Participants from dance schools in Skopje and Bulgaria on the festival stage in Haskovo for chamber performances

Participants from the “Ilia Nikolovski – Loui” State Music and Ballet School in Skopje and from all professional dance schools in Bulgaria will be part of the 21st edition of the National Chamber Dance Festival, which will be held at the end of this week in Haskovo.

This is the second edition of the festival with international participation, Deputy Mayor Maria Valcheva emphasized at a press conference on the occasion of the start of the dance forum. The event is part of the city’s cultural calendar. The performances included in it will take place between April 26 and 28.

The main organizers from the Youth Center – the director Katya Demireva and the choreographers and heads of dance troupes – Galina Shtereva and Maya Gabrovska emphasized that this year they registered the highest number of requests for participation in the 21-year history of the Festival. According to the regulation, troupes of up to eight people participate in it. This year, more than 50 formations and more than 550 participants will participate. For the first time, bands from Yablanitsa and Knizha will perform on the Haskovo stage in the country. Over 430 dances will be presented.

The competition will be in four directions: Bulgarian folk dances, classical dances, characteristic dances and contemporary dances.

There is an increased interest in the direction of “Bulgarian folk dances”, both among professionals and among non-professionals. The guests from North Macedonia will join the “professional” class mainly with solo ballet performances.

The organizers emphasized that they are extremely happy that the Festival in Haskovo is becoming more and more a preferred place for professionals to perform. The graduates of the Bulgarian dance schools come to participate on the stage in the southern city together with some of their teachers. This gives an opportunity for the local leaders and choreographers, as well as for all the guests, to make good contacts and check their work hours with a large part of their colleagues, pointed out Galina Shtereva.

For the first time this year, the professional jury consisted of: Miroslav Dimitrov, Chief Artistic Director of TA “Pirin” – Blagoevgrad, Tsvetanka Gerginova – Director of Arts Development Center “G” and Art Director of Modern Dance Studio “G”, and the premier-soloist and tutor of the Sofia Opera and Ballet Rosen Kanev, will award a prize for a dance created especially for participation in the Festival.