„Outside the frame“ and „Who stole the chips“ are the premiere shows of choreographer Petur Iliev and of the educational programs that his Iliev Dance Art foundation organizes. For decades Mr. Iliev has been living and working in the United States and in the recent years his work has been associated with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, as well as with the Ballet Chicago School. Since 2008 he has regularly organized courses in Bulgaria in Classical Ballet, Modern Dance, and Character Dance. The best participants in the courses have access to scholarships and the opportunity to continue their studies in prestigious dance schools in Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. So far scholarships have been awarded to 52 young dancers.

As to the forthcoming shows “Outside the frame” and „Who stole the chips” music to them has been composed by Bulgarians who live abroad - the Wladigeroff brothers (of „Outside the frame“) and the Karparov brothers (of „Who stole the chips“). The dancers are children and teens and the shows are quite different in terms of their concepts, „Outside the frame” presents on stage 12 young dancers who are equally skilled in four different dancing styles. The show will be premiered on 1 December at 'Tear & laughter' Theater in Sofia. We have some details from Mr. Petur Iliev:

“On 1 December the participants are professionals - students who have been trained in our educational programs entitled Spring and Summer Academy. Most of them have received scholarships from the foundation and have been trained in the United States. They are now back to Bulgaria and we work together. They also receive training at our school that opened in Sofia on 1 October. We have constantly been widening the range of our activities. I have always been willing to create a Bulgarian dance company with a strong identity of its own. The second show is the culmination of our work in the new program 'Dancing kids'. Participants are kids aged from 10 to 12 from different schools. This will be their first performance on stage. The show is called 'Who stole the chips', and we will present it on 8 December at 'Tear & laughter' Theater. The libretto is very interesting - characters include mice, ants, spiders, aliens and zombies. We aim to create kids' interest in dancing and in art as a whole. Professionals are taking care to make sure that the show goes well and I hope that everything will be OK. For both shows we needed financing. We are very grateful to the US Embassy in Sofia which has provided financing for the kids' show. We would not be able to make it without their support.”

Petur Iliev says more about the newly opened dance school of the foundation:

“We have opened the doors for anybody who is willing to develop their skills. I run a very good team of pedagogues - Rositsa Terziyska, one of the first scholarship students who teaches hip hop. Another former student and scholarship beneficiary, Nikolina Karageorgieva, teaches Classical Ballet. Our staff includes two leading foreign specialists. For the show 'Outside the frame' the young dancers have professionally made contracts. I want to show them how the professional world operates and how important for them it is to be loyal and responsible. I want to teach them to be open-minded, able to work with different leaders, in different halls and to prove how good they are every day. I want them to meet and communicate with their peers from other countries. In Bulgaria it is more an exception to see classical ballet combined with contemporary techniques. In 'Outside the frame'our concept is to mix various styles. The show closes with a splendid Bulgarian Kopanitsa dance. This includes live inputs from Alexander and Konstantin Wladigeroff (trumpet and piano), Stoyan Yankulov-Stundji (drums) and Nedyalko Nedyalkov (shepherd's flute). The dancers should listen carefully to the music that offers a variety of beats. Besides, there is plenty of improvisation and everything takes place with ease and spontaneity.”

English Daniela Konstantinova