Bulgaria is known as a country with traditions and high professionalism in ballet art. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of Maestro Emil Dimitrov.

A visionary, with inspiring ideas for the future of dance forums, in 1964 he created the first professional ballet competition in Varna. Thanks to many years of effort and dedication, the prestigious Varna Ballet Forum has been recognized as a stage for many young talents who later became world-class ballet dancers.

There have been significant anniversaries over the past year. The 120th anniversary of the birth of the creator of Bulgarian ballet Anastas Petrov has been marked. In his honor, in his hometown of Dobrich, a competition has been organized in his name since 1982.

In the first edition, winner of the Grand Prix for Excellence became Yasen Valchanov, one of the stars of Bulgarian ballet. In May, the Sofia Opera and Ballet celebrated his 60th birthday with a performance of “The Lady with the Camellias” with music by Giuseppe Verdi. Yasen Valchanov is a graduate of the Academic Choreographic School AJ Vaganova in St. Petersburg. He has won a gold and bronze medal from the Varna International Ballet Competition. He also was the Artistic Director of the Ballet Company at the Opera in the period 1993 to 2000.

We should not miss another big celebration at the Sofia Opera and Ballet in February 2019 – the celebration of the 80^th birth anniversary of prima Krassimira Koldamova. She was awarded the Crystal Necklace by the Union of Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers for her contribution to Bulgarian ballet art. Krassimira Koldamova graduated from the Ballet School in Sofia and then specialized in the Bolshoi Theater. One of her iconic and memorable roles is that of Carmen from the ballet show of the same name with music by Rodion Shchedrin and Georges Bizet. Krassimira Koldamova is one of the creators of the Arabesque Ballet. In 1991 she founded a ballet studio, where she continues to work with talented children in love with classical dance to this day.

“If you want to dance beautifully, you have to be beautiful inside and shed every bad thought,” the prima often tells her students.

Performance of graduates from Krassimira Koldamova Ballet Studio

In May, prima ballerina Diliana Nikiforova compiled the last three decades of the history of Bulgarian ballet in a book. “Bulgarian National Ballet at the End of the XX and the Beginning of the XXI Century” contains more than 400 photographs that captured moments from the production process and rehearsals, as well as unforgettable premieres.

On November 29, the Arabesque Ballet came out with the premiere of The Snow Queen, based on Hans Christian Andersen's world-famous story. Choreographer is Angelina Gavrilova, who is also a soloist in Arabesque. In this show too, Arabesque relies on avant-garde visual solutions, original stage costumes and influential music. Excerpts from works by Jan Sibelius, Modest Mussorgsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, etc. are used, and the leitmotif of the Snow Queen herself is the sound of a blizzard. In an interview with BNR, the choreographer says:

“Andersen’s stories are not only for children and he is also a great storyteller for adults. I decided to make this adaptation of The Snow Queen at the idea of our director Boryana Sechanova. She wanted our repertoire to be enriched with a new fabulous story. This is my first major solo work as a choreographer and also the play has to influence children by using modern dance. Last but not least, the topic itself is much deeper than it might seem at first glance."

The Snow Queen, performance by Ballet "Arabesque"

Marta Petkova has achieved great success with her participation in La Bayadère in Oslo, Norway. Critics have been unanimous that the performance of the Bulgarian in the production of ballet dancer and choreographer Natalia Makarova has been one of the greatest achievements for the local ballet for many years. The tour of Marta Petkova came at the request of her colleague Kaloyan Boyadjiev, who is soloist in Oslo. At first she was called for a short solo, but in the working process the Bulgarian received the main role of character Nikiya. Natalia Makarova chooses as her partner the premier soloist of the Mariinskiy Theater in St. Petersburg, Kimin Kim, whose program is full for years to come. Marta Petkova was born in Sofia. Although she does not remember ever wanting to become a ballerina as a child, she received her first pair of pointe shoes at the age of three as a present from her father. In 1995 she began studying at the National School of Dance Art and only seven years later she was accepted into the troupe of the National Opera and Ballet in Sofia. In her interviews, she says that no matter how hard it was sometimes it never crossed her mind to give up. "In ballet I see no pain, but only beauty. Over time, I realized that it was worth doing ballet if you were among the best."

Preparations for the Oslo premiere of La Bayadère, starring Marta Petkova.