Ovčepolsko (ohv-cheh-POHL-skoh), or Ovčepolsko Oro, is a dance form of the northern Ovčepole(sheep’s field) dance region, centered east of the Vardar River approximately 50 kilometers southeast of Skopje. Coinciding roughly with the Ovčepole plain, this is bounded on the northwest by Sveti Nicole, on the northeast by Kratovo, on the southeast by Štip, and on the southwest by Veles. Dances of the region usually involve physically difficult movements. The four figure version of Ovčepolsko that is most popular here was introduced at the 1971 Institute at Oteševo on Lake Prespa by Pece Atanasovski, who taught it at the 1972 San Francisco Kolo Festival. It was presented in 1972 at the AMAN Dance Institute by David Shochat, at the Mendocino Folklore Camp by Barry Glass, and again at the Kolo Festival in 1979 by Dennis Boxell and in 1985 by Billy Burke. Dance notes…
