Prof. Aneliya Yaneva, PhD

The First International Ballet Competition for children and Teenagers “LITTLE STARS”, Sofia 2009

The biggest award should go to Assoc. Prof. Kalina Bogoeva for her unfailing courage, innovative ideas and the skill to put them in practice, and in this way develop and encourage, and disseminate Bulgarian dance art

Organizing the First International Ballet Competition for Children and Teenagers “Little Stars” in Sofia in 2009 is the third large-scale initiative undertaken by the Sofia Opera Prima Ballerina Kalina Bogoeva. She has a long teaching experience at the National Dance School and the National Music Academy. It followed her two other initiatives which had been very useful and inspiring to every theater in Bulgaria.

Her idea of creating and organizing the International Ballet Academy – Varna in 1993 takes a central part in her work. It developed to be an international event happening annually, consisting of summer seminars in Varna. It has contributed to the development of the talents of many children from Bulgaria and other countries.

Another important idea of hers is the Competition for Contemporary Bulgarian Choreography “Margarita Arnaudova”, established in 1996. Due to their participation in it, many Bulgarian choreographers have created works based Bulgarian music and with Bulgaria themes which have enriched the repertoire of the Ballet Arabesk. It gave them the freedom to experiment. The latest /seventh/ edition of the Competition for Contemporary Bulgarian Choreography “Margarita Arnaudova” is now international.

The idea of establishing the International Ballet Competition for Children and Teenagers “Little Stars”, and its first edition in Sofia showed the basic directions of its development. It has two parts: classical dances and modern dances, and four age groups: 8 to 10 called First Steps; 10 – 12 called Beginners; 12 – 14 called Youngsters and 14 – 16 called Young Talents.

“Little Stars” is not in conflict with the International Ballet Competition in Varna (founded in 1964) which requires the youngest participants to be at least 14 years of age. The new competition actually aims at preparing children for the IBC in Varna.

According to the rules of the “Little Stars”, children perform in three round (evenings). The first round features variations from classical ballet repertoire with strict instructions about the variations and the ballets they are taken from. The second evening has a modern repertoire taking into consideration the age group and the modern techniques – of the schools and traditions set up by Martha Grahan, Cunningham, and others,. During the third evening competitors repeat their performances and during the last evening the winner only are to perform. The jury announces its decision after the third round (evening).

The equal significance attributed to performances of classical ballet and modern ballet requires two different juries. The Head of the Classical Dance Jury is Assoc. Prof. Kalina Bogoeva. Its Honorary Head is Prof. Plamen Dzhurov. It consists of renowned prima ballerinas, ballerinas and pedagogues: Krasimira Koldamova, Mariana Deneva, Sara-Nora Krasteva, Svetlin Ivelinov, Nataliya Rzhevskaya. The Modern dance Jury has as its members: Boryana Sechanova, Georgi Elkin, Olesya Pantikina, Margarita Gradechlieva, Anna Doneva.

There were participants from Bulgaria (most of them being from the National State School and the minority being from private ballet school); Greece; Turkey; Romania; the Ukraine. Their total number was 56.

The new Competition gave an opportunity to the youngest to perform before audiences, but it also brought forth some issues.

One of these issues is the eligibility criterion. For a long time Bulgarian pedagogues have been proud of their professional skills developed through the Russian system of Agripina Vaganova. This system was sort of remodeled in Bulgaria by using some elements of the Western, mainly French, classical dance system. So, it was expected that our children were very well prepared, having been taught two elitist systems: the Russian and the French. However, the reality was different. The Ukrainian representatives were excellently prepared, much more so than the Bulgarian children. Whether this is a result of underestimation of criteria by the Bulgarian choreographers or low self-requirements is very hard to judge.

Another issue turned out to be what exactly is meant by the term “modern ballet”. The modern choreography created by our Ukrainian and Greek colleagues takes into consideration the specific abilities and age of each individual participant. And this was an immense advantage in the process of the competition, whereas, the Bulgarian children performed the same number again and again. There was no sign of any consideration of individuality or age. It was the idea of the choreographer that seemed to matter most. Thus, we saw paradoxical situations where 10 to 12 year-old children were in despair, pain, longing, and nostalgia – emotions which are not typical of little children. So, it was those performances that showed their choreography was consistent and tailored to the specific abilities and age of the performer that were really successful. I would like to specifically note the performance of Pipi Longstocking, choreography by Marina Marinova; The Nereid of Water by A. Hatziaras, Totem by Bogdanovich; and The Little Prince by Solovyov.

Besides, how many times can one watch the same choreography performed by different competitors? At this edition of the Competition, a number created by Albena Atanasova was presented six times on the second evening, and another six times on the third evening. A choreography worked out by Milen Petrov was presented five times; three times we saw a choreography by Marina Marinova. Also, many times we saw choreographies by Angelina Petrova and Konstantina Handzhieva. It must have been a real trial for the audience. Usually, one remembers the choreography after the second watching. The rules of the Competition require that the modern choreography should be presented on the second evening and repeated on the third one. However, when a choreography is presented by several competitors on the second evening (often consequently), one can get the impression that they see the same thing over and over again. In my opinion, our hosts should have looked for more diverse choreographies which match the individual talents of the different competitors. Moreover, the regulations do not require that the choreographies should be created at a certain time. This means that a choreography can be of an earlier time, but of a higher quality. The requirements are concerned only with what modern techniques are to be included – a wonderful opportunity to present modern techniques in their pure forms, rather than an amalgam of all in one.

Otherwise, the Competition gave all the competitors the chance to feel like stars do, to compare their abilities with those of the best dancers, and to dance on the professional stage of the National Music Theater “Stefan Makedonski”. The organization was perfect. Assoc. Prof. Kalina Bogoeva’s initiative was supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Sofia Municipality. The prizes were provided by Grishko Company.

There were many prizes given although it had been announced before that there would be one first, one second and one third prize per each age group.

In the first age group “First Steps”, three First Prizes were given to Veronika Shuster and Iren Veleva from Bulgaria, and Irini Kalugerini from Greece; three Third Prizes went to Gabriela Ivanova and Niya Ilieva from Bulgaria, and Pepikidi Anna from Greece; and three Prizes of Distinction went to Tsarabi Elena-Maria, Barbapgeorgonopulu Michaela, and Danna Konstantina from Greece.

In the age group “Beginners”, two First Prizes were given to Andrey Ishuk from the Ukraine and Ralitsa Ilieva from Bulgaria. One Second Prize was given to Elena Petrova and one Third Prize to Teodora Marinova. Three Certificates of Distinction were given to Neva Ozgur from Turkey, Karmen Demitrash from Bulgaria, and Yoana Melieanu from Greece.

In the age group “Young Hopes”, one First Prize was given to Yana Shtangey from the Ukraine, two Second Prizes went to Krania Sofia from Greece and Regimov Marat from the Ukraine, and two Third Prizes went to Eli Koleva and Videlina Stoyanova from Bulgaria. There were two Certificates of Distinction given to Velesku Teodora from Romania and Marina Tsenkova from Bulgaria.

The oldest age group called “Young Talents” got the highest number of awards. The First Prize was won by Petya Koleva from Bulgaria, three Second Prizes went to Tyutyunik Aleksey and Kostina Anna from the Ukraine, and Pamela Pandova. Four Third Prizes were won by Sofia Tsutsakova, Viktoria Petrova from Bulgaria; Kotov Sergey and Vahmenina Evgeniya from the Ukraine. Five Certificates of Distinction were given to Vyara Ivancheva, Zhaklin Draganova, Maya Kirilova, Zornitsa Petrova and Elena Dimitrova.

The profusion of awards did not stop here. Certificates for Professional Excellence were given to four people: Milena Simeonova, Veronika Spasova (who is the manager of the Private Ballet School “Veronica Spasova”, but the award should justly have been given to the Prima Ballerina Irina Stoyanova, who had been working with the three wonderful children who represented this private ballet school), and the guests from the Ukraine – Elena Solovyova and Evgeni Kiriev.

The choreography awards were even more: Marina Mainova, Elena Oguy, A. Hatziaras, Konstantina Handzhieva, Agapios Aganiadis, Gasiya Papazyan, Anna Doneva (I would not comment here how fair it is to give a prize to a member of the Jury who has presented their work on stage).

The First International Ballet Competition for Children and Teenagers “Little Stars”, Sofia, 2009 ended. However, the biggest award should go to Assoc. Prof. Kalina Bogoeva for her unfailing courage, innovative ideas and the skill to put them in practice, and in this way develop and encourage, and disseminate Bulgarian dance art. Actually, on the very next day she left for Varna to open the next edition of the International Summer Ballet Academy “Varna”. We wish it success and fair play!

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