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Iva Sveshtarova, Bulgaria
19 November 2025, Wednesday
Black box
19.00 hour
60 minutes
Iva Sveshtarova, Bulgaria
dance performance
What happens when the body embraces the grotesque as a form of liberation?
“If Aphrodite Was a Monster” draws inspiration from the aesthetics of the carnivalesque and the grotesque female body as a way to unleash its full potential—an explosive force that spins out of control, seductive and threatening all at once. The performers enter a ritual of transformations where corporeality traverses exaggeration, disintegration, absurdity, and ecstasy, forging new modes of existence. The taming gaze is defied, clichés are overturned, and predictable frames shatter. Femininity emerges as a symbol of both desire and destruction—a gateway to renewal. Where Aphrodite’s breasts wield the same power as Medusa’s eyes.
Produced by Iva Sveshtarova, Brain Store Project.
With financial support from Sofia Municipality’s “Culture” Programme and the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with Toplocentrala and Goethe-Institut Bulgaria.
Iva Sveshtarova, Bulgaria
dance performance
Concept, direction and choreography Iva Sveshtarova
Performed by Ana Petkova, Vasilia Drebova, Iva Sveshtarova
Dramaturgy Angelina Georgieva
Music Tsvetan Momchilov
Costumes Pola Popova
Light and set design Ralitza Toneva
Снимки и графичен дизайн Teodora Simova (Lunohod Studio)
Communications A25 Cultural Foundation
