(Foto: Barka Fabiánová)

Mikuláš Bryan is musician, dancer and dance researcher from Prague, specialised on European folk dances and historical dances.

His most recent folk instrument is the kobza (i.e. the Czech version of a drone string instrument belonging to the same family as the Scandinavian hummel / langeleik / langeleg / langharpe). Besides kobza, Mikuláš plays a number of other instruments including accordion, mandolin and the Renaissance cittern.

With his dance association “Rond“, he organises various dance events in Prague, popularising European bal folk dances. If you are not familiar with the term “bal folk” and understand Swedish, click here to read an interview with Mikuláš (parts of that interview were published in Hembygden 3/2013).

At the Nordic Harp Meetings 2012 and 2013, Mikuláš taught “the most common bal folk dances” and “round and chain folk dances and their Renaissance ancestors”.

At the Nordic Harp Meeting 2016, Mikuláš was teaching folk dances again, and he also gave an instrumental workshop with Czech tunes played on kobza. He described the latter workshop as follows: : “In this workshop, we will take a glimpse at some of the Czech tunes suitable for kobza and other drone string instruments (even for harp, if you feel like giving your left hand a bit of a rest with a simple droning note). After one or two silly warm-up songs in the native key of kobza (G major) we shall venture into alternate tunings and different modes imposed by more ancient chants and dances from Bohemia and Moravia alike. If the time allows, we might have a word or two about playing for dancing as well. Singing in Czech included (not mandatory, harmonization strictly prohibited, fun guaranteed.)”