With the solo “Atrás,” the choreographer Aleksandar Georgiev continues his long-term exploration of the “back side” of the human body, its phenomenology; and its cultural and political significance from a historical perspective. While his previous projects, “The Power of S” and “Echoes of S,” focused on “the anal body and politics”, “Atrás” expands the scope to the base of the body, which, however, always remains in the shadow of the gaze and thought: the back.

“If I were to do it, I would rather do it bareback… no protection, from the back, from behind, until it brings out the narratives from the back—the back archive, the back histories, the desires from the back, the back frontality, the back kinetics, the aesthetics from the back, until it dismantles the dogmas and constructs of shame, blame, and censorship, so we can smooth out, emancipate, and fall in love with the back, all over again” – shares the performer. 

This choreographic solo focuses on the back of the body from a decolonial and anti-capitalist perspective, both artistically and narratively. It is a choreographic work that begins by observing the body and its phenomenology from its “back side,” exploring how it relates to this not-so-prominent body perspective. Within the Western European choreographic and dance context, historically, the back of the body, while being one of the fundamental parts of the corpus, has, however, been little explored and little exposed since, (apparently), it is not as expressive due to not containing identity marks such as a face. The back is usually left without prominence, drawing a parallel between this artistic and movement reality and the behind areas of our history and society.

Dominant thought and narratives also shape aesthetic and artistic languages. In this sense, “Atrás” highlights the rear perspective in contrast to the dominant front vision, where hegemonic narratives reside—such as those of reproductive logic and the perpetual forward-looking gaze. This work challenges the avoidance of looking back at the past and acknowledges what sustains or has sustained us.

Aleksandar Georgiev (Ace) is a choreographer and artistic researcher working at the intersection of performance, choreography, and critical practice. His work focuses on the body as a site of political, social, and affective transformation, investigating how movement can challenge normative structures and generate alternative forms of relationality.

He holds a BA in Dance Theatre from New Bulgarian University (Sofia) and an MA in Choreography from DOCH (Stockholm). His practice has developed through both formal and independent research contexts, including DanceWEB, NOMAD, SPAZIO, and Critical Practice Made in YU.

Over the past years, he has created and presented works internationally, including FANTASTIC FUTURES, ATRÁS, Anal Body / Anal Politics, SCREENSAVER, and The Power of S. These projects explore non-normative embodiment, queer and post-identitarian perspectives, and the capacity of choreography to operate beyond representation.

His recent research focuses on the development of kinetic practices and the exploration of affect, transmission, and collective bodies. Alongside his artistic work, he is active as a curator and initiator of collaborative platforms, including the Imaginative Choreographic Center (ICC) and the program PEC – Queer Cultural Encounter and Action.

This work was realized with the support of LAV (Laboratorio de Artes Vivas y Ciudadanía), ICC (Imaginative Choreographic Center), Garage Collective, Cultural-Social Space Jadro, Konstnärsnämnden (Swedish Arts Grants Committee), Gobierno de Canarias (ICDC), Funds European Union Next Generation EU (Support for Cultural Accelerators), Cabildo de Tenerife, Teatro Victoria, Central Eletrican, Culture Moves Europe, Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria and Toplocentrala.