site.btaTenth Edition of Moving Body Festival Brings Together Artists from Czechia, Italy and Bulgaria

The tenth edition of the Moving Body festival opened in Varna with the Czech performance Treatment of remembering by the collective POCKetART. 

"In times of global conflict, social collapse, and climate crises, we believe culture is not only an economic or touristic tool but a social necessity," said festival organizer Iskra Prodanova at the opening. She noted that over the past decade, the festival has hosted more than 400 artists from around the world. "How do we move during catastrophe, and where are we headed? These are questions shaping both our artistic programme and our partnerships," she added. According to Prodanova, this year’s edition explores the role of the body and movement as acts of resistance, memory, and care.

The 2025 festival brings together artists from Czechia, Italy, and Bulgaria who use dance as a means of dialogue with the present. The programme includes performances, installations, film screenings, and workshops held at the City Art Gallery, Campus 90, and Behemoth Club.

On October 31, the City Art Gallery will feature Italian choreographer Adriano Bolognino’s The Last Movement of Hope (IV), along with In the Dark There Is a Chance We Will Get Lost, a sound installation by Varna-based artist Iskra Prodanova exploring the potential of darkness. Earlier that day, POCKetART will host a contemporary dance and physical theatre workshop at Campus 90.

On November 1, at 5 p.m. in the City Art Gallery, children will take part as co-creators in the Czech interactive performance Microworlds. Later, Bolognino will present Gli Amanti, inspired by the plaster cast of "the lovers" - two figures frozen in an embrace during the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, and Come Neve, featuring dresses crocheted by a seniors’ club in Naples.

The festival will conclude on November 2 at Campus 90 with a screening of the documentary Obsessed with Light, about modern dance pioneer Loie Fuller.

Moving Body is supported by the National Culture Fund, the Ministry of Culture, and private donors.