This project is being implemented with the financial support of

America for Bulgaria Foundation (ABF) is partnering with the Iliev Dance Art Foundation in the Dance It! Project since 2011. Founded in 2008, ABF is the successor of the Bulgarian-American Enterprise Fund (BAEF), an investment fund created by the United States of America, acting through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). One of the goals of the Foundation is to support private-sector art entrepreneurs and organizations. ABF’s mission in arts and culture is to promote greater appreciation of and demand for Bulgarian arts and culture in-country and abroad; to nurture Bulgarian creative talents to lead and compete in the global marketplace; and to enhance Bulgaria’s international cultural profile. With the Dance It! 2014 Project, America for Bulgaria and the Iliev Dance Art Foundation aim at building another cultural bridge between Bulgaria and the United States, as well as to provide opportunities for Bulgarian students in dance to get a feel for the American way of work and to get to know some of the most prominent choreographers and masters of American ballet. For more information, go to www.americaforbulgaria.org

Classic Ballet

Paula Weber

Professor of Ballet, Chair of Dance, Conservatory of music and dance, University of Missouri at Kansas city

Paula Weber received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from Butler University and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Smith College. She has studied ballet with such masters as Maria Tallchief, Jean Paul Comelin, Dermot Burke, Basil Thompson, Larry Long, Marjorie Mussman, and Maggie Black. During her professional career, Ms. Weber performed solo and principal roles of more than 45 major works which include such classics as Swan Lake (Odette/Odile), Giselle (Giselle), Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), Cinderella (Cinderella) and Coppelia (Swanhilda), and contemporary works as George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco (First Violin), Agnes DeMille’s Fall River Legend (Lizzy Borden), John Butler’s “Carmina Burana”, and Alvin Ailey’s ”The River”. She has worked with renowned choreographers such as Bill T. Jones, Margo Sappington, Laura Dean, Sean Curran, Charles Moulton, and Kevin “Iega” Jeff. She has been a member of the Milwaukee Ballet (principal), the Albany Berkshire Ballet (principal),Lyric Opera Ballet of Chicago (soloist), Chicago Ballet and the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre, and guest principal artist with the Hartford Ballet. She is currently the assistant director and rehearsal director for the Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company and is ballet mistress for the Albany Berkshire Ballet. Ms. Weber has been a guest instructor of ballet in many prestigious schools throughout the United States. In 1996, she was invited to be a guest instructor of ballet for the Shenyang Conservatory of Music, Shenyang, China, making her the second American ballet instructor to teach at that conservatory. Ms. Weber was the 1997 recipient of the Mrs. Ewing Kauffman Excellence in Teaching Award, the 2001 recipient of the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Excellence in Teaching Award, the 2007-2008 recipient of the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2011 Muriel McBrien Kauffman Faculty Service Award all presented to her by the Conservatory of Music and Dance, University of Missouri – Kansas City. She is on the official adjudicator for Regional Dance America and a site evaluator for the National Association of Schools of Dance. Ms Weber’s choreography has been performed by the Kansas City Ballet, the Albany Berkshire Ballet, the Kansas Regional Ballet, the Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Midwest Youth Ballet, Alexandra Ballet, Kansas City Youth Ballet, Allegro Ballet of Houston and City in Motion. Her first professional choreographic work, “Carmina Burana”, was performed by the Kansas City Ballet in 1996 with repeated performances in 1998 and May of 2002. In 2003 Ms. Weber was commissioned to create a new ballet for the Kansas City Ballet, “Canzone” which later by invitation became the three movement ballet, “Toccata e due Canzoni”, created for the 2005 Fall Season of the Kansas City Ballet. She has received three Craft of Choreography Awards from Regional Dance America (2004, 2008, and 2014). Summer of 2008 her work, “From Within” and 2013 her pas de deux in the piece “Blue” were selected to be performed for the Young Tanzommers Dance Festival in Austria by the Allegro Ballet of Houston. In 2010 she received the Regional Dance America National Choreographic Award and was named a choreographer for the 2011 National Choreographers Initiative. She is a member and former President of the CORPS de Ballet International, Inc.

Modern Dance

Gary Abbott

Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Missouri at Kansas City; Deeply Rooted Dance Theater

Gary Abbott teaches modern dance and composition at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He is also a co-founder and the associate artistic director of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater in Chicago, Illinois; a company rooted in the traditions of modern, classical, and African American dance, storytelling, and celebration of the voices of contemporary life. They perform nationally and internationally. In 1993, Abbott co-founded Performance Arts Workshop in Gillette, Wyoming, to train youth in musical theater during a three week summer workshop , and presently serves as it artistic director. Also in Gillette, Abbott is lead artist and instructor of modern and African dance at hoose Dance which delivers dance education to the public school system and to at-risk youth centers. In 1999, 2010, and 2012 he was awarded the Katherine Dunham and Alvin Ailey Awards for Best Choreography for Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Best Choreography for the dance ‘Desire,’ and Best Choreography for the dance ‘Move,’ respectively. His company, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater was the first American dance company to perform in the internationally celebrated JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Festival held in Durban, South Africa. Deeply Rooted Dance Theater continues to collaborate with Durban Flatfoot Dance Company. In addition to his professional activities, Abbott has been a guest artist at numerous performance arts centers, and colleges and universities across the country, Austria, Bulgaria, and South Africa. As an educator, it is important to Abbott that all those who collaborate in the sharing of knowledge do so authentically. In the class room environment, he shares all of the lessons he has learned as a dance student, professional dancer, choreographer and artistic director. He shares that knowledge freely and urges students to challenge his ideas as a way of making what they learn from him their own. He continues his work as a choreographer and educator both nationally and abroad. Abbott’s work has appeared in the repertories of Dallas Black Dance Theater, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, David Taylor Dance Theatre, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, The Goodman Theater, Kansas City Repertory, Penumbra Theatre Company, among others, including his own company, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. He serves as artistic director for Performance Arts Workshop, where he has directed musical theater performances that include: ‘The King and I,’ ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,’ ‘Mulan,’ and ‘Once On This Island,’ to name a few.

Jazz

Marcus Galante

Broadway, NY

Marcus Galante has worked extensively as a teacher and choreographer throughout the world. Last year his teaching engagements included schools in Buenos Aires, Argentina where he taught Ballet & Broadway theatre dance workshops, the New American Youth Ballet where he taught ballet and Variations and created a new ballet titled “Gliеre Ballet Suite” set to “The Bronze Horseman” ballet suite of Reinhold Gliеre. The family of the composer found the ballet listed on the internet and he received lovely messages from Russia praising the ballet. He is also a regular guest teacher for the Kathryn Posin Dance Company in NYC and the American Theater Dance Workshop Trained at the American Ballet Theatre School and the School of American Ballet, he was also a trainee at the Harkness Ballet in NYC. Some of his teachers include Patricia Wilde, Richard Rapp, Stanley Williams and George Balanchine. He went on to dance with many companies such as the Chicago Lyric Ballet under Maria Tallchief, Cleveland Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet and was a soloist with the National Ballet of South Africa C.A.P.A.B. performing the classical repertoire. On Broadway, he sang, danced and acted in A Chorus Line, Pippin, Carousel and other shows. He has also worked in Opera, film and in television with Shirley MacLain. Mr. Galante has choreographed many successful ballet and theatre works and has done television and film choreography. In 1995 he nominated for a Dance in Film Award for the short film Private Performance with “Super-Size Me” director Morgan Spurlock. He has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (Choreography) and 5 grants for choreography from Harkness Foundation for Dance. As a teacher, Mr. Galante has been on the faculty of some of the most prestigious schools in the country – New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Pennsylvania Ballet and Company, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Lines Contemporary Ballet Company, Eglevsky Ballet, Ballet Chicago, Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, Ballet Arts (NYC); the Midwest Regional Ballet and The Chicago National Association of Dance Masters; and many others. His international experience includes invitations to Russia, Finland, Japan, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Iceland, Denmark etc.

Hip Hop

Andrea Burr

Go To Talent, LA

Andrea is a professional dancer and teacher based in Los Angeles, California. She is signed with Go to Talent Agency. This past summer, Andrea went on tour with Macy’s Glamorama “Fashion in a New Light” show where she shared the bill with Cirque de Soleil, the Backstreet Boys and Sheryl Crow. Her recent credits include the finale of the television show the Voice, Comic Con and Mandy Jiroux’s “Speakers Boom” music video. Last summer, Andrea was chosen as one of 8 girls in the US to be in “The Mobsters Way”, the Monsters of Hip Hop show in LA. Now she assists on the Monsters of Hip Hop convention tour. Andrea was recently in a short film called “Today is the Day”, directed and co-choreographed by Tamara Levinson and Daniel “Cloud”Campos. Last year Andrea danced with Rihanna on the X-Factor, where she performed the world premier of “We Found Love” choreographed by Tina Landon and Tanysha Scott. In 2011, Andrea lived in China for 6 months teaching hip-hop and performing around the country. Upon return to the States, she co-directed a full length hip hop dance show in Seattle. Some of Andrea’s credits include: August Jackson Industrial in Las Vegas, Poser’s LA, Carnival LA, Cruz Control’s show at the Moore Theater, Seattle Seahawks halftime show, Vietnamese music awards, and the Young Tanzsommer Austriatour with Westlake Dance Center Performing Group. Andrea is credited with award winning choreography which has been selected to perform at Disneylandin CA, and the RDA Dance America Festival inUtah. She has received scholarships to Steps on Broadway in NYC, Millennium Dance Complex in LA, Debbie Reynolds in LA and various convention scholarships from Monsters of Hip Hop, Company Dance, Hollywood Vibe, LA Elite, Encore, and West Coast Dance Explosion.

Character Dance

Petur Iliev

Iliev Dance Art Foundation, Bulgaria; Pacific Northwest ballet; Ballet Chicago

Petur Iliev is a Bulgarian-born dancer and choreographer whose career is deeply steeped in the rich folk dance traditions of his family. He started dancing at the age of five at the dance ensemble of his father. Later he graduated from the Bulgarian National School of Dance Art and from the Bulgarian National Institute of Choreography in Sofia, Bulgaria. He began his professional career as a Principal Dancer of Kutev National Dance and Music Ensemble where he worked for five years, before continuing his training at the National Dance Institute in New York where he studied under the supervision of one of the gurus of American dance – Jacques d’Amboise. Subsequently, Iliev became the Artistic Co-Director of Believe in Me — a dance ensemble in Austin, TX, where for four years he trained more than a thousand young dancers. Moving to California, Iliev continued working in the American educational system teaching dance to hundreds of children in a performing arts magnet school. A year later he was appointed the Artistic Director of Westwind International Dance Company — one of the first companies in the US whose mission is to present to the American audience the richness and diversity of ethnic dance. All along Iliev has been teaching master classes in Character dance and Bulgarian folk dances at many colleges and universities in different parts of the US, and has been creating new choreographies for professional and non-professional dance companies in the US and Canada. In 2003 he joined the faculty of the renowned school of Pacific Northwest Ballet and two years later he was attracted to the school of Ballet Chicago. Along with that, for several years Iliev shared his expertise with numerous students in the public school system in Chicago through a 21st Century grant. With this invaluable experience in hand he resumed his activity in Bulgaria in 2008 through the various programs of his foundation established in the same year. The Iliev Dance Art Foundation has since been running several highly successful educational programs: the Spring and Summer Intensives Dance It, as well as children’s dance programs targeting youth from public schools. Most recently Iliev appeared as a judge on the national reality dance show Magadans – The Challenge, as well as created and staged a full-length children’s show Click, performed in October 2013 as part of Sofia Dance Week. In addition, he has also actively been teaching and choreographing at The Anglo-American School of Sofia, both instructing children from various classes, as well as choreographing for the final musicals performed by the graduating classes. In Bulgaria Petur Iliev’s artistic creativity has been gradually coming to its full potential in the creation of several highly innovative choreographies that reach to the core of the Bulgarian ethnic dance and release its structure – unleashing its potential as a means of expression by enriching it with the vocabulary of ballet and modern technique. “In 2014 he choreographed and staged 5×5+1 – a conceptual, interdisciplinary project, and A Swallow’s Flight – a children’s dance show.” In Bulgaria Petur Iliev’s artistic creativity has gradually been coming to its full potential in the creation of highly innovative choreography that reaches to the core of the Bulgarian ethnic dance – unlocking its structure and unleashing its potential as a means of expression by enriching it with the vocabulary of ballet and modern technique. More about the Founder and Artistic Director of Iliev Dance Art Foundation in the section About us/Founder.

Ballet, Intermediate level

Nikolina Karageorgieva

Iliev Dance Art Foundation, Bulgaria

Nikolina is a graduate of the Bulgarian National School of Dance Art – Sofia, where she studied with Lilyana Draguleva and Fanny Cherneva. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Ballet Pedagogy from the Academy of Music, Dance and Visual Arts – Plovdiv. In 2008 she participated in the first edition of Dance It! Spring Intensive, organized by the Iliev Dance Art Foundation, and was one of the first recipients of full scholarship for summer training in the US. She joined Ballet Chicago’s Summer Course and Advanced Intensive and took classes with Daniel Duell, Patricia Blair, Gary Abbott and Petur Iliev. Additionally, she was invited to continue in the full year program of the ballet and was featured in “The Nutcracker.” She performed with Ballet Chicago until the end of 2009, when she became a member of Balletto Del Sud – a private ballet company in Italy. In 2012 Nikolina returned to Bulgaria and is currently teaching at Ballet Studio Odette and at Iliev Dance Art Foundation’s “Dancing Kids” program. She performed in Petur Iliev’s “Click” (2013) and “A Swallow’s Flight” (2014). Nikolina has participated in many ballet competitions and is the winner of several prestigious honors and awards, amongst which: fourth place at the International Ballet Competition, Nice, France – 2006; Diploma from the National Competition for Young Ballet Dancers “Anastas Petrov”, Sofia, Bulgaria – 2008; Diploma in each year of her participation inthe International Ballet Competition, Varna, Bulgaria (2002-2007), and Diploma from each year of her participation inthe Dance It! Spring Intensive (2008, 2010-2012). As a student at the Bulgarian National School of Dance Art she danced in Giselle, Swan Lake and Don Quichotte, and with Balletto Del Sul she was The Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, Juliet’s Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, and was a soloist in Carmina Burana, Phaedra, Scheherazade, Carmen and La Traviata, amongst others. She has been a guest dancer at festivals in Cyprus and Frankfurt – Germany as well.