04 june 2020 Prof. Hikmet Mehmedov Celebrates His 70th Birthday

Today, a great name in contemporary Bulgarian cultural life - Prof. Hikmet Mehmedov celebrates its 70th anniversary. The long-time choreographer of the State Opera - Burgas has left his lasting mark - in artistic and aesthetic terms, in the creative production of the Burgas cultural institution. Impressive, large-scale, intelligently presented - with creative scope, aesthetic vision, and brilliant attention to detail, are the productions of Prof. Hikmet Mehmedov. The staging and choreography, impressive with artistic perfectionism and creative scope, transporting the audience into fairy-tale dimensions, where aesthetics and a sense of balance rule, are characteristic elements of the creative portrait of Professor Hikmet Mehmedov. Each performance, directed by Prof. Hikmet Mehmedov, is another attestation for the penetrating vision of the director, for the philosophical coloring - with depth, emotional color, and semantic argumentation, of the constructed images, for searching and achieving extreme levels of aesthetic suggestion, for a sophisticated approach. to every element that intertwines in the overall picture of a finished beauty.

"One Night in Paris", "The Hazelnut Crusher", "Swan Lake", "Cinderella", "Romeo and Juliet", "Sleeping Beauty", "Scheherazade / Romantic", "The Doll Fairy", "The Waltz / Bolero", "Spring Sacrament / Love Magic ”, the choreography of the large-scale opera production“ Aida ”and many other productions realized on the stage of the State Opera in which Prof. Mehmedov has woven his creative impulse and original handwriting.
After the furor of the premiere ballet performance "Swan Lake", staged for the first time on the Burgas stage - on May 30, 2016, at the Opera Hall, the director Prof. Hikmet Mehmedov was awarded the Crystal Necklace, a prize of the Union of Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers. It was presented to the choreographer by Prof. Dr. Julian Kuyumdzhiev. The award was given on the occasion of 45 years of creative activity of Prof. Mehmedov and his exceptional successes as a choreographer and pedagogue. In the following year, 2017, Prof. Mehmedov received the prestigious Golden Muse Award for his production of Swan Lake. The award was established by the Association of Bulgarian Choreographers and is held for the first time in 2017. The event is one of the most important annual events for the dance world in Bulgaria.
On behalf of the management of the State Opera - Burgas, the creative teams and the administrative staff, we wish a relentless creative energy charge of Prof. Mehmedov, happy and satisfying future days!

Hikmet Mehmedov was born in Kardzhali. After graduating from the State Choreographic School in Sofia, he worked as a ballet dancer at the Sofia National Opera and the Arabesque Ballet. In 1982 he graduated with honors in ballet directing from Professor Nikolai Boyarchikov and Professor Pyotr Gusev at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
He worked as chief choreographer and director of the Ruse National Opera (1983-1995), director of the ballet of the National Opera and Ballet (1995-1998), as chief choreographer of the Burgas Opera (from 1998 to 2018).
Hikmet Mehmedov successively founded ballet classes at the Music Schools in Ruse and Burgas. He is the initiator and organizer of the First National Creative Meeting of Young Bulgarian Ballet Masters.
Hikmet Mehmedov currently works as a professor of ballet directing at the Academy of Music and Dance - Plovdiv.
He is a laureate of national and international competitions. He was awarded the "Golden Lyre" and "Crystal Lyre" of the Union of Bulgarian Music and Dance. His performances as a choreographer both in Bulgaria and abroad carry markedly individual authorial decisions.

On this festive day for Prof. Mehmedov received an official congratulatory address from Emil Koshlukov, Director General of the Bulgarian National Television, in which wishes are presented on the personal holiday of the great Bulgarian choreographer, director, and teacher, with significant contribution to the cultural development of Bulgaria.

Hikmet Mehmedov's productions "Sleeping Beauty", "Swan Lake" and "Cinderella", which were broadcast online in the classical music program "Together in Crisis", initiated by the Bulgarian National Radio and the Sofia Philharmonic, were viewed a total of about 20,000 times. are brilliant!