site.btaSara-Nora Prima Ballet Competition to Bring Together Participants from North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa

Participants from North and South America, Europe, Asia and – joining for the first time - Africa, have already registered for the Sara-Nora Prima international ballet competition and the academy, which will take place simultaneously in Burgas, the event’s organizer, Sara-Nora Krasteva, said during a press conference at BTA’s National Press Club on Monday. She added that the interest in 2025 is even greater than last year.

The gala concert and official award ceremony for the competition will take place on July 12.

A large concert featuring all academy participants is scheduled for July 13, co-organizer Evgenia Trofimchuk added.

The Bulgarian News Agency has been a media partner of the competition since its inception in 2023, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said. He recalled that the project is named after Sara-Nora Krasteva, whose goal is to uphold Bulgaria’s long-standing tradition of hosting internationally significant ballet competitions.

The mission of the competition is not only to support professional ballet but also to inspire young talent, Trofimchuk said. She added that the number of ballerinas is declining, and there are fewer dancers to work with. “This is a serious profession and one must be dedicated and committed. That is exactly what the Sara-Nora Krasteva Academy aims to do: bring children from different schools together and guide them toward an academic path, helping them grow into serious professionals,” Trofimchuk said. The goal of this competition is to offer talented children opportunities to pursue careers in ballet, she noted, adding that they have staged 13 performances on major stages in Bulgaria and abroad over the past two years.

Prima ballerina and National Music Academy professor Masha Ilieva said that the competition’s jury is made up of ten members and it uses a rigorous evaluation system.

Marta Petkova, prima ballerina and director of the ballet at the Sofia Opera and Ballet, said that the competition provides networking opportunities with professionals from around the world.

Nikola Hadjitanev, principal dancer at the Sofia National Opera and Ballet, said that the Sara-Nora Prima is currently the only professional dance and ballet competition in Bulgaria. It is good to see the State promoting and supporting meaningful events. It is great that the competition is developing and growing in strength, as seen in the motivation of the children, he added.

The jury, headed by Sara-Nora Krasteva, includes Masha Ilieva, Marta Petkova, Nikola Hadjitanev, Vesela Vasileva, chief artistic director of the ballet company of the Ruse State Opera, Leonard Jakovina (Croatia), Aysem Sunal Savaskurt (Turkiye), Ogulcan Borova (Turkiye/USA) and Ana Pavlovic (Serbia).

All participants in Monday’s press conference thanked BTA for its support and partnership.

BTA supports the competition from its first edition in 2023 in its effort to revive Bulgaria’s ballet tradition, honouring an international ballet competition in the Black Sea city of Varna, launched in 1964 but halted in recent years due to funding issues, and a national ballet competition formerly held in Dobrich.

The driving force behind the initiative is Sara-Nora Krasteva - the youngest director in the history of the national ballet, who has served as prima ballerina of the Sofia Opera and Ballet since 2003.

Bulgaria has a 95-year-old ballet tradition. The first performance - Leo Delibes’ Coppelia - was staged at the Sofia Opera in 1928, and the country’s first original ballet, Hristo Manolov’s The Dragon and Yana, premiered in 1937.