Bulgaria’s 16th ‘Antistatic’ International Festival of Contemporary Dance
The International Festival for Contemporary Dance and Performance “Antistatic” marks its 16th edition with its most diverse programme so far, united under the motto “my body, my dance”, a media statement said.
The festival begins on May 9, and for the first time in its history, the youngest spectators will be drawn into the rhythm of contemporary dance with the performance “Klasse Kinder!“, where participants aged seven to 12 will take over the park in front of RCCA Toplocentrala under the expert guidance of the German artistic collective LIGNA and an exclusive radio play, the statement said.
The multi-layered artistic programme of “Antistatic” for the grown-up spectators is composed of nine memorable performances that use new perspectives to delve into important global themes such as the relationship of man with nature (“Extinction Room (Hopeless)“, “The Ninth“), social networks (“Songs of the Dopamine Carousel”) and the war in Ukraine (“Monochrome“), or tenderly and deeply studying our own bodies and their ability to transcend their limits through the power of dance and choreography (“Attitude“, “This is the real thing”, “BLOT – Body Line of Thought”).
A strong highlight of the programme are musical performances, growing into concerts that reveal unexpected dimensions of movement, thought and emotions through the interaction with sound and music (“Breathtaking“, “Being Moved“).
In order to get up the heart rate of the audience to the absolute frequencies of festive euphoria and keep the dopamine levels consistently high throughout this year’s edition, which runs until May 19, the organizers once again reduce the distance between art and spectators to zero with the educational platform of ” Antistatic’ – “Without Distance”.
As part of it, after almost all performances in the programme, post-show talks with the artists are planned. Their presenters will be the choreographers Kosta Karakashyan and Zornitsa Stoyanova, theatre practitioner Mladen Alexiev, composer Ivan Shopov and theatre scholars Angelina Georgieva and Elena Angelova.
Within the platform’s framework, guest choreographers Sergiu Matis, Simon Mayer and Anton Ovchinnikov will also lead workshops aimed at choreographers and performers, where they will meet their Bulgarian colleagues and share their experience and working methodology on topics such as the relationship between public and private, control and spontaneity in dance, capturing one’s own first impulses.
For those tempted by practices related to critical writing about dance, there is a laboratory led by the editor-in-chief of the only Bulgarian print magazine for contemporary dance, classical ballet, and dance culture “Dance Magazine”, Angelina Georgieva.
The 16th edition of “Antistatic” festival is the time and place for the first residency of the “Fear as an artistic statement” project, within which three contemporary dance artists will work on their projects dedicated to the theme of fear. Mentored by choreographers Galina Borissova, Stanislav Genadiev (Bulgaria), Nermin Habib (Egypt) and Anas abo Nahleh (Jordan), the participants will develop their productions as direct evidence of the connection of us all through the arts and the need for a stronger cultural ecosystem in Europe and neighbouring regions.
Part of the production programme of the SEEDS – South East European Dance Stations project will take place on the territory of the festival, in which three participants from Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria will work on site to get to know the local scene, create a network of contacts and exchange experience and practice in organizing festivals and international participations, and working with foreign productions.
Although the entire festival is a worthy celebration of the body and its (dance) rights and rules, on May 12 at 10pm the party-degrees are raised to the red zone of the mercury column with the DJ party of the Dutch choreographer and musician Tian Rotteveel. He stands behind the counter at Bar “Dolu” to welcome all spectators and guests of “Antistatic” in the rhythm of dance with a varied DJ set with all types of electronic dance music known in the club culture: house, techno, amapiano, afrobeat, cumbia, brazilian funk.
Further details at antistaticfestival.org, follow the festival on Instagram (@antistaticfest), Facebook (@antistatic.international.festival) and YouTube.
The international programme of the Festival for Contemporary Dance and Performance “Antistatic” 2023 is organized by Brain Store Project Foundation and Nomad Dance Academy Bulgaria Association, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture, the National Culture Fund under the programme for recovery and development of private cultural organizations, Goethe-Institut Bulgaria, Sofia Municipality – Calendar of cultural events, and the Polish Institute in Sofia, and in partnership with RCCA Toplocentrala, Derida Stage and Etud Gallery.
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