KUD ILINDEN BITOLA

KUD Ilinden is today one of the leading folklore ensembles in our country, founded in 1955.
KUD Ilinden is an ensemble that has participated in over 150 international folklore festivals around the world.
KUD Ilinden is a recipient of numerous prestigious international awards, among which the most notable are:

Grand Prix in Mont-Dore, France
Second place in the category of traditional folklore in Llangollen, United Kingdom
Silver Axe at the International Festival in Zakopane, Poland
Best Orchestra Award at the International Festival EthnoVir in Lviv, Ukraine
Award for Most Authentic Group at the International Folklore Festival Iskele in Iskele, Northern Cyprus
First Prize at the Children's Folklore Festival in Bodrum, Turkey
Second Prize from the jury at the International Folklore Festival in Zdunska Wola, Poland
Award for Highest Artistic Level at the international festival Spirit of the Balkans in Korçë, Albania
Guardians of Tradition Award at the Pobraženje Festival in Vevčani
Golden Plaque at the Balkan Festival in Ohrid
Youth of Macedonia Award – NOMSM
Best Youth Orchestra at the Folk Instrument Festival Pece Atanasovski in Dolneni
Award for Best Performance of Traditional Urban Folklore at the National Festival of Folk Songs and Dances Ilindenski Denovi in Bitola, and many more.
KUD Ilinden is also the recipient of the highest municipal award – the November 4th Award presented by the Municipality of Bitola.
The ensemble has received numerous awards at the most important national folklore festivals, including the National Festival of Folk Songs and Dances Ilindenski Denovi, the Balkan Festival in Ohrid, and the Folk Instrument Festival Pece Atanasovski in Dolneni.
KUD Ilinden has held over 200 solo concerts across the country, including its traditional annual concerts in Bitola, and performances in cities like Skopje, Prilep, Ohrid, Negotino, Vevčani, Struga, Tetovo, and others.
It was selected to represent North Macedonia at the most prestigious folklore event – the Folkloriada in Ufa, Russia, where it performed alongside representatives from 80 countries worldwide.
KUD Ilinden is the ensemble from which some of the greatest names in Macedonian folk music have emerged: Jonče Hristovski, Violeta Tomovska, Valentin Soklevski, as well as younger generations like Ismail Lumanovski, Nikolče Micevski, Blagojče Trajkovski, Zlatko and Vlatko Miladinovski.
KUD Ilinden proudly opens the oldest and most important folklore festival in Macedonia, the National Festival of Folk Songs and Dances Ilindenski Denovi, with the performance of the traditional dance Komitskoto.
It is one of the founding members of the Union of Folklore Ensembles of the Republic of Macedonia and has been a regular member since 1994.
Today, KUD Ilinden has over 300 members, organized in children’s and youth groups, a folk, traditional, and chalgiya orchestra, a vocal section, and the main folklore ensemble.
The leadership team includes:
Antonio Dimitrovski, President
Dragi Filevski, Vice President
Borce Dimitrovski, Vice President
Aleksandar Stefanovski, Artistic Director
Slave Naumovski, Orchestra Leader
Filip Jakovlevski, Wardrobe Master and Repetitor
Repetitors: Viktor Krstevski, Nikola Angelkovski, and Milena Markovska
Expert associates: Valentin Soklevski and Ljupka Stefanovska

KUD Ilinden is proud of its past and confident in its bright future!