The International Ballet Competition – Varna that is being carried out from the 15 to the 30 July in the sea capital of Bulgaria, had the results from its First Round that ended yesterday, announced at a Press Conference in the “Cherno More” Hotel today. In the First Round 101 candidates, among whom there were also five Bulgarian ballet dancers, performed with classical choreography of pieces from the compulsory repertoire. 44 of them are to continue in the Second Round.
Most numerous is the group of admitted candidates from Korea with 11 contestants, 10 come from Russia, 5 from Japan, 3 from France, and also 3 from Bulgaria, 2 from the USA, and 2 from the RSA. Ukraine, Belgium, Chine, Switzerland, Panama, Rumania, Germany and Italy each have one participant moving forward to the Second Round. A total of 13 contestants in the “Boys” and “Girls” categories, and 31 contestants in the “Men” and “Women” categories were admitted to the next level of the Competition by the International Jury chaired by Vladimir Vasiliev from Russia.
The Bulgarian contestants in the Second Round will be Ralitsa Ilieva in the “Girls” category, while Doichin Dochev, and Venera Hristova continue in the “Men” and “Women” categories, respectively.
The Second Round of the XXVI edition of the International Ballet Competition – Varna will begin on 21 July and will continue until 24 July. In it the contestants will perform with classical and contemporary programmes.
At the Press Conference the members of the Jury assessed the initial stage of the Competition, and the performance of the contestants. Luca Masala from Monaco who is in Bulgaria for the first time, shared that for him coming to the Competition in Varna was a dream come true. He drew attention to the passion the young talents put into the Completion, as well as to their love for ballet that overcame even the hardships caused by the rain.
Cirylle Atanassoff from France stated: “I feel for the contestants and hope the weather will be more favorable in the next days. The competition is a great ordeal for the participants who rehearse also at night, yet they are so young so their age makes all small problems surmountable. They are only led by the desire to dance, and I wish them Bonne Chance”.
Taking into consideration the 50th anniversary of the forum, Associate Professor Biser Deyanov summed up the atmosphere in the hall: “This Ballet Competition will remain young for ever no matter how many years have passed because it is created by young people, it is their desire to make a break in life that drives them, their desire to emit beauty. I am particularly happy of the fact that there are so many contestants I hope on sustainable quantity as quality is contained in it and we have to spot it”.
Academician Krasimira Koldamova, who has been bounded to the Competition ever since its first edition, said: “The life of our Competition has always been very impetuous, it was with a lot of efforts and real struggle that Emile Dimitrov, and everybody around him, made it possible, even in the years when Bulgaria experienced crises, for the competition to keep standing on its feet and dance, and do it wonderfully at that”.
Professor Petar Lukanov, who has also been connected with the forum from its inception, underlined the significance of the Competition in terms of its international standing: “This is not only the very first, but it is also the most authoritative competition in the world, and this has been acknowledged by the world ballet community. This Competition grows from edition to edition, and its level is always on the rise. One cannot judge from the First Round whether an edition is poor or strong as the very contestants keep their best performances for the next rounds. Still, if during the first competitions we had individuals and tourists, now there are no tourists, there is a stable good level, some performers stand out, but this will be best verified in the next rounds. And the scene of the Competition – the Summer Theatre – is indeed unique, as there is no other like it in the world. And while the other competitions do not permitted everyone to be present during the rehearsals, here in our Summer Theatre there are round-the-clock rehearsals, as well as spectators, often among them participants in the competition who would like to where they stand. Finally, I would like to share with you that the same way the Mercedes company say that there are two kinds of cars – a Mercedes and the rest, so it can be said that there are two types of competitions – the Varna Competition and all the other ones. We awe all this primarily to Emile Dimitrov, and I sincerely hope his successor and present Chairman of the “International Ballet Competition – Varna” Foundation, Dimitar Dimitrov, will keep up the work of his father”.
The International Ballet Competition – Varna which this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of its foundation is organized by the “International Ballet Competition – Varna” Foundation, Varna Municipality is a co-organizer. The forum is held with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria. Patron of the jubilee edition is Margarita Popova, Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria. The Ballet Olympiad is under the patronage of the UNESCO, and Irina Bokova, Director General of the world organization. The Competition is held in support of the candidacy of the city of Varna for European Capital of Culture in 2019. General sponsor of the Competition is Societe Generalе Expressbank.