Contemporary dance art can be very surprising! Dancers no longer recount tales with folklore motifs and legends about olden times. The battle between good and evil is now being interpreted in the context of the present day when the audience is left to decide on its own what side to take.

This trend shows prominently in SINNER, the show directed by choreographer Jivko Jeliazkov. His work has been nominated for the Icarus 2017 Awards based on the provocative and original way in which it tables an old problem that remains unsolved even in the times of booming technology. From the stage at Derida Dance Center where the show is on he guides the audience to a journey exploring human vanity which is often insatiable. Sometimes vanity means killing thousands of animals for the sake of their precious skins. More from Jivko Jeliazkov:

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Jivko Jeliazkov's concept stems from the problem of the spoilt consumer society and connects it with another neglected norm: tolerance among people. „Without tolerance we would have no way to be free and express our ideas and feelings untroubled”, saysJivko Jeliazkov. He believes his contribution to tolerance is the founding of the Derida Dance Center. It invites on its stage young people of art offering off-the-wall approach in dance. Last year the team of the center led by Jivko Jeliazkovreceived a distinction from the European Commission as one of the three most successful European models of entrepreneurship in management of culture.

„We work a lot on the social aspect and attract people open to contemporary art who have innovative understanding of themselves and can come across with a creative perception of the world.Also, with time the place has emerged as the stage for a new kind of dance productions. Under our international program, about 20 choreographers annually are given the chance to work here. They stage their shows and partner with very good Bulgarian dancers. This is a good chance, as talents can benefit from our stage. We also meet guest choreographers from USA, Taiwan, Africa, various European countries and this way we attract new and different people who demonstrate new ideas, approaches and styles in the art of dance.”

English Daniela Konstantinova