Vladimir Angelov (born May 3, 1966) is a Bulgarian–American choreographer, author, and the executive director of Dance ICONS, Inc. He lives in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Early life and career

Vladimir Angelov graduated from the National Choreographic School in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1986. He first danced full-time for the national contemporary ballet company Ballet Arabesque in Sofia while studying philosophy at the

University of Sofia Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" () is a public research university in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Bulgaria. Founded on 1 October 1888, the edifice of the university was constructed between 1924 ...

. Angelov immigrated first to Austria and then to the US in the early 1990s. In 1996, Angelov completed his master's degree in dance and choreography at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

in Washington, D.C., under professor Dr. Naima Prevots while being directly influenced by many American groundbreaking choreographers such as

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She regrouped the compa ...

, Mark Morris,

Ron Brown Ronald Harmon Brown (August 1, 1941 – April 3, 1996) was an American politician and lobbyist who served as the 30th United States Secretary of Commerce during the first term of President Bill Clinton. Before this, he was chairman of the Democ ...

Dianne McIntyre Dianne McIntyre (born July 18, 1946) is an American dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Her notable works include ''Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Dance Adventure in Southern Blues (A Choreodrama)'', an adaptation of Zora Neal Hurston's novel '' ...

Doug Varone Doug Varone (born ) is an American choreographer and director. He works in dance, theater, opera, film and fashion. He is an educator and advocate for dance. His company, Doug Varone and Dancers, has been performing for over three decades. Educa ...

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award ...

, and many others. Angelov has choreographed at the

Washington National Opera Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performance ...

at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., under the artistic direction of

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

. He also choreographed for diverse musical, theater, film, and television productions. He has also frequently choreographed for the City Dance Ensemble in Washington, D.C. Angelov has created original ballets for companies such a
Arizona Ballet

Atlanta Ballet Atlanta Ballet is a ballet company, located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the longest continuously performing ballet company in the United States and the State Ballet of Georgia. History Atlanta Ballet was founded in 1929 by Dorothy Alexander as ...

, CityDance,Indianapolis Ballet

Richmond Ballet Richmond Ballet is an American ballet company and 501(c)(3) organization, located in Richmond, Virginia. It was named the State Ballet of Virginia in 1990 by then Governor Douglas Wilder. Founding In 1957, the Ballet Impromptu, founded by Ro ...

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

, and

Washington Ballet The Washington Ballet (TWB) is an ensemble of professional ballet dancers based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1976 by Mary Day and has been directed by Edwaard Liang since 2024. The Mary Day years (1976–99) Mary Day ''(née'' Mary H ...

in the United States. Internationally, he has choreographed for

Alberta Ballet Alberta Ballet (also known as the Alberta Ballet Company) was founded by Muriel Taylor and Dr. Ruth Carse in 1958 and became a professional company in 1966. The company is a resident company of both the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmo ...

, National Ballet of Finland
National Ballet of Mexico

Ballet Manila Ballet Manila is a classical ballet institution and dance company in the Philippines. It currently highlights more than fifty highly trained dancers in the highly rigorous Russian (Vaganova) method of classical ballet. Locally the company has perf ...

Tokyo City Ballet

Mariinsky Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet () is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's ...

in St. Petersburg, among others. One of his frequent collaborators is Rasta Thomas, for whom he created many solo works. Angelov is a regular guest lecturer at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

and

in Washington D.C., and has taught at numerous universities and seminars at dance companies in Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and Russia.

Dance ICONS

In 2015, Angelov founded the International Consortium for Advancement in Choreography, Inc, known as Dance ICONS (International Choreographers’ Organization and Networking Services). The organization is a global association for choreographers based in Washington, DC, USA. Since the inception of the organization, he has served as the Executive Director. Part of his work as the Executive Director of Dance ICONS includes leading a Choreographic Institute that provides professional development to emerging and early-career choreographers. The Institute is hosted in partnership with the Atlas Performing Arts Center. In his work for Dance ICONS, Angelov has interviewed and hosted Choreographic Talks with prominent choreographers and artists, such as

Wendy Whelan Wendy Whelan (; born May 7, 1967) is an American ballet dancer. She was principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and performed with the company for 30 years, and toured in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Whelan has also been an influential gue ...

, Brian Brooks, Ronald K. Brown,

Rennie Harris Lorenzo Harris (born January 28, 1964) is a dancer, choreographer, artistic director and professor of hip-hop dance. Harris formed the first and longest running hip-hop dance touring company, Rennie Harris Puremovement in 1992. In 2007, he concei ...

, and

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (born 30 April 1973) is a Belgian-Colombian international ballet dancer and choreographer based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Dance background Born in Antwerpen to a Colombian father and a Belgian mother, Lopez Ochoa completed ...

, among others.

Publications

Between 1994 and 2008, Angelov wrote and published more than 30 articles, features, reports, performance reviews, and philosophical essays about dance in several European dance magazines, including ''Ballet Journal'' (Munich, Germany), ''Ballet/Tanz'' (Berlin, Germany), and ''TanzAffiche'' (Vienna, Austria). In 2023, Angelov published a new book on choreography and the artistic practices of dance making, ''YOU, THE CHOREOGRAPHER, Creating and Crafting Dance,'' through Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. The book synthesizes histories, theories, philosophies, and creative practices across diverse genres of concert dance choreography. The book is designed for choreographers at every stage of creative development, as well as readers who seek to refine their artistic sensibility.

''"You, the Choreographer: Creating and Crafting Dance'' is a book to accompany you, the choreographer, on a creative lifetime! Systematically organized, it’s a book for good days and also for the bad days, to keep on hand to dip into when inspiration doesn’t sync with the company’s rehearsal schedule. Angelov’s book is encyclopedic in its knowledge and an indispensable guide for choreographers and those fascinated by the creation of dance." (Maggie Foyer, SeeingDance)

Choreographed works

* ''Nostalgia'' (April 1997); Rasta Thomas * ''Unfolding'' (April 1999); Adrienne Canterna and Rasta Thomas * ''Bumblebee'' (1999); Rasta Thomas, Bad Boys of Ballet * ''Martyr'' (2000); Rasta Thomas, Bad Boys of Ballet * ''Impetous'' (2000);

* ''Last Horizon'' (2001); Mariinsky Ballet * ''Prism'' (January 2001); CityDance * ''Jinari'' (September 2001); CityDance * ''Suite Dreams'' (2001); Alberta Ballet * Deep Surface (2001); CityDance * ''Bouncing Light'' (2002); Richmond Ballet * ''SuitCase'' (September 2022); CityDance * ''Interzone'' (September 2003); Indianapolis Ballet * ''AXIOM'' (October 2003); CityDance * ''tink tank'' (April 2004);

* ''Torso'' (May 2005); Tokyo City Ballet * ''Troubles in Paradise'' (2011) National Ballet of Mexico * ''Framework'' (November, 2012); Dance Ethos * ''CacoPhony'' (2017); Stara Zagora State Opera

References

External links

Dance ICONS website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angelov, Vladimir Bulgarian choreographers American choreographers 1966 births Living people