Monstrous thirst for meaning

by Petar PLAMENOV

5 May (Saturday), 19:00 
29 May (Tuesday), 19:00

National Music Theatre
Address:
Sofia, 3 Panaiot Volov Str.
Phone: 02 943 19 79
The Diary of Dracula
Ballet "Arabesque"

Choreography Mila Iskrenova
Music: Baroque composers and Emilian Gatsov
Scenery and costumes: Nina Pashova
Text: Milena Fuchedzhieva
Multimedia: Nicolas Nalbantov
Cast: Dean Donkov, Biliana Petrinska, Angelina Gavrilova, Alexandra Savova, Daniela Ivanova, Konstantina Handzhieva, Marina Popova, Sarah Tabakova Kruncheva Mariana, Sarah Tabakova Tanya Katzarova, Asen Popov, Alexander Minov, Valerie Milenkov Vasil Dipchikov, Leander Llanes, Stefan Vuchov


On 5-th of May in Musical Theatre, you will be able to see great bulgarian drama actor Deyan Donkov in all of his extremely interesting and unusual incarnations of Dracula, directed by the choreographer Mila Iskrenova, who succeeded in also provoking Biliqna Petrinska to play many different women, intoxicated by Dracula, and continued to prove that the dancers of Ballet Arabesque are indeed amazing dancers, who can develop a very strong dramatic presence in the performance.



Bram Stoker, being the creative and intellectual writer himself, wrote the novel Dracula in the diary form of narrative. This was a good choice of how to write the novel since it was very beneficial to the plot of Dracula. One of the greatest benefits of the diary narrative is that the reader is allowed see, and feel the emotional hearts and souls of the emotional characters. This is great because when a character is not feeling too great and is trying hide something, the reader knows this, and therefore the reader knows everything that is happening; nothing is being hidden from the reader - the same artistic technique applies itself to the choreographer Iskrenova his dance score.



Mila Iskrenova  is a Bulgarian modern dance choreographer, dancer, co-founder of the Sofia Dance Week festival is considered one of the greatest creative forces in Bulgarian contemporary dance. Iskrenova worked with Mary Hinson and Walter Raines at the International Summer Academy of Dance in Cologne, in the Palucca School – Dresden as well as in the Laban Dance Centre, London where she studied Choreography, Contemporary Dance, Choreological Studies and Improvisation.

She is one of the most gifted and developed Bulgarian choreographers working in contemporary idiom. According to the critics she is skilful in the use of dance as a means of self-expression; the originality of her performances derives from her individual vision of modern art and her own artistic philosophy which includes mysticism and special focus on the complexity of human nature. Iskrenova is also notable for his frequent collaborations with artists of other disciplines.



Since 1979 she is member and co-founder of the EK Dance Studio and teaches at the National School of Dance Arts – Sofia as well as in the State Academy of Music – Sofia, the National Academy for Theatre & Film Arts and at the Ballet Academy in Athens, Greece. Since 1989 she has been employed by the Bulgarian National Television as a Choreographer and since 1996 she is professor in Contemporary Dance in the Academia Philharmonica di Messina (Italy). In 1999 she was nominated as Honorary member of the Board of Trustees of the Academia Philharmonica di Messina. In 2001 she was appointed pedagogue and choreographer of Ballet Arabesque – one of the most experimental dance companies in Bulgaria. As a choreographer, teacher, and curator of the Sofia Dance Week festival Mila Iskrenova has a profound influence on modern dance in Bulgaria.