21 march 2023 The Opera Hosts The International Competition "Sara-Nora Prima"

From July 4 to 9, 2023, a significant event is coming up in the city of Burgas, which will be a highlight of the seaside city's summer cultural program - the First International Ballet Competition "Sara-Nora Prima", which will be held by the International Ballet Association "Sara- Nora Prima", together with the State Opera - Burgas and the Municipality of Burgas. The competition will be for professionals only - students from ballet schools and artists from ballet companies, and will take place on the stage of the Burgas Opera House.

The prestigious forum is expected to attract many participants from different countries, as well as a large audience - not only because of the fact that it will be the first of its kind in Burgas but also because of the extremely high level of the conceptual project, management, presence of world names in the jury, as well as logistics and organization. The competition will be held with the assistance of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The competition is named after the famous Bulgarian prima and long-time director of ballet at the Sofia Opera Sara-Nora Krasteva. From July 1 to 9, 2023, also in the building of the State Opera - Burgas, as a side program, the Ballet Academy SARA-NORA MASTER: was held. Which includes master classes, repertoire, modern techniques, and characteristic dances for all those who wish without limitation of education and training. "The purpose of the competition is to support professional ballet staff and their future development. For this purpose, there is also a ballet academy at the event with master classes led by undisputed names from the world ballet scene - for all those who wish without restrictions", explains Primate Sara-Nora Krasteva.

An international jury will evaluate and award the laureates. The prizes, in addition to money, will also be in the form of tours in various ballet theaters, one-year contracts, participation in other competitions, and specializations, as well as training in world-renowned institutes.

The international contest "Sara-Nora Prima" will be held annually, and for its first edition, the association has the support of the Municipality of Burgas. The patron of the First International Ballet Competition will be the mayor of the city - Dimitar Nikolov.

The authoritative international jury of the ballet forum will be composed of: Sara-Nora Krasteva, prima ballerina and long-time director of the ballet ensemble of the Sofia Opera and Ballet; Maria Volodina, director of the Russian School of Arts "Grand Ballet", soloist of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia; Gregor Hatala – Choreographer for the Vienna State Opera, the Spoleto Festival, the Istanbul Music Festival, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's "Summer Night Concert 2011 & 2012" with Valery Gergiev and Gustavo Dudamel respectively. For many years he has been a guest teacher in various troupes and ballet academies and a member of the jury in dance competitions around the world; Freddy Franzzuti, an Italian choreographer, among the most famous and appreciated in Italy and abroad, guest of various companies of international prestige; Constantin Kostyukov, choreographer, a premier ballet dancer in the theaters of Kyiv and Belgrade; Nikola Hadjitanev – premier ballet dancer of the Sofia Opera and Ballet; Kaye Köb – former director of the Estonian Ballet, head of ballet at the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet, active ballet teacher; Prof. Dr. Maria/Masha Ilieva - long-time prima ballerina, choreographer, ballet teacher at the "Masha Ilieva" Ballet School; Marta Petkova - artistic director of the ballet at the Sofia Opera and Ballet, prima ballerina; Ana Pavlović, artistic director of the ballet of the National Theater in Belgrade. Competitors will be evaluated according to a 20-point system.

In the competition, ballet dancers will compete in three age categories: Group A/ 9-12 years/, Group B /13-16 years/, and Group C /17-26 years/ The maximum number of candidates that will be admitted for participation in the competition, is a total of 150 ballerinas and ballet dancers. After receiving the documents of the 150th candidate, the acceptance of documents will be suspended, the organizers specify.

In the First International Ballet Competition "Sara-Nora Prima", a rich prize fund is foreseen: in Group A - plaque, diploma and incentive prizes for the category; Group B – first prize /women and men/ - 2000 BGN each, second prize /women and men/ - 1500 BGN each, third prize /women and men/ - 1000 BGN each; Group C - first prize /women and men/ - BGN 3,000 each and participation in a full performance with ballet and orchestra of the State Opera - Burgas on an open summer stage in Burgas in 2024, as well as in the final gala concert of the second edition of the competition "Sara-Nora Prima"; second prize /women and men/ - BGN 2,000; third prize /women and men/ - BGN 1,500

There is also an award for the best-ranked participant from the city of Burgas worth 1000 BGN. Two awards will be presented to the State Opera - Burgas for a one-year contract in the ballet troupe, as well as two awards to the Sofia Opera and Ballet - participation in ballet performance or a one-year contract.

The following prestigious prizes will also be awarded: two prizes from Valleto del Sud - a one-year contract and a tour contract, a grant for the international ballet competition in Vienna, a contract at the National Theater in Belgrade /Serbia/, to participate in a ballet performance or an annual contract, one-year contract and tour at the Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad; a prize for the most beautiful costume worth BGN 500, a prize named after prima ballerina Milena Simeonova – for the most artistic participant worth BGN 1,000; scholarship for training at the licensed professional Russian School of Arts of "Maria Volodina" at the Bolshoi Theater - GRAND BALLET /only for groups A and B/; awards from the Balkan Alliance - participation in the International Ballet Competition of Ilya Kuznetsov, premier of the Mariinsky Theater, etc.

Аbout the International Ballet Association "Sara-Nora Prima": https://saranoraprima.org/about-us/.

The authoritative representatives of the International Ballet Association "Sara-Nora Prima" are Evgenia Vladimirovna-Trofinchuk /Veda/ - president of the Association, a successful manager in the field of ballet art and its promotion worldwide, choreographer, author and manager of international projects in the cultural sector in Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, etc.; Sara-Nora Krasteva, prima ballerina, long-time artistic director of the ballet at the Sofia Opera and Ballet; Riolina Topalova, director, choreographer, tutor, coordinator and ballet master-educator at Sofia Opera and Ballet.

Important for applicants to the First International Ballet Competition "Sara-Nora Prima": detailed information on enrollment in the competition program and rules of the competition can be found on the official website of "Sara-Nora Prima": https://saranoraprima.org/

Registration is until April 30 of this year. However, due to numerous requests from international participants, registration for the competition and the academy has been extended until May 30.

Surely, this prestigious international forum will bring irreplaceable color to the rich summer program of Burgas and will add important value to the authority of cultural life in our seaside city. We wish success to all participants!

Information about the upcoming large-scale international forum in the building of the State Opera - Burgas:

From July 1 to 9, 2023, a significant event is coming up in the city of Burgas - a highlight of the seaside city's summer cultural program - the First International Ballet Competition "Sara-Nora Prima" /July 4-9/ and the International Ballet Academy /July 1-9 /, which will be performed by the "Sara-Nora Prima" International Ballet Association, together with the State Opera - Burgas and the Municipality of Burgas. The competition will be for professionals only - students from ballet schools and artists from ballet companies, and will take place on the stage of the Burgas Opera House.

The competition is named after the famous Bulgarian prima and long-time director of ballet at the Sofia Opera Sara-Nora Krasteva. From July 1 to 9, 2023, also in the building of the State Opera - Burgas, as a side program, the SARA-NORA MASTER Ballet Academy was held, which includes master classes, repertoire, modern techniques and characteristic dances for all those who wish without limitation to education and training. "The purpose of the competition is to support professional ballet staff and their future development. For this purpose, there is also a ballet academy at the event with master classes led by undisputed names from the world ballet scene - for all those who wish without restrictions", explains Primate Sara-Nora Krasteva.

The ballet academy and the competition are two different events, and participants could sign up for just one or the other, or both at the same time.

The authoritative representatives of the International Ballet Association "Sara-Nora Prima" are Evgenia Vladimirovna Trofimchuk /Veda/ - president of the Association, a successful manager in the field of ballet art and its promotion worldwide, choreographer, author and manager of international projects in the cultural sector in Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, etc., and Sara-Nora Krasteva, prima ballerina, long-time artistic director of the ballet at the Sofia Opera and Ballet.

The authoritative international jury of the ballet forum will be composed of: Sara-Nora Krasteva, prima ballerina and long-time director of the ballet ensemble of the Sofia Opera and Ballet; Maria Volodina, director of the Russian School of Arts "Grand Ballet", soloist of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia; Gregor Hatala – Choreographer for the Vienna State Opera, the Spoleto Festival, the Istanbul Music Festival, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's "Summer Night Concert 2011 & 2012" with Valery Gergiev and Gustavo Dudamel respectively. For many years he has been a guest teacher in various troupes and ballet academies and a member of the jury in dance competitions around the world; Freddy Franzzuti, an Italian choreographer, among the most famous and appreciated in Italy and abroad, guest of various companies of international prestige; Constantin Kostyukov, choreographer, a premier ballet dancer in the theaters of Kyiv and Belgrade; Nikola Hadjitanev – premier ballet dancer of the Sofia Opera and Ballet; Kaye Köb – former director of the Estonian Ballet, head of ballet at the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet, active ballet teacher; Prof. Dr. Maria/Masha Ilieva - long-time prima ballerina, choreographer, ballet teacher at the "Masha Ilieva" Ballet School; Marta Petkova - artistic director of the ballet at the Sofia Opera and Ballet, prima ballerina; Ana Pavović, artistic director of the ballet of the National Theater in Belgrade. Competitors will be evaluated according to a 20-point system.

There is also an award for the best-ranked participant from the city of Burgas worth BGN 1,000. Two awards will be presented to the State Opera - Burgas for a one-year contract in the ballet troupe, as well as two awards to the Sofia Opera and Ballet - participation in ballet performance or a one-year contract.

Detailed information on registration in the competition program and the rules of the First International Ballet Competition "Sara-Nora Prima" can be found on the official website of the "Sara-Nora Prima" Association: https://saranoraprima.org/bg/.