Well some of you that follow MBMI may well know that I was in Bulgaria for the Iliev Dance Arts Foundation’s Dance IT! intensive in April. The director and founder of the foundation Petur Iliev was in the process of building an evening of dance that would include Contemporary, Modern, Hip Hop and Folk dance as well as some original music for the works. He asked me if I would like to contribute and I jumped at the opportunity. The premise was that there would be 5 dancers, 5 musicians and a single wildcard at any time….

I choose my wild card to be another dancer, I just couldn’t choose! They were all so singular and interesting and so very willing. We had 2 weeks  and something like 12 hours to build it. At the end of the Dance It  Workshop we performed as much as we had which is what you will see in this clip…

“And so they retired…” is a dance miniature choreographer by Theresa Ruth Howard as part of the “5×5+1” artistic project of Petur Iliev and Iliev Dance Art Foundation.

This work explores the various elements in relationships: power, control, submission and dominance, sensuality, lust, and, the indifference that can lie between. Set in a Dream scape where partners intermingle exploring the emotional landscape of relationships when they are magnified by the heart, mind and the subconscious.

The video shows the work-in-progress performance of the piece at “Dance It!” 2014 Spring Intensive Program in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Original music: Viaggio by Lino Cannavacciuolo

Dancers: Ivo Adov, Kalina Vladimirova, Milena Abushinova, Stanislav Stefanov, Vasilena Shopova, Yanitsa Atanasova

 

More about “5×5+1” project at:
http://ilievdance.org/en/program/5×5/

 

I want to say a huge thank you to Petur Iliev, Rozilina, Tsveti, and Peter’s Angels for all of the help and support. It was a challenge, but it was great fun, mainly because everyone on the team was lovely…

And to my beautiful dancers…words can not express how much you mean to me. I had no idea what I was going to do, make, I had no music nothing, and from that first day in rehearsal YOU all made it happen, you were truly the inspiration. You with your desire to create and build something new, your determination, your drive, your willingness to run from one job, rehearsal, show to get to rehearsal and then run back… Thank you. Thank you for your laughter and sense of play in the studio, thank you for trusting me – even when you couldn’t understand me, and on a level that was probably better!! This piece is a gift to you, it is yours….Thank you again…..lovelovelove