In 1945, the Cultural and Artistic Society “Prof. Ćiro Gamulin” was founded in Jelsa, which operated until the beginning of the 60s, when the last section ceased its work.
At the end of the 70s, the company’s work was renewed and very successful. The company operates through several sections.

The folklore group danced the old dances of the island of Hvar and the Old Split dances, Trogir Kvadrilla and Trogir Šotić choreographed by prof. Branko Šegović.


KUD performed at regional fairs in Metković (1983, 1984, 1985), the national fair in Vinkovci in 1985 and the International Folklore Fair in Zagreb (1982 and 1984). It also had successful guest appearances in Germany (Berlin, Darmstadt ) and Austria (Villach, Klagenfurt).
In the 90s, all the activities of the KUD stopped again.


At the end of the 90s, former members of KUD, the last leader of the folklore group Mrs. Gordana Duboković and teacher Perica Mileta. Gathered in the school folklore group, as the youngest guardians of the folklore heritage of the island of Hvar, they had notable performances at summer concerts on the island and in the Czech Republic and Austria.


At that time, unfortunately, in the fire of the “Municipal House” in Jelsa, the entire fund of KUD (costumes and mandolins) disappeared.
Encouraged by children’s persistence, a few citizens and former members of KUD gathered lovers of folklore heritage, and in 2011 KUD was relaunched and since then it has been operating under the name KUD “Jelsa”.


In this relatively short period of renewed activity, we are regular participants in all cultural events on the island. We also participated in folklore shows in Split, Metković, Đakovo, Vinkovci, Samobor, Velika Gorica, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade, Ohrid, Kranj, Herceg Novi, Bec. At those screenings, they formed friendships that continue to this day. The number of members increases from year to year, so today the society has about 80 members.


The work of KUD takes place through the folklore sections, the female vocal group “Frecija” and the Mandolin band.


In the folklore school, our youngest members learn traditional games, songs and dances of the islands of Hvar and Dalmatia and other parts of Croatia. The old dances of the island of Hvar – Forske tonce, the dances of the Dalmatian coast, the Salon dances of old Split, the Ražana kolo, the Korčula balls, the Ljelj tour, the dances of Bilogora and the Vrličko kolo are performed by members of the First cast.

We are preparing to stage the songs and dances of Sunjska Posavina, choreographed by Ivančica Pogrmilović and musical arrangement by Fran Pogrmilović, our friends from FD “Mladost” – Samobor.
Klapa “Frecija” under the leadership of prof.

Vojane Salamunić, has been working with the company since 2012. In addition to performing at KUD concerts, they regularly participate in klapa festivals on the island of Hvar and beyond. In addition to original klapa songs, the klapa also has Christmas carols characteristic of Dalmatia, and is the initiator of traditional Christmas concerts in the parishes of Jelsa Municipality.

The mandolin band is the section with the shortest tenure in the company and is the musical accompaniment of the FA in the performance of all dances. The team leader is Zoran Krstinić.