127 candidates from 30 countries will compete in the jubilee year of the International Ballet Competition – Varna, announced the organizers of the forum at a press conference that took place in the “Cherno More” Hotel a day before the grand opening.
The first worldwide ballet competition will have its spectacular edition from the 15 to the 30 of July in the elegant greenery of the Summer Theatre. The Competition will celebrate its 50th anniversary in a particularly brilliant manner. Celebrated guests from the participant countries will arrive for the official opening ceremony. Patron of the jubilee edition is Margarita Popova, Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria.
“Throughout the years, in the Competition have participated more than 2,500 young talents who have come to Varna from 40 countries”, stated Dimitar Dimitrov, Chair of the “International Ballet Competition – Varna” Foundation. The Competition has changed world ballet by initiating a fundamentally new stage in the development of the international cooperation in the sphere of ballet art. With it has began the active exchange between different schools aimed at preserving and popularizing classical ballet, as well as at also developing the trends in contemporary dance. Varna set the formula for the discovery and launching of young ballet talents which still provides a flying start to ballet stars’ careers.
Gilles Fuchs and Ilia Raev, members of the Management Board of the Foundation spoke of the international significance of the Competition and of the contribution of its master mind and inspirer, Maestro Emile Dimitrov. Antonia Yovcheva, Director of the “Culture and Spiritual Development” Directorate at Varna Municipality, stated that the ballet competition has made known the name of Varna as a summer capital of world ballet and that it is one of the most significant grounds for the candidacy of Varna for European Capital of Culture in 2019.
Maya Clevtsova, from the Societe Generalе Expressbank, said the bank has been delighted by the long term partnership with the Ballet Competition, and underlined that it is wonderful that this year there are celebrated two jubilees – the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Competition and the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Societe Generalе.
Sonia Dimitrova, member of the Management Board of the Foundation, presented the events included in the complementary programme among which are: an art exhibition of Professor Vladimir Vasiliev, the “Ballet in Art” exhibition, “The Varna Ballet Olympiad in Photographs” exhibition, and an exhibition of the awarded paintings and sculptures in national competitions for children and teenagers dubbed “Art against Drugs”.
The Chair of the international jury Vladimir Vasiliev from Russia is the idol of dance in the ХХ and ХХІ centuries. He is the only holder of the Grand Prix of the Ballet Olympiad in Varna, a master of ballet, and a choreographer, and he is making an incredible gesture to the participants in the jubilee edition.
The star will hold a master class – “Don Quixote – Tradition of Russian Classical Ballet” at the International Summer Ballet Academy that starts in parallel with the Ballet Competition. In it subtleties of dance will be taught by Professor Sun Hee Kim from Korea, Aurora Bosch from Cuba, Morris Kozi from the USA, Alfredo Torres from Cuba, Biser Deyanov from Bulgaria.
Pretenders for the prizes this year will be 54 young artists in the Boys and Girls category, and 73 in the Men and Women category. Among them will be five Bulgarian ballerinas and a ballet-dancer. The organizers of the Competition from the “International Ballet Competition – Varna” Foundation promise an intriguing experience during the competition nights, and in the accompanying events.
In front of the jury comprised of Varna laureates who have become world celebrities and of respected ballet masters and pedagogues from all over the world will dance representatives of the most important schools. In the jubilee edition will compete young promising dancers from France, United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Germany, Brazil, the Philippines, and China. The largest is the number of contestants from Russia, Japan and Korea. Ballet dancers from SA, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Switzerland will also participate. The draw for the order of the performances of the competitors was drawn on 14 July in the conference hall of the “Cherno More” Hotel.