Did You Know? - Mediha Jusufagic

The VFC Archive is full of fascinating first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England—past and present. In this feature, we'll share these stories with you.  

Since 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP), we’re focusing our current installments of Did You Know? on the lives and experiences of VTAAP participants over the years. 

The Bosnian Lilies performing.

This month, meet master artist Mediha Jusufagic (Bosnian Folk Dance).

Born and raised in Bosnia, Mediha fled to Germany in 1992 to escape the Bosnian Civil War. In 2000 she came to the United States, joining several thousand other Bosnian refugees who settled in Vermont between 1993 and 2005. According to The Middlebury Campus newspaper, "Bosnian immigrants account for approximately 0.2 percent of Vermont's population of about 608,000 residents — the highest percentage of Bosnian immigrants of any state." As a young woman in Yugoslavia, Mediha performed internationally as a member of a traditional dance troupe. Here in Vermont she formed the dance group the Bosnian Lilies as a way to support the ongoing vitality of traditional music and dance among Bosnians in Vermont. The Bosnian Lilies participated in VTAAP several times between 2006 and 2015, with Mediha serving as the master artist. They have also performed at several Young Tradition Vermont events over the years.

Mediha was interviewed by Maria Schumann in 2005. Another woman, Niyaza Shemich, was also present for the interview. You may also notice some background noise in the audio. The text has been shortened for clarity and brevity. 

Maria Schumann: So how old were you when you first started dancing? 

Mediha: So…actually, I was in seventh grade.

Maria: Seventh grade. 

Mediha: Yes. And my first performance was like a—it was a big deal, you know. A big performance. Like in another state, you know. 

Maria: It was in another state? 

Mediha: Yeah. ‘Cause it was the same country, but kind of another state, you know. That’s how I can explain to you. It’s like we went to New York. [laughs]

Maria: Right. Okay. [laughs] And that was the first performance you had?

Mediha: Yeah.

Maria: How many people were in? 

Mediha: Oh, it was in a big theater. I don’t know. 

Maria: And how many dancers? 

Mediha: Oh, how many dancers. Usually there are 10 to 12 partners, so 24, 20 - 24.

Maria: Oh, all girls or— 

Mediha: No, boys and girls. 

Maria: Would you have gatherings with other Bosnian and Yugoslavian dance groups? Would any different groups meet together? 

Mediha: Yes, yes. There were festivals. Or you just go in another town like a group guest. And then we have together performances. You know, we—sometimes if it’s far from our town and we have to stay overnight, so we slept in the town in their houses.

Maria: Oh, how nice. 

Mediha: Yeah, it was—we always had to stay for two, three days, you know. 

Maria: And then would you learn new dance moves from the other groups or— 

Mediha: Yeah! There was no competition, you know… They were just like a friendship, friendship performances. So they organize. They brought us and then they—our group danced and they danced next dance and so on, you know.

Maria: Oh that sounds so nice.

Mediha: Yeah, it is.

Once Mediha came to the US, she was recruited by others to start a Bosnian dance group. Even though there was interest among the Bosnian adults as well, Mediha decided to focus her efforts on children. 

Mediha: So I started in 2001. I was a student at the Community College and I wrote as one of my essays that I was dancer in Bosnia, so then my teacher asked me if I am willing to start a group—a dance group. And he knew Bosnian young man who played accordion, so then he ask if I wanted to, so he can connect us two, you know? So that’s how it probably started. He asked other student if he’s willing to work with me and so he say “Yes,” we agreed together, and then so we started......

Maria: And you started with your daughters?

Mediha: Yes, yes.

Maria: Your first students were your daughters?

Mediha: Yes and my youngest daughter at that time was two and a half years old. [laughter.] And the older was, let’s see, plus six—eight. So the Community College gave us space. So this is the pictures, one of our practices. 

Maria: And who are the other children? 

Mediha: So the other children are all the Bosnian refugees.

Maria: Who live here?

Mediha: Who live in Burlington—Burlington, Essex. So, all Burlington area.

Maria: So did you just tell your friends, “I’m starting a group and—“ 

Media: No, I first talked to some people and then some of the parents pursued me to do…you know, they knew me from my town in Bosnia. So they knew me as a dancer and they said, “So you can do that, definitely. We want you to do that! So go on. You’re gonna be a great teacher!” And so I just started, you know, I was thinking, that's fine, so OK we will try at least. Yeah, and then I’m not sure, but there was about fifteen children at the beginning. Some of the parents were interested, too. Probably most of the parents. They were more interested in a dance than [the] children. [laughs] You know, but there was not so many, so much time and then, you know, I was inexperienced, kind of unmature in doing that. And then so I started with children to see how they were doing first.
......
Mediha: So we met once per week, which is not a lot. And, you know, the problem is those children were—well, some of them were refugees and the language–Bosnian language–was a barrier for them, too. They didn’t understand me, what I’m saying in Bosnian, so. 

Maria: Because they only spoke English? 

Mediha: They, most of them spoke English better than Bosnian. So I tried to translate so, but, you know, in two hours you can’t translate and talk and do work so I tried to make them busy to translate between them, you know. To do translation between them—you know. And then it was so comic how they translated what they understood. But there was just, you know, talk. At last…connection with them, they kept talking, and I say OK, that doesn’t work, so. But that’s also the way how they learned [the] Bosnian language.

Maria: Is by hearing you? 

Mediha: Yes!

In her work with children, Mediha has tried to incorporate song and dance from the various cultures represented within Bosnia. Here she describes the kinds of things her students are learning:

Maria: Can you tell me a little bit about the different kinds of dances or the role of folk dancing in Bosnia, in Yugoslavia?

Mediha: Yeah, yes. What’s the meaning is to bring kids together to talk, to learn culture, to learn the language, to learn costumes of others. So, you know, Bosnia was a small country, or Yugoslavia was also small. It’s not a big country. But so small piece of land. So many different cultures. And so many different languages or dialects. And so traditions— 

Niyaza Shemich: One of the [most] diverse countries—languages, dialects, everything is so different. And mixed, at the same time. 

Mediha: Yeah. Especially in towns.
........
Mediha: And we have one of dance, from Kosovo. This is one of solo dance that I danced and I taught Iris. So Iris and another girl learned that dance. So that’s the idea here, too, so I was starting to teach these children here these different cultural customs and dances.

Finally Mediha reflects on the impact that her group has had on the families that take part.

Mediha: So. But I didn’t have so much time to work with one group and then work with another group. And two hours a week, it’s nothing, especially for children who don’t speak their own language. So they don’t have this music, this tradition. But this group definitely pushed all of them—parents, as well. [laughs] To look more, you know, why they should and what they should look from their own language, their own culture. There was—they just, you know, was—you know, refugees are—it’s kind of tough life. [laughs] You know. And those people are hard working. It’s just working class. And they have a lot of problems on their mind. So, and then, really, they just, you know, the culture and language wasn’t in first place to them because existence was in first place for them. [laughing] So, and this kind of moved everything and decided to think about that. 

Our thanks to our master artist Mediha Jusufagic for all her energy and work to pass on folk traditions in Vermont.