“Espiral Principle” – a Method for Building Personalities.
(Part 1)
Literature and the dance scene met in a dynamic and rich cultural week in the town of Ruse.
Between 28 June and 6 July, in the town of Ruse, two premieres and one training module were presented. Following the chronology of the events, I present them as they occurred, and you will be able to read a brief report from each one. The materials are divided into two parts and are illustrated with rich visual material, as well as the most interesting conversations with Tsvetanka Gerginova, Anita Asenova, and Aleksandar Asenov, who, although not participating in the interview, is an indispensable part of this collaboration. Their partnership created several cultural products in just over a week in the town, but it is the result of nearly 10 years of cooperation.
Premiere of the contemporary dance performance “Tsvetna”
“The message of this performance for me is the relationship between student and teacher” – Anita Asenova – choreographer of the performance.
Photographer: Mirela Partinova / Mirela Photo
On 28 June, in the Great Hall of the Income Building in the town of Ruse, the premiere of the contemporary dance performance – “Tsvetna” by Freedom Dance Studio took place. In front of the crowded hall, a performance was shown, built entirely on the method of “Espiral Principle”, whose author is the Bulgarian Tsvetanka Gerginova.
The performance is an adaptation of Tsvetanka Gerginova’s fairy tale “Rainbow or the Brightest Colourlessness”. Its choreographer is Anita Asenova, and the scenography and costumes are the work of Anita and Aleksandar Asenov. The libretto is by Denitsa Dudeva, who is a graduate and assistant choreographer of Anita Asenova. Aleksandar Asenov is responsible for the multimedia environment. Antonia Dudeva played the role of Tsvetna, and Iskra Partinova was reincarnated in the image of Siva. The performance was attended by alumni of all ages from Freedom Dance Studio, proving that the method “Espiral Principle” is applicable and successful in working with different ages and generations.
Photographer: Mirela Partinova / Mirela Photo
In an open conversation, the choreographer of the performance, Anita Asenova, shared about the work process of its creation and the background of everything that led to this moment:
- This performance appeared quite spontaneously, from a children’s picture that I sent to Tsvetanka Gerginova, and she shared with me that the artist of the picture had painted one of her children’s fairy tales without knowing about its existence. I asked her for permission to build my performance on this fairy tale. I dare say that this was the biggest challenge for me as a choreographer and pedagogue so far. When you take something out of the soul of an author, and in this case, this author is the source of “Espiral Principle”, you not only have to tell their story and show their soul, you have to fully coordinate your pedagogical and choreographic work with the principle they gave you to work with.[1]
Photographer: Mirela Partinova / Mirela Photo
About the actual process of staging the performance:
- 120 children from the school took part, aged between 3 and 19. The biggest challenge in staging was precisely this difference in ages and the different ways of working with each of the groups. Perhaps if we had created the performance only with the older students, it would have looked different, but I realise that to create a mature dancer, you have to go through all ages, because it is very different to use a finished dancer and one that you have built and with whom you speak the same language – the “Espiral” method is familiar to both of you. We aim to convey a message in every performance we present. To show and educate both the audience and the children that the most important thing in a human life is to find and deserve your teacher and to prove that these teachers who work with their souls have a meaning for us, but not only as artists, but above all as people. The message of this performance for me is the relationship between student and teacher – Tsvetanka, who paved the way for me, I paved the way for Antonia, and from there, one person gives the beginning and meaning to your life path, I wouldn’t say just to your dance.
Photographer: Mirela Partinova / Mirela Photo
On the relationship between student and teacher:
- In my experience as a teacher, hundreds of children have passed through the hall; among them are those who continue their journey as dancers. However, many do not continue their journey as professional dancers, but return to say that all they have learned from the “Espiral Principle” continues to serve them to this day in the personal battles they face. People who call themselves teachers need to be aware of the price they pay, be prepared for what they will suffer as losses, but they also need to earn their respect and their moment in the spotlight. At one point, you see that everything you have built has made sense.
Photographer: Mirela Partinova / Mirela Photo
Video from the show: https://www.facebook.com/Freedom.of.mOvmnt/videos/1442086576994752
Premiere of the fairy tale “Rainbow or the Brightest Colourlessness”
“There is nothing more beautiful than a heart in this world, as long as you can reach it. To open it, to win it!” – “Rainbow or the Brightest Colourlessness”
Photographer: Zahari Nankov
On June 29, the premiere and presentation of the fairy tale “Rainbow or the Brightest Colourlessness” by Tsvetanka Gerginova took place in the “Fabrika Kultura” hall. The performers from Freedom Dance Studio recreated the book through dance and theatre. The authors of the illustrations, which transformed and made the fairy-tale world of Rainbow real, are the young artists Antoan Asenov and Albert Asenov. The choreography is the work of Anita Asenova. The roles were played by her students Antonia Dudeva (Rainbow)and Iskra Partinova (the old Colourless), the latter being a graduate of the “Patilantsi” Dance School under Denitsa Doncheva. The other performers are also from Freedom Dance Studio, with Albert Asenov, Antoan, and Anton Emanuilov playing central roles. The multimedia is the work of Alekasndar Asenov. The actress Silvia Terzieva assisted in the acting interpretation, and Denitsa Doncheva provided the hall and the stage for the performance. The event was organised by the Art Ring Association and funded under the Culture Program and the Creative Projects Division in Ruse Municipality.
The plot of the fairy tale tells about the kingdom of the colourful fish, in which all the inhabitants communicate with each other only through the colours of the scales on their bodies. However, many wanderers from the outside world pass through this kingdom, but each of them is blindfolded, because they can be blinded forever by the bright colours of the inhabitants of this fairy-tale kingdom. This is the main plot – living in self-sufficiency, these creatures never learn about the outside world, because they cannot and do not know how to communicate with the passing travellers.
The twist of the fairy tale unfolds in the story of the little, colourful fish called Rainbow and her fateful meeting with the old Mrs. Colourless. The little fish is a creature that wants to understand everything about the world outside the kingdom it has never left.
Photographer: Mirela Partinova / Mirela Photo
“Rainbow or the Brightest Colourlessness” is a fairy tale written in an era of transformation and gradual opening to the world, but still on the other side of the Iron Curtain. A time in which the author, just like her fairy-tale hero, Rainbow, got to know the world and sought answers to these essential questions. Its author, then in her mid-20s, created a text on her typewriter that patiently waited to see the light of day – nearly 40 years after it was created. So many things happened at that time – the author then did not suspect that she would create a methodology by which she would train dozens of people in Bulgaria and abroad, that one day she would see a picture that would overturn everything and bring her back to this forgotten text. Who is her artist? – one of the sons of her students, Anita and Aleksandar – Antoan!
Photographer: Mirela Partinova / Mirela Photo
Anita Asenova shares about the creation of both the book itself and the performance, which was part of her presentation in “Culture Factory”:
- When I read the text of Rainbow, I decided that it should be done, because if Tsvetanka wrote the story in a time of scarce information, I now see children who are engaged in art, but are closed in this way, but inside themselves. I mean all the children who are different and strive for some colour, all who are not uniform and are not part of the modern ‘locals’, all who even walk dressed differently, do not dare to show their colours; even if they try, however, others do not accept them. For example, the freedom of the younger ones, who have no complexes and vanity, makes a dance combination look radically different from the vanity and complexes that the older ones carry within themselves. For the big ones, it’s always important how they look from the outside.
I did not want it to be just an ordinary reading, but excerpts from the performance “Tsvetna” to be presented as a magical performance. Not just a room, but a whole experience, to have a magical portal through which viewers can enter, to be greeted by characters from the fairy tale itself, to make an exhibition with the illustrations from the book. Aleksandar suggested that we use the illustrations for the multimedia as well, and we did a small 30-minute performance to present the book.
Photographer: Mirela Partinova / Mirela Photo
Tsvetanka Gerginova:
- I wrote the story at another time, when I was very young and we lived in a different world – the 1980s, when we didn’t have the opportunity to travel. There was little information; we wanted to learn things about the world as children. Even if we just talk about music, it was so hard to find recordings or dance films. I wanted to know, I was curious. So, going to Germany without speaking German, only with what is described in the fairy tale, with my teacher Susanna Borchers, I worked with all my love, and so the fairy tale was born. In fact, I am Rainbow, the other main character – Colourless is rather a collection of my teachers – Margarita Gradechlieva, Susanna Borchers, Ana Genkova-Pancheva, Valya Verbeva, Mary Hinkson.
At the end of the conversation, Anita Asenova shared:
- If for Tsvetanka she was Rainbow, and Colourless embodied her teachers, for me, Tsvetanka is Colourless, and I am Rainbow, and for my student Antonia, I am Colourless, and she is Rainbow. At the end of the story, we realise that the light that a teacher carries inside is the most important thing, and there is a thought – that it is important to give part of your fire and for someone to carry this little fire somewhere and spread it.
Photographer: Mirela Partinova / Mirela Photo
At the end of the material, I put a quote. In my opinion, it contains powerful symbolism. I leave its interpretation to the reader, and after reading the entire material, they can return to the beginning of the text and this quote – then it will acquire its true meaning.
“The great French Marshal Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was growing slowly and would not reach maturity before 100 years had passed. The marshal replied: ‘In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!’”. (The quote is attributed to John F. Kennedy.)
Video from the presentation of the fairy tale:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/599233262809566
[1] The methodology “Espiral Principle” (I Control, I Master, I Create) was created by the Bulgarian Tsvetanka Gerginova. In it, she combines her practice and experience in classical dance, modern dance techniques and martial arts with the philosophy of the warrior’s path. This training system is built by Four Gates and is applicable both when working with amateurs and when working with professionals, regardless of their age and level of training.
