By Annie Goodykoontz

Although she has had to make some adjustments, the pandemic isn’t stopping Maya Kostov from practicing her dancing. Maya, a Tempe Prep senior, is very involved in Bulgarian Folk Dancing. She has been on a competitive team for a little more than five years, and she is passionate about it.

Maya offers an interesting fact about Bulgarian Folk Dancing saying, “Although many people only know the two basic Bulgarian dances, there are a ton more complex dances in the culture!” While the two dances have Bulgarian names, they translate to “straight” and “crooked.”

Maya’s team has a dress code for performances and competitions. “We have traditional dresses and handkerchiefs that we also use while dancing,” she said. “There are also different ways to hold hands while in a line, and different positions your hand must be in while on your hips. Sometimes we even have belts around our waists and hold each other there.

“For a while we couldn’t have practice, in the height of the pandemic around April, but then we started on Zoom,” she said. “It was kind of tricky because in order to dance, you need to have an amazing internet connection to hear the music! Now we have started going back in person in a dance studio, but we do have to all wear masks and be socially distanced. Although in traditional dancing we hold hands, we don’t do that right now.”

In addition to her own dancing, Maya helps others. “Currently I am helping my dance instructor with a choreographed dance for her thesis, because she is getting her bachelor’s degree in choreography in Bulgaria,” she said. “We have also started rehearsing for our trip to Chicago (for a large festival), even though we aren’t sure if it’s still happening.”

Keep it up, Maya!