During the 1950s, musical life in Bulgaria witnessed a phenomenon which opened up a new stage in the development of Bulgarian folk music: the establishment of the first State Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances "Philip Koutev". The phenomenon was quick to win numerous admirers and followers. Similar ensembles uniting the talent of numerous singers and instrumentalists, composers, conductors and choreographers cropped up throughout Bulgaria. And when the art of these ensembles had reached its both national and international triumph, the Trakia Folk Ensemble - Plovdiv emerged, to show that there exist other ways and means of presenting the Bulgarian folklore. Its founders, Prof. Kiril Djenev (one of the leading choreographers in Bulgaria) and Stefan Mutafchiev (a talented composer of non-traditional musical ideas), laid their hopes on the young (the average age of the company is 22 years), the professional training of each of the performers and, first and foremost, on syncretism, the main characteristic of traditional art. Their first stage appearance literally set the audience on fire! Everyone from the ensemble sang, played a musical instrument and danced on the stage. The audience witnessed a true folk show. And it has been so for 25 years now! Although the directors and conductors of the ensemble have changed, the ensemble's young and innovative spirit has been preserved.