Notography

Choreography, Dances, and Songs from Kosovska Mitrovica

There is another serious reason that imperatively commands us to wholeheartedly commit to preserving our folk dances. Love and a healthy instinct for the past lead us to explore Kosovska Mitrovica. In the hands of the people, as a living tradition, folk dance could be refreshed with new elements introduced by folk dancers, while preserving the folk spirit. However, such preservation is now threatened from several sides.

War has cut a deep furrow into the life of our people, the traces of which are visible. Our research was at its worst moment. Mitrovica is a divided city, all cultural institution buildings are in the southern part, where Albanians live, including the Museum. We managed to visit it and photograph what interested us, but unfortunately, we didn’t find much, while in the Novi Pazar Museum we did.

Here I must mention Blagoje Stević, a man who dedicated his entire life to his city, its culture, and a great enthusiast who, together with Dušan Nikolić, Branislav Nikolić, Buccko Milić, Miodrag Ralić, and Petar Rakić, a great fighter for the preservation of Serbian cultural and spiritual heritage and our immeasurable wealth, created conditions for the survival of Serbian cultural heritage in his city where folklore was predominant.

They brought back the Assembly of Folk Creativity together with Miodrag Radomirović, the current director of the Cultural Center. What presented great difficulties for me was the very act of choosing songs and dances for choreography, the problems of stage setting from the selected repertoire because it often brings, among other things, the question of how to present folk dance as an integral part of the action and life.

Thus, I chose for the choreography "Ajte druge da igramo" Games and Songs from Kosovska Mitrovica:

1.Mitrovacko Sandric polje

2.Bilbil mi peva

3.Dudince devojce

4.Ajte druge da igramo

5.Stojkovo kolo

6.Mene majka jednu ima

In Kosovska Mitrovica, before the wedding, girls and women gather at the bride's place, and this is the moment when the bride's hair is dyed. After examining the bride's gifts, the guests play and sing in a circle to the song "My mother has only me".

The "Stojkovo kolo" is a mixed dance and belongs to the category of urban Kosovo dances of the South Serbian type. The song, which has a nostalgic sound and even an invitation to dance, "Bilbil mi peva" (The nightingale sings to me), is an exceptionally cheerful song accompanied by the dance.

And so, we preserve from oblivion the traditional dances and songs that adorned Kosovska Mitrovica, a divided city, with the river Ibar flowing through its center as the boundary line. Northern Mitrovica is the bastion of Serbian defense against the hostile attacks of Albanian insurgents and their global supporters. This gives us hope and encouragement for the survival of Serbs in this ancient region.