{"id":1101,"date":"2016-02-27T07:31:19","date_gmt":"2016-02-27T05:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liragroup.eu\/art_of_living_projects\/"},"modified":"2018-06-29T20:07:25","modified_gmt":"2018-06-29T17:07:25","slug":"world_culture_festivals","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/liragroup.eu\/en\/world_culture_festivals\/","title":{"rendered":"World Culture Festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u041b\u043e\u0440\u0435\u0442\u0430Loretta Dimitrova tells us about the projects with Art of Living Foundation:<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n

Two thousand Bulgarians weave a Bulgarian horo dance on Berlin\u2019s Olympic Stadium. <\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n

When I accepted to work on the project \u201cBerlin 2011\u201d, I knew nothing about the people who would participate. So far I had worked only with Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankulov on a few of their compositions, and I thought it would be something similar, moreover we had already prepared a choreography on their song Water. <\/span><\/p>\n

I asked about the people who would dance together with my cast of dancers, where they came from, their number, and how much time we had for preparation. The organizers Krassimir Benyamin and Konstantin Dragov told me they would be around 1800 to 2000, that most of them were not dancers, that they would come from some twenty cities of Bulgaria, and that we had five weeks. I thought they were joking. My response and that of my partner and husband Angel Bobev was \/which they still keep reminding me\/ \u201cThis is impossible!\u201d And they answered back \u201cThere is nothing impossible!\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I went home, did not sleep that night, and I told myself those folks were out of their mind, and could not possibly know what they were talking about! However, my mind started drawing virtual schemes. By the next day I had already scribbled some plans in my notebook. Angel was still resisting the idea, but bit by bit he became engaged with my ideas. Of course, some of them were discarded right away \u2013 they were so ambitious that I myself could not accept them. We said to ourselves, we need something simple, understandable for all, music, which all can hear and like. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There followed a few working meetings with Eli, the music was cleared, our choreography on stage with Lira Dance dancers was not hard for me to do. But then, how could we train the dancers-to-be on the stadium? Where could we do that? Angel, who has some experience with the military, said \u201cThis can be done only with military discipline, you teach your leaders!\u201d Well, who could do the job, I was thinking, and I thought of Lira Dance dancers again. At least I had worked with them and knew their skills, and I was able to communicate the idea to them and to rehearse it.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, we chose some twenty girls and boys, drew the scheme, walked through the whole route, rehearsed in parks and open spaces, paparazzi photographed Elitsa, kids were swarming around, she giving autographs, I was measuring and counting time and space, and Angel was giving commands to all. It was an exhilarating experience! Amusing, unusual, but also a great responsibility. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So far so good, but\u2026how can we plan when we did not have contact with the participants? I prepared two scripts \u2013 one for the big horo dance and one for the dancers on stage, and I asked for the scripts to be posted inside all travelling busses for the event. I was not permitted to travel, for I was pregnant in the eighth month, and my other child was just a year and a half old. Angel had to cope by himself there. <\/span><\/p>\n

What happened then? \u2013 well, see for yourselves in the documentary \u201cAsega dream\u201d, <\/span>, for whose filming we are thankful to Smilen Savov. Rehearsals at gas stations from bus to bus, trainings, instructions, some got them the first time at the stadium. All the time I felt uncertain we would succeed to do that.<\/span><\/p>\n

I turned on my laptop on the day of the performance and watched online, with also tens of TV channels showing it as well. I watched the choreographies of the other countries, some were excellent, and I was feverishly expecting to see our performance. You know what happened then \u2013 the skies poured down on that day, just like \u201cWater\u201d as we danced it, and the stadium was roaring in ecstasy during our performance. <\/span> It was a Day to remember for every Bulgarian on the stadium then. Elitsa was superb, and the people in the great horo dance were brimming with happiness and patriotic feelings.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At that moment I came to believe in miracles!<\/span><\/p>\n