The performance featuring 10 healing songs and choreographies will take place on June 16 at Vidas Art Arena
Just 6 days after his major concert at the Ancient Theatre in Plovdiv, Ivo Dimchev returns to the Sofia audience with another intriguing show. Known for his versatile talents across different art forms, this time the eccentric artist will present the interactive music and dance performance Di/Strauss Technique. The event will take place on June 16 at Vidas Art Arena. Tickets are available through Ticket Station, starting at €22.
Ivo Dimchev is many things – a director, choreographer, visual artist, singer, songwriter and LGBTQ activist from Bulgaria. His work is a radical and colourful blend of performance, dance, theatre, music and visual art. He has created more than 40 performances presented on international stages, received numerous international awards for dance and theatre, and is also the author of more than 100 songs, collected in his book “Songbook”.
This time, Bulgarian artist Ivo Dimchev will present his interactive music and dance performance Di/Strauss Technique. Inspired by the music of Johann Strauss II, the performance features 10 “healing” songs and choreographies created with the intention of improving the audience’s psycho-physical well-being. Through themes such as self-love, sexual autonomy and emotional liberation, Di/Strauss Technique transforms the audience into a community taking part in a ritual of joy, humour and freedom.
Upon entering, the audience receives special bags containing props – ribbons, fans, golden pom-poms and drinks – which gradually transform the spectators into active performers. Each participant sings, dances and joins a collective choreography led by Dimchev, with his signature blend of provocation, tenderness, absurd humour and precision.
The performance combines comedy, operetta kitsch, camp aesthetics, punk and choral singing. Somewhere between Strauss, a pop ritual and therapeutic parody, Di/Strauss Technique offers not simply a performance, but an experience – liberating, funny, physical and infectious.
The project was created in the context of Wiener Festwochen / Free Republic of Vienna and has already been presented at or included in the programmes of major international stages and festivals such as Wiener Festwochen in Vienna, Antistatic Festival in Sofia, Smells Like Circus / VIERNULVIER in Ghent, Theater der Welt in Germany and BASE Milano / Hello Darkness in Milan. Zürcher Theater Spektakel in Zurich, Berlin Art Week / HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin, Doclisboa in Lisbon and La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York.
This initiative by Ivo Dimchev comes as no surprise, given his open-mindedness and kindness, expressed not only through his art but also through his work as a queer activist. During the pandemic, when concert halls stood empty, he literally entered people’s homes through his unique performances and, through his personal efforts, demonstrated his unwavering commitment to people and art.
Tickets for the Di/Strauss Technique performance are available through Ticket Station, starting at €22.