D E R I D A

D A N C E

C E N T E R

In 2004, choreographer Jivko Jeliazkov and art manag-er Atanas Maev joined efforts and created Derida Dance Company as an instrument for producing fine contemporary dance performances. After running a theatre repertoire in Spain for 4 years, the dance company was established in Sofia, Bulgaria. In the years to follow, the company has widened its spec-trum of activities focusing on the development and popular-ization of contemporary dance in the country. It participates in European-wide production projects and international networks for collaboration. These are essential tools for cre-ating opportunities for individual artistic and organizational growth.

DERIDA DANCE CENTER functions through two different legal entities – Derida Dance Ltd and ART LINK Foundation. This allows the company to have a broad spectrum of activities necessary for fulfilling the mission of the organization.DERIDA DANCE CENTER main areas of work include:

• Independent dance productions

• Training and educational program in contemporary dance

• International collaborations

• Artistic Residency Program

• A variety of open classes in dance and sports serving the community

Derida Dance Center is located in the center of Sofia.

It resides in a building once used as a chocolate factory and occupies an area of 500 square meters.

The dance center has 3 studios, an office, a reception and a lobby area.

“We’ve created Derida Dance as an instrument to accelerate the development of contemporary performing arts in Bulgaria. The most valuable thing a company like ours can do is support the existing and emerging talent by creating the right conditions and produce performances of high quality.”

Atanas Maev, Co-founder and Art Manager of Derida Dance

“Derida Dance Company is a great example for successful entrepreneurship in the arts. For the last five years, the company has grown from a toddler into a teen, full of ideas and energy. Run by motivated and talented professionals, Derida has proven that a small art organization can make a big difference in such a conservative art environment dominated by state-supported art organizations.”

Nadia Zaharieva, Director, Programs For Arts and Culture, America for Bulgaria Foundation

m a n a g e m e n t

Jivko Jeliazkovar t i s t i c d i rec to r

Jivko Jeliazkov holds a dual degree in drama theater and dance theater from the Bulgarian National Academy for Theater and Film Arts. His passion for contemporary performing art took him to Melbourne, Australia, where he specialized in Choreography in Contemporary Dance at the Victorian College of Arts. Jivko has worked as a guest choreographer in Arabesk Ballet Theater, the oldest contemporary dance company in the country. Since 2013 he is chairman of the Guild for Contemporary Performing Arts, part of the Union of Artists in Bulgaria. He has directed and cho-reographed over 20 performances, many of which in international cooperation.

“The choreographer Jivko Jeliazkov is known for his pursuit of perfection. Video as a formative light and music as a structuring and driving element found in many of his productions characterize his unique approach.”

Off Europa Dance Festival, Germany

Atanas Maeva r t m a n a g e r and producer

Atanas has studied Economics in Karlsruhe Technical University and Plovdiv Universityand, since 2002, actively works in the field of cultural management. Thanks to his commitment and efforts, Derida Dance has been recognized as a reliable and resourceful partner by Bulgarian cultural institutions, sponsoring organizations and international cultural operators and platforms for contempo-rary performing arts. As a result, Derida Dance has participated in numerous international projects and co-productions and has addi-tionally supported many independent dance and theater produc-tions of Bulgarian and foreign artists.

Between 2002 and 2014, Derida Dance has produced over 20 contemporary dance perfor-mances. The latest ones are multimedia performances with intense interaction and coordina-tion between dancers and digital arts. The productions have been performed at various festivals such as:

The International Theater Festival “Varna Summer”One Dance Week

One Architecture WeekInternational Dance Festival Aura in Kaunas, Lithuania

The International Dance Festival FLOT@ in SloveniaThe European Dance Festival in Limassol ,CyprusThe Swiss International Festival TanZeit-ZeiTanz,

INFANT 2012, Novi Sad, SerbiaSISI Dance Week, Hungary

Age of Aquarius Festival, BulgariaACT Festival, Bulgaria

The International Festival for Contemporary Art OFF EUROPA in Germany

c o n t e m p o r a r y

d a n c e p r o d u c t i o n s

b y D E R I D A D A N C E

ProtoCOOP

ProtoCOOP is an international dance production by Derida Dance in cooperation withthe Korean Dance Festival (KDF). Project participants include eleven danc-ers from South Korea who have been granted scholar-ships for their excellent performance during the festival and eight Bulgarian dancers who have successfully com-pleted all stages of Dance PORT Derida – Derida Dance’s training program financed by America for Bulgaria Foundation.

Concept and choreography: Jivko JeliazkovRehearsal Assistant: Jungin Lee

Dance: 19 dancers from South Korea and Bulgaria Music: Ivan Shopov (Cooh/Balkansky)

ARTeFACT

ARTeFACT is a multimedia dance performance focusing on the pursuit of a new identity that overcomes social and cultural boundaries. Such processes often accompany the modern nomad-artists in their search for opportunities to be creators and not products of the globalized world.

Concept and choreography: Jivko JeliazkovDance: Petia Mukova

Vusial artist: Albena BaevaMusic: Ivan Shopov (COOH/Balkansky)

Monocrossing

A multimedia dance performance based on the structure of adventure video games, in which characters often go through different virtual spaces and challenges in a con-stant search for something that will help them fulfill their personal mission.

Concept and choreography: Jivko JeliazkovDance: Petia Mukova, Philip Milanov

Vusial artist: Polina Stoyanova (Jo Iyaa)Music: Ivan Shopov (COOH/Balkansky)

Mayday

The performance is a detective magnifying glass through which the spectators see the bulging shapes of communicative cha-os in a dynamic competitive environment. The development of technologies helps us exchange information. In the multimedia performance “Mayday” the exchange of messages is incessant. Despite this, the need for “emergency traffic” remains indrives the protagonists in their struggle to survive.

Concept and choreography: Jivko JeliazkovChoreography assistant: Maria Gezenchova

Dance: Petia Mukova, Philip Milanov, Milena VidenovaVusial artist: Polina Stoyanova (Jo Iyaa)

Scenography: Ralitsa ZortevaMusic: Ivan Shopov(COOH/Balkansky)

“The challenge is to go out of your own skin and find new and comfortable environment for creative work. It’s wonderful when you know the only limitation is your imagination.”

Ivan Shopov, musician and artist

Silent Weapon

SILENT WEAPON showcases the result of the educational and training program Dance PORT Derida 2013/2014. Five of the performing artists in the piece have successfully graduated from the program in the last year. The other are earlier grad-uates of the program. The performance deals with the topic of public manipulation we face in daily life expressed through the instruments of contemporary dance and visual environment.

Concept and choreography: Jivko JeliazkovChoreography assistant: Maria Gezenchova

Dance: Petia Mukova, Milena Videnova, Marion Darova, Krissy Zlatanova, Kalina Pavlova, Diana Aleksandrova,

Yordan VarbanovVusial artist: Polina Stoyanova (Jo Iyaa)Music: Ivan Shopov (COOH/Balkansky)

e d u c a t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g

Dance PORT Derida

Dance PORT Derida is a one-year educational and training program in contemporary dance. It has been developed by Derida Dance Company and financed by America for Bulgaria Foundation. The program came to existence as an alternative to formal con-temporary dance education in the country, which at the time offers limited opportunities.

It provides an opportunity for professional and non-professional contemporary dancers to develop and master their skills. At the same time, the profes-sional module of the program is the only opportunity for daily training that freelance contemporary danc-ers in Bulgaria have.

Dance PORT Derida:

•MODULE 1 – Young emerging contemporary dancers visit Derida Dance Center daily for educational and training classes;•MODULE 2 – Professional contemporary dancers visit Derida Dance Center daily for training classes; The program participants have daily classes in contemporary dance and other styles like classical ballet, yoga, pilates, capoeira, etc., and have the opportunity to show their work regularly at public presentations. They master interaction with video composition and stage light-ing and gain knowledge in movement composition, different contemporary dance techniques, andkey elements of building physical endurance.Additionally, participants take part in a variety of workshops led by choreographers from Bulgaria and abroad, providing them with a a unique experience, ex-change knowledge and ideas, and opportunities for future artistic collaborations.

“Dance PORT Derida is an opportunity to develop myself in contemporary dance and its various styles. During my first year in the program I have learned to push myself to the limit and see what is behind. What I value most are the unique opportunities to meet and work with international artists and exchange cultural and dance experience.”

Milena Videnova, a program participant and current professional contemporary dancer

Derida Dance has been a resourceful partner in a number of international projectsregarding productions of contemporary dance pieces as well as a contributing party to international festivals.

Derida Dance is a member of:

AEROWAVES (Dance Across Europe) – the widest European network supporting emerging choreographers by providing opportunities for presentation of their work and meeting producers

IETM – the biggest network facilitating the development of contemporary performing arts on a global scale.

EEPAP (East European Performing Arts Platform) – an organization with a special focus on the development of performing arts in Central and East Europe

i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o l l a b o r a t i o n s

Circle: Connecting Dance Practices in Europe

The project “Circle: connecting dance practices in Europe” was coordinated by Derida Dance and Edno Magazine in cooperation with Pro Progressione Tanacsabo, Hungary and Dance Theatre “Aura”, Lithuania. The project was financed by Program Culture of the Euro-pean Commission and Sofia Municipality as well as Bulgarian Ministry of Culture.

The result of this broad cooperation was the creation of the performance “Average Speed of Answer” (ASA) by Derida Dance choreographer Jivko Jeliazkov. ASA is a dance performance of perpetual reorganization of the environment causing breath-taking revelations within human interaction.

The performance was the opening act of the International Dance Festival “Aura” in Kaunas, Lithuania. The second premiere was in Milenarish Theatre, Budapest, and the third pres-entation opened Sofia Dance Week Festival.

Rivers of Europe

The project “Rivers of Europe” was carried out by cultural organizations from 8 different European countries. It is financed by the Culture Program 2007 – 2013 of the European Commission. The pro-ject includes the creation of a multi-genre performance in the field of contemporary dance, visual arts and music that explores the role of the European rivers in the cultural and historical develop-ment of the Old Continent.Derida Dance Center was the project partner responsible for the production of the contemporary dance part of the performance that was presented in 30 European cities, 11 countries in the autumn of 2014. In the summer of 2014, together with a rehearsal assistant and artists from Italy, Germany, Serbia, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary, Jivko Jeliazkov led the creation of the contemporary dance perfor-mance, part of the project “Rivers of Europe”

IDENTITY.MOVE!

IDENTITY.MOVE! is coordinated by Goethe-Institut Warsaw in cooperation with Centre for Culture Lublin, Obcanske Sdruzeni Motus in Prague and the State School of Dance in Athens with the sup-port of the Culture Programme of the European Union.

IDENTITY.MOVE! offers a transnational platform for theoretical and artistic research in contempo-rary dance and related performing arts, focusing on the ‘Eastern Belt’ of Europe: Bosnia and Herze-govina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Po-land, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia.Within the program of the project, 12 artists from Eastern Europe conduct residencies in 4 locations throughout the continent: PACT Zollverein in Essen, State Choreographic School in Athens, Motus in Prague and Studio Slodownia +3 in Poznan.

Derida Dance Center takes an active part in the project as an associated partner.

AEROWAVES Platform

Aerowaves is a European dance network for research and cross-border presentation started in late October 1996 as a response to the emergence of a generation of contemporary choreographers and companies. Today Aerowaves is represented by 47 Partners, Presenting Partners and Presenters in 35 different European countries, who all meet together in October to select the works for the following year from around 500 open applications.

Derida Dance is a Presenting Partner for Aerowaves. As such its role is to present emerging artists from the European scene to the Bulgarian audience.

Collaboration with Movement Research

In 2014 Derida Dance Center had the pleasure to host one of the most prominent American contem-porary choreographers – Sidra Bell. Her visit was a focal point in Dance PORT Derida educational and training program, as well as our residency program. The choreographer worked with young Bulgarian artists on her Contemporary Systems: an interior and material approach to movement.

Sidra Bell was invited to work in Bulgaria as a result of a cooperation between Derida Dance Center and One Dance Week Festival. Her stay was made possible with the support of America For Bulgar-ia Foundation and the Trust For Mutual Understanding administered by Movement Research. The performance that was produced as a result of

Sidra’s work with the dancers was presented at One Dance Week Festival in Plovdiv.

„Everything was perfect about the organization of the practical matters. A real support to a creative process. The communication was clear and fast, solving every problem that we had.”

Compagnia Colaps from Italy

“The fact that many residents are working in the same time is a great opportunity to exchange and meet new artists. Also it creates a powerful and inspiring atmosphere...”

Luc Reboullet from France

“During our residency DDC members were involved in several artistic projects and yet had time to calmly lead us through all matters. They answered all our questions and supported our creation in respectful and generous way. We are very thankful for the possibility and we have great respect to the efforts DDC makes to nourish contemporary dance scene in Bulgaria with various influences by inviting international residents.”

Hygin Delimat and Martina Lorenc from Poland

r e s i d e n c y p r o g r a m

Derida Dance Center Residency Program is among the organization’s main instruments for providing opportunities for the development of contemporary dance in Bulgaria and abroad.

Artists are given the opportunity to use the space and technical equipment of Derida Dance Center, free of charge, in order to work on their individual projects. Our team does the promotion of the pro-jects and showcases the results.2010 – 2 residents

2011 – 2 residents2012 – 2 residents2013 – 16 residents2014 – 7 residents

January 2014 - Derida Dance Center Residency Program was recognized by experts of the European Commission in Brussels as a best practice for exchange of artistic experience on the Old Continent.

Social Focus

Derida Dance Center team has created a social network of people who enjoy physical activity and dancing. The center is offering classes open to the public in more than 15 dance genres and sports ac-tivities that can be seen on Derida Dance Center website. Many of the people who come almost every evening to enjoy a class in Zumba or Pilates, for example, also become part of the audience for the contemporary dance productions presented at the center. Thus Derida Dance develops a solid ground for public interest in contemporary performing arts, while helping people lead happy and fulfilling lives.

“My work in Derida Dance Center is conscious happiness. I have the freedom to develop and experiment with my training system with the support of my colleagues. We are people who share the same goals and learn from each other.”

Marion Darova, Athletic training instructor in Derida Dance Center

245 Slivnitsa Blvd. | 1202 Sofia, Bulgaria | +359 876 950008 | office@derida-dance.com | www.derida-dance.com © 2014