Assoc. Prof. Dr. Margarita Krusteva-Stoychevska
Margarita Krusteva-Stoychevska holds a Ph.D. in musicology and musical arts and is an associate professor of Bulgarian folk choreography and folkloristics at New Bulgarian University. She completed her bachelor's degree in Bulgarian folk choreography and a master's degree in folkloristics at New Bulgarian University. In 2010, she defended her doctoral dissertation on the topic “Non-folk Culture and Folk Phenomena (Regarding the Development of Bulgarian Folk Dances) – 1944-1990.” She also has a bachelor's degree in public administration. Since 2002, she has been a full-time assistant in Bulgarian dance folklore at NBU, becoming a chief assistant in 2010 and an associate professor in 2025.
Her engagement with Bulgarian folk dances began at an early age. Initially in the town of Teteven, she had the opportunity to work with some of the prominent names in the Bulgarian folk scene, such as Assoc. Prof. Dr. Georgi Hинов, Ivan Todorov, Krasimir KONDEV, Prof. Kiril Stefanov, and others, as part of the ensemble at the “Elprom” factory.
As a student in Sofia from 1992 to 1997, she danced with the Student Folk Ensemble "Zornitsa," led by Emil Genov. With the ensemble, she participated in numerous tours both domestically and internationally. From 1998 to 2006, she hosted a standalone column on the program “Po Nashenki” on Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). Since 2002, she has been the leader and choreographer of the Dance Formation "Tropanka" at NBU, where they have had hundreds of performances in Bulgaria and abroad. In recent years, she has actively collaborated with alumni of the Bulgarian folklore programs to create joint creative projects.
For its excellent performances, the "Tropanka" Dance Formation won the first prize at the "Path to Glory" competition in 2024, as well as the award from the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Republic of North Macedonia and the First Prize for the best performance of a Pirin dance during the Days of Bulgarian Folklore, Culture, and Traditions in Ohrid, 2018.
In 2023, she conducted a master class on Bulgarian folk dances at the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music in Hangzhou, China, from October 30 to November 7, 2023.
Her main research interests lie in Bulgarian folk dance, Bulgarian folklore, folk dances of different nations, ethnic stereotypes, and comparative ethnology. Additional research interests include cultural studies, public administration, philosophy, and psychology. She has participated in national and international projects and served as a jury member for the International Folklore Festival "Pautaliya" in Kyustendil, and the National Competition "Path to Glory" in Sofia, among other festivals.
Since 2023, she has been the Chairperson of the Management Board of the National Musical-Folklore Union "Orpheus' Spring."
Contact information:
Building 1, Office 504 A
Tel: 02/8110 504
e-mail: mkrusteva@nbu.bg