian folklore, with the dance that to this day keeps the primacy - "Teshkoto". In the past over six decades, the Macedonian folklore ensembles, our cultural ambassadors around the world present our folklore, our song, customs and traditions. One can not imagine a performance of a folk group without "The Difficult". It is always a condition of the organizer, and the audience, after watching the performance, returns them to bis dancers to play the dance, to once again feel the beauty of choreography, music and dance. The difficult is played with great emotion and great feeling. The folk genius created a dance with which he expressed the centuries-old torments of the Macedonian people. Through the game and the movements, our determination is expressed to persevere, to overcome the sufferings, hope to be freed from slavery, to fulfill the desires, to preserve the Macedonian identity and pride. "Difficult" is magic. Something sacred and miraculous, perhaps inevitable to survive through the cruel turmoil of years and centuries. As much as it is past, so much is present, and its values, as ethnologists point out, will remain permanent as long as we exist. The sound of trumpets and the moderate beating of drums mark the beginning of the "Teshkoto."

The dancers hold hands firmly, with a calm raising of the right leg and bending of the knee, begins the Macedonian story of trouble and torment, and at the same time defiance and disobedience. The whole choreography of "Teshkoto" is very complex. From the first steps of the dancer, when the dance begins, until the end, the "story" does not touch, it is constantly in dynamics, with an even rhythm ...

It is most exciting when the leader climbs on the drum, which symbolically represents the victory over difficulties. Then, the game speeds up, it gets a faster rhythm. Every dancer is a leader for a moment, receives the handkerchief, leads the dance and hands it to the next one, until everyone is lined up. The movement of the legs, the arms, the body, the very rhythm created by the zurlas and drums, creates a euphoric atmosphere, the hearts of everyone dance. The feeling when playing or watching "Teshkoto" It can not be described, but it is only experienced. a lump of land, leaving for an unknown place, full of uncertainties and difficulties. The folk genius managed to turn all that into "Teshkoto". The "Teshkoto" was and remains, not only a dance, but also an eternal and inexhaustible inspiration of poets, composers, directors, painters, craftsmen. Many songs, short stories, movies were made, works of classical music, newly created folk and fun songs were created on the elements of "Teshkoto" ...