Denislav Kanev and
Nadia Dimokova
Denislav Kanev
“Anyone can choreograph for themselves if they know how to work with their own body.”
As a child Denislav Kanev (Denny) moved from Silistra to Varna to study ballet at the Dobri Hristov National School of Ballet. A year later he received an invitation from the National School of Dance Art and left for Sofia. But a few years pass and fate brings him to Varna again – this time as a participant in the Academy of the International Ballet Competition.
Thus began his artistic journey: during his participation in the Academy, Denis received three simultaneous offers from ballet schools in Germany – Hamburg, Stuttgart and Berlin. He chose Berlin and became a student of the National Ballet School (Germany), where he later completed his higher education: “Pedagogy and Choreography”.
He received his first job offer from the theatre in Dessau when he was still a student. He subsequently worked as a performer and soloist in theatres in Magdeburg, Chemnitz, Mainz and Wiesbaden (where he still dances today).
Over the years Denis has worked with contemporary dance icons such as Johan Inger (NDT, Cullberg), Ohad Naharin (Batsheva), Alexander Ekman, Wayne McGregor (ROH). He has performed choreography by William Forsythe, Giri Kylian and others.
All of these artists contributed to his development as an artist. Denny’s extensive creative experience has taught him that every time we start working with a new choreographer, we have to start over. It’s like we’re a blank sheet of paper, like we’ve never danced before.
Denny has a keen sense of freedom in dance. He knows that when improvising, one often unconsciously builds on material that one has already worked with. We imagine that we are free, but in fact we are recreating our previous experience again and again. The improvisation methods Denny will share with us break this pattern. They also mitigate the fears familiar to every dancer, such as the fear of falling, the fear of failing, the fear of even letting yourself try.
After all, every body is different. Even more: the same body feels completely different every day. In two consecutive days together with Denislav Kanev we will explore the small and big differences and let ourselves use them to create.
Nadia Dimokova
“The most important thing for an artist is to be able to listen to his body.”
Nadia Dimokova was born in Donetsk, Ukraine. She started working professionally in theatre early – as a student at the ballet school in her hometown. Soon after graduation she was offered a job in Thuringen, Germany. She accepted and then things changed for her. After Thuringen, Nadia became a soloist at the opera in Zurich, Switzerland. Later she returned to Germany and worked at the theatre in Dortmund and then moved to Schwerin, where she also became a soloist.
Over the years, Nadia has worked personally with contemporary dance icons such as Mats Ek (Sweden) and William Forsythe (USA/Germany), as well as with names such as Robert North (USA), Heinz Spörli (Switzerland), Davide Bombana (Italy), Nils Kriste (Netherlands), Alexei Ratmansky (Russia/USA), Francesco Napa (Italy), Hans van Manen (Netherlands) and others.
Since 2015 Nadia has been living and teaching in Varna – the city where her great-great-grandfather was born. She created her own school – N. D. Ballet, where she teaches classical ballet and contemporary dance.
In 2018 Nadia made the performance “Behind the Announcements” for the contemporary dance company Varna Dance Theatre. The performance has been performed in Bulgaria and Turkey.
Every class at Nadia Dimokova is different. She teaches different techniques she has learned from the choreographers she has worked with, carefully tailoring the material to the students. Nadia creates a relaxed creative atmosphere that helps students relax and actively engage in the work. Nadia manages to get a feel for each student and, more importantly, to get them to feel their bodies and their selves as well.