My husband Rob and I went to Bulgaria in 1997 to adopt our first son. We traveled first, making new friends and practicing the language we had studied for 17 months. Our family of four has returned whenever we are able. Our visit in June 2011 was our fifth trip and the first in summer. We visited friends in Kazanlak during the Rose Festival, a week long celebration of the harvest with dancing in traditional folk costumes, parades, a queen, and rose petals tossed everywhere. Bulgaria, mainly in the Kazanlak Valley, produces 75% of the world’s rose oil, which they have done for centuries.
I chose this particular composition because I loved the way the shadows connected the dancers on this hot day.