"KITCHEN" takes over Sofia

Date: February 20-21, 2021

Time: 18:30 p.m., 19:45 p.m., 21:00 p.m.

Location: HRC Culinary Academy, 59 Tsar Boris III Blvd.

 "KITCHEN" is an author's dance-theater performance that crosses traditional boundaries and touches the audience through an alternative culinary experience on a non-traditional stage.

"KITCHEN" recreates the glowing atmosphere and dynamics in the professional kitchen through the prism of "immersive" theater (immersive - immersion), which allows the audience to immerse themselves in the action and to experience extreme situations that usually remain hidden from people. The spaces that viewers will touch are the real kitchens of HRC Culinary Academy, the leading culinary institute in Eastern Europe, which has long been working to include the topic of mental and emotional health as part of the life of a professional chef.

The show is fully compliant with all anti-epidemic measures, and is designed for small groups of 6 people who can create magic inherent in only one boutique, intimate performance.

Together with Alexander, the challenge for something new and different in the kitchen includes Alexandra Talyokova, Iskra Daskalova, Krastyo Metodiev and Yanitsa Stankeva - four prominent dancers in the aesthetics of contemporary dance, break and waking. The non-traditional stage space is separated from the artistic view of the set designer Boris Dalchev and the composer and music engineer Georgi Atanasov.

This is the first of such experimental projects of this creative team, created for alternative spaces, which aim to present the performing arts in a different light and to develop and promote the "immersive" genre in Bulgaria. The project is implemented with the support of the National Culture Fund and HRC Culinary Academy.

Antonia Georgieva is a director and playwright with creative experience in the United States and Great Britain. He graduated from Columbia University in New York with a double degree in Theater and Creative Writing in 2018, after which he specialized with a master's degree in Theater Directing at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. In the last few years she has created a number of professional theater and film projects, which form the basis of her interdisciplinary approach, eclectic style and interest in adaptations. As a playwright, he has worked with some of the most popular emerging screenwriting initiatives such as the Papatango Playwriting Award and Sky Studios, and has recently led directing and drama workshops.

More about her work: https://www.antoniageorgieva.com /

Costa Karakashyan is a director, choreographer and dance artist who graduated in Dance from Columbia University in New York and Human Rights at the Global Human Rights Campus in Venice. His projects explore the development of empathy in our society through dance, cinema and teaching. As a dancer and choreographer, Costa has worked in the field of sports and contemporary dance in Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Norway, Vietnam, Japan and the United States. He won the Lumiere Award from Canada for his film WAITING FOR COLOR, a documentary dance film about violence against the LGBTI community in Chechnya. His latest projects as a director and producer in his studio "Studio Karakashyan" are music videos and the dance film "View from the edge" in collaboration with Stephanie Handzhiyska, shot at 12 different locations in Bulgaria. His choreography has been presented by the Columbia Ballet Collaborative (New York) and the Arabesque Ballet (Sofia) and his work has been featured by The Guardian, Elle, Them, GLAAD and Free Europe.

More about his work: http://kostakarakashyan.com