Kopanitsa

Kopanitsa or kopanica (called in some regions Gankino) is the name for a family of lively folk dances from western Bulgaria done to music in 11

8 meter, and also sometimes for the accompanying music. Some sources describe the rhythm in terms of "quick" and "slow" beats, the pattern being quick-quick-slow-quick-quick (counted as 2-2-3-2-2 metric beats). The name comes from the verb kopam, which means "to dig" or "to hoe", so the name is sometimes translated as "little digging dance". As with other Balkan dances, different regions and even different villages have their own variations of the dance.