Performer Maker Self
arriving into Presence
July 19th to July 24th in Sofia, Bulgaria
6 days
workshop + performance project
2 full scholarships + 2 partial 1/2 scholarships
Scholarship Deadline has passed!
***Intensive will be held in English
Morning Workshop
Compositional and Emergent Improvisation
Mon. July 19 to Sat. July 24th – 10am – 1pm
Throughout the week we will work with the sensual body, expanding out our attention and sensation into awareness of each other. Starting from solos, we would work toward creating duets, trios and ensembles. Zornitsa will offer modalities from Emergent Improvisation as well as Compositional Improvisation focusing on performance. Borrowing from her studies with Deborah Hay and Meg Stuart, she will share her take on body poetics, working with memory, working with language (spontaneous talking), power dynamics between dancers and audience members and others. All this with the focus on presence in the here and now.
List of tools and modalities we will explore during the 6 days:
The body in space – working with the internal body architecture and the external man-made architecture toward building phrasing. Working with voice – sounding, singing, spontaneous language, decomposing language. The power dynamics on and off stage and how it relates to attention. Using the face and gaze toward emotion – techniques for decomposing emotion on stage or arriving into an authentic emotional presence. Working with gesture and posture as a potential for meaning – slipping in and out of clowning and vulnerability. Performing presence.
Afternoon Performance project
Brutal Honesty practice
Mon. July 19 to Sat. July 24th – 2pm – 5pm
Brutal Honesty is a performance improvisation practice of spontaneous language in dance. It explores the notion of not censoring oneself and unearthing truths of the here and now. In our present world, where “alternative fact” is still a saying, and truth about anything is hard to find, this practice brings the question of what is real, and honest and true to the individual.
Through the sessions the group will explore use of language, use of memory, we will work with fantasy and explore how and when fantasy becomes a blatant lie. We will play games in search of better understanding of the relationships between truthfulness and lies. This research will be performed on Saturday July 24th for the public.
You can participate by taking either just the workshop or the performance project or both together.
For whom:
Open to all ages over 18 and anyone interested in dance/movement improvisation for performance. If you are curious about performance and improvisation, please apply. Zornitsa’s desire to work with different bodies springs from her interest in presenting humanity in all its variety on stage.
Scholarships will be given based on financial need.
Our EVENT on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/179888847408961/
About teacher Zornitsa Stoyanova
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 along with presenting her work, focuses on creating programs in support of independent choreographers in both her locales. Her stage, video and photographic work uses the female body as an abstract object revealing ideas of strength in female sensuality and emotionality.
On stage, she explores feminist ideas, the power dynamics between dancers and audiences, and personal stories revealing vulnerability and strength. Her last group performance, AndroMeda, was commissioned and presented by The Philadelphia Museum of Art (2020), and her solo performance Explicit Female (2016) was awarded a “Rocky” – the Philadelphia contemporary dance award. Her choreographic work has been shown in festivals around the U.S. as well as in Bulgaria and France. As a dancer, she has performed for Eiko & Koma, Boris Charmatz, Cie. Willy Dorner, Group Motion and improvisation companies Emergent Improvisation Ensemble and Graffito Works. Her work with Emergent Improvisation brought her on the cover of “Composing While Dancing” book by Melinda Buckwalter. Her screendance films have been shown in festivals across the U.S. and in Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Bulgaria, Ireland, Germany, and Bangladesh.
Among her most influential teachers are Deborah Hay, Danny Lepkoff, Meg Stuart, Susan Rethorst, Eva Karczag and others. Her work has been supported by National Cultural Fund of Bulgaria, Citizen for the Arts Pennsylvania, Pew Center for the Arts (previously Dance Advance) amongst others.
Zornitsa is also a supporter for a sustainable dance community and is deeply invested in helping further conversation and collaboration. Through BodyMeld she has created workshops, residencies, and showcases – most notably her partnership with Movement Research(NYC) and Stary Browar Novie Taniec(Poland) in bringing Polish artists to Philadelphia. She teaches improvisation technique for performance, dance on camera and composition and has done so in Philadelphia, France, Hungary, her native Bulgaria and online. Zornitsa is also a writer and editor for thINKingDANCE.net.
Join us in Sofia this summer.
The workshop will be held in the center of the city at DNK – space for contemporary dance and performance.
We recommend you check out airbnb.com or booking.com to find a place to stay. Please, let us know if you need help with housing and we will connect you with others traveling to Sofia or will ask the dance community here if they have a spare room.
If you are flying, we suggest Wizz air…they have charter flights in the summer from destinations all around Europe.
A Lab for PCR and rapid antibody Covid test are located at the Sofia airport.
Any questions about traveling or what to expect while in Sofia, please don’t hesitate to email Zornitsa directly at zornitsa(at)bodymeld.org