Artists from four European countries will have the chance to demonstrate their own culture and share experiences as part of a creative collaboration organised by the British Council. Fortunately, Bulgaria is one of those countries that will give audiences the opportunity to enjoy the unique performances not just of home-grown talent but also of artists from Croatia, Greece and the UK.

The cultural tour around these four countries’ capitals starts in Sofia on February 26 when the event, entitled The City-to-City Cabaret Performance, will have its premiere. The venue is the Nikolai Binev Youth Theatre and the starting time is 7pm; entrance is free. Bulgarian artists in the Sofia edition of the cabaret include the following choreographers, dancers and musicians: Mila Iskrenova, Tania Sokolova, Rossen Mihailov, the Arabesque and Dune dance companies, the MusicAnts  string quartet, Roberta, Borislav Boyadjhiev and Rumen Boyadjhiev Jr.

The international artists are the choreographers and dancers Antigone Gyra and Maya Lipsker from Greece, Masa Kolar and Zoran Markovic from Croatia and Protein from the UK. After Sofia, the cabaret will travel to Athens, London and Zagreb. All of the four shows will be staged just once, adding to their uniqueness.

The model for the shows has been chosen by organisers for its way to collect and present a range of dances and performances in one place. The acts, selected by the partners in each host country, showcase different dances and art forms, encouraging a wider and more diverse audience to engage with the performance. The idea is to help develop an audience for dance and different ways of supporting performers in each city while bringing artists together under one roof.

Another goal is to increase the number of collaborations between artists from different countries in South East Europe and the UK as well as to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, experiences and artistic opportunities to create and perform work.

Activities planned under the project also include visits to the four respective countries and meetings with dance professionals as well as discussions in each of the participating countries.

On February 24-27, representatives from partner organisations will have working meetings in Sofia with Bulgarian dance artists, organisations and cultural providers, among others. As part of the visit they will also see performances from Bulgarian dancers at New Bulgarian University and join a discussion with various Bulgarian artists and organisations.

On February 25, the British Council in Sofia will host a discussion on the developments of dance in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and the UK. The event will be held in the British Council’s Palaveev Room at 2.30pm. Among the participants will be Bulgarian artists, choreographers, dancers, representatives of national and regional institutions, NGOs and teachers from Bulgaria’s National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, New Bulgarian University and the National Dance School. Representatives from the Arabesque Contemporary Dance Company and independent dance companies, as well as critics, will also attend.

* The City-to-City Cabaret Performance is part of the skills exchange project of the British Council’s creative collaboration which is led by UK’s Greenwich Dance Agency in partnership with the Bulgarian Heteropodi Dance Company, the Greek Full House Promotions and the Croatian HIPP. The project is delivered in Bulgaria in partnership with the Nikolai Binev Youth Theatre and with the support of the State Cultural Institute of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Culture Fund.