Choreographic Practice Showing of “Brutal Honesty” by Zornitsa Stoyanova

 When: 19:00 – 21:00 hrs  Tickets: € 7,50-20 BUY HERE: https://www.ot301.nl/agenda/16033 

 Location: OT301 Ventilator Cinema, OT301, 2nd floor, Overtoom 301 Amsterdam.

 Description:
In our present reality of alternate facts, deepfake AI, and political fraud, I seek answers to some of the biggest questions in popular culture today:

What is the value of truth?
Do we believe in honesty?
Or has honesty become only an abstract idea, a belief in something unreal, ultimately just an “honest lie”?

Is embracing the multiplicity of all that we are (honest lies and fake beliefs) a political act? Or are we only “right” when we align with a social, political, or historical movement or trend?

A multidisciplinary solo project, this piece interrogates personal truth and whether we can ever be truly honest with ourselves and others. Zornitsa, a choreographer and improviser with 20 years of stage experience, dances, speaks, sings fake opera, creates poetry on the spot, interviews the audience, moves objects around the room, and even drinks cold water when things get tough. Breaking the fourth wall, the performance works within the boundaries of the confessional, the mundane, and the absurd. Sometimes funny, the piece includes nudity and live-feed special effects. Interrogating what it means to be honest and authentic, Zornitsa questions normative behaviors, societal norms, and the performative nature of all our identities.

 Background Info: “Brutal Honesty” is a choreographic practice of instant composing of movement, language, and song. It builds upon Zornitsa’s studies with Deborah Hay and Jeanine Durning, expanding further toward ideas of honesty and authenticity. Zornitsa is currently attending the Masters of Choreography – COMMA joint degree program at Codarts and Fontys Universities, where “Brutal Honesty” is her research project.

 Biography: Zornitsa Stoyanova (USA/BUL) is an award-winning performance artist, curator, writer, lighting, and video designer. Based between Sofia, Bulgaria, and Philadelphia, US, she directs her company BodyMeld, which focuses on presenting her work and supporting independent choreographers in both locales. Her stage, video, and photographic work use the female body as an abstract object, revealing ideas of strength in female sensuality and emotionality. Since 2013, an overarching theme in her work has been exposing the “otherness” living within us, recognizing that all humans are the same. Since 2020, she has been researching a movement and speaking practice – “Brutal Honesty” – that aims not to censor oneself. Zornitsa is currently working toward her master’s degree in Choreography – COMMA at Codarts and Fontys Universities in the Netherlands.

 As a dancer, she has performed for Zhana Pencheva, Sasha Waltz & Guests, Eiko & Koma, Boris Charmatz, and improvisation companies Emergent Improvisation Ensemble and Graffito Works in the US. Her screendance films have been shown in festivals across the U.S. and in Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Bulgaria, Ireland, Germany, and Bangladesh.

 She teaches improvisation techniques for performance, dances on camera, and composition, having done so in Philadelphia, France, Hungary, her native Bulgaria, and online. Zornitsa is also a mother of two and an editor for thINKingDANCE.net.

 For more information, visit BodyMeld’s website – www.bodymeld.org