(Bulgaria)
Reconstruction of “A NEVER ENDING STORY” and an exhibition of archival materials

The event is part of the research project “DanceMap”’, funded by the “Horizon Europe”’ programme of the European Union.

“A NEVER ENDING STORY”, originally titled “What a Fool She Is with That Cuckoo Feather”, by choreographer Galina Borisova has its own, almost endless, history, securing it a permanent place in the cultural memory of contemporary dance and performance in Bulgaria and Europe.

Its premiere took place at the Military Club in Sofia in 1997, with performers Galina Borisova, Ivo Dimchev, Tsveta Kasabova, and Yuliana Sayska taking the stage. The performance is dedicated to the Russian White Guard émigrés following the First World War, and its dramaturgical structure is woven with provocations from the newspaper “Satirikon”, which was published between 1905 and 1918.

In 1998, the performance was transformed into a trio format for participation in an international competition for choreographers in Groningen (the Netherlands). In this format, it was presented at the “Small Theatre Forms” festival in Vratsa, and at the Frascati Theatre in Amsterdam it appeared once again as a quartet. Nearly 30 years after its premiere, the 19th edition of the “Antistatic” festival continues to tell this unforgettable story.

“Come and listen to old hits, even a funeral march, hear ‘Ramona’ on a scratchy old gramophone, witness panicked relationships and incompatible duets. We create a sense of cosiness, every part of our bodies is ready for one last leap and escape. The three artists — Neli, Silvia, and Daniel — try to pass through one half of a tunnel, but end up entering another. ‘A NEVER ENDING STORY’ is dedicated to ‘the fool with the cuckoo feather’ and to Madame Camille.” — shares Galina Borisova.

The audience will get acquainted with the original version of “A NEVER ENDING STORY” through an exhibition of archival materials, carrying the memory of the creation and development of the performance. The original photographic material is by Svetlana Hristova. Through this reconstruction and the accompanying exhibition, “Antistatic” brings into focus the significance of dance memory and the necessity of activating it in a contemporary context.

Galina Borisova calls herself a “mutant” choreographer. She is a choreographer and performer of more than 50 performances, presented in Europe and USA. She is known by the audience for her emblematic solo works: “Juanita Hildegard Bo”, “I dance Maria Callas”, anti-GONE-It’s me, ‘’Down here all lilacs died”, “How fast the life goes from January till December“, “True Copy”. Her performances provoke with conceptual solutions, precise details and sense of humour. Together with Ani Collier she initiated and produced the festival “Etud and Friends”. She is author of the book “Dance images and artistic preferences”. She is an active blogger and initiator of the platform “Dance preferences”: http://galina-borissova.blogspot.com/.

She received first prize for her performance “A Never Ending Story” at the International Competition for Choreographers in Groningen. She was awarded a gold medal for her solo “Juanita Hildegard Bo” at the “Zemun” festival in Belgrade. Her latest projects are displayed at “Etud” gallery where she is also the programme director of the space. She is a visiting lecturer at Duncan Center, Prague; New Bulgarian University, Sofia, etc.