Pro Rodopi Foundation

Pro Rodopi Foundation was founded in 2000 in the village of Bostina near Smolyan, Bulgaria where in 2004 it established Pro Rodopi Arts Centre. It is non-for-profit and a public benefit NGO and its main activity is projects in the field of performing arts. The foundation carries out a full production cycle in the realization of a theatrical stage product – from the preparation and rehearsals, to its premiere and tours. Other big activities are the organization of public events such as festivals, workshops, residences, socio-cultural projects and more. An important focus of the foundation’s activities is the international cooperation in the field of arts and culture. Pro Rodopi Art Centre is the only Bulgarian member of the network of independent European cultural centers Trans Europe Halles (www.teh.net) since 2005.

So far, the foundation has produced the following theatre and dance performances, which are distributed by Pro Rodopi Arts Centre: Bulgarian-Slovenian co-production for adults in the genre of physical theatre “Anatomy of Extreme” (2004); performance with puppets for families “Chick with a Trick” (2005); Bulgarian-Slovak-Austrian-Slovenian co-production for adults in the genre of physical theatre “Delta” (2006); performance for adult with a puppet “I, Thy Soul” (2008); performance for adults in the genre of physical theatre “Hair” (2009); performance with puppets for families “Garbage for Plums” (2010); Bulgarian-Slovak co-production for adults in the genre of physical theatre “Ball – Part 1 and Part 2” (2011); performance for babies and infants from 0 to 4 years, and for children with mental disabilities “Yellow” (2013); multimedia performance for children and parents “Hotch Potch” (2015), Bulgarian-Swedish-Danish co-production for adults in the genre of physical visual theatre “Homo Ludens” (2018); a performance with puppets for all ages “The Concert” (2019); Bulgarian-Swedish-Danish co-production for children in the genre of physical visual theatre “Munchausen – your personal trainer of fantasies”; performance in the genre of physical visual theater “Ball – Part 3” (2021); Swedish-Danish-Bulgarian co-production for adults in the genre of dance theatre “Life is a strange dance”.

The performances of Pro Rodopi Foundation are winners of numerous national and international awards for Best Performance, for Acting and Scenography from festivals in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Albania, as well as two nominations for the “Icarus” National theatre awards (for “Chick with a Trick” and “Garbage for Plums”).

The tours of the productions since 2004 have been held in Bulgaria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Albania, Croatia, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Serbia, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands. , Germany, Russia, Israel, USA, Pakistan, India, Australia, Singapore, China, Peru a.o. The performances of the shows are over 700.

Since 2012, Pro Rodopi Foundation organises the annual International Theatre Festival for children and youth audience ” Adults Forbidden” in the city of Smolyan and over 21 other towns and villages in Smolyan Municipality and all other 9 municipalities in the region. The next 10th edition is in October 2021.

Pro Rodopi Foundation is a co-organizer of the ” Aquarius Era” – a festival of Bulgarian physical and visual theatre and performance in Burgas since 1998. The next 11th edition is in October 2021.

Pro Rodopi Foundation is a contractor of part of the activities of the project “Include the City” of the Municipality of Bourgas and is part of the consortium that implemented the project “Rhodopes Fest” of the Municipality of Smolyan in the period 2012-14.

To support its activities, the Foundation has generated numerous subsidies for projects from the Ministry of Culture, National Culture Fund, America for Bulgaria Foundation, Plovdiv 2019-European Capital of Culture, Smolyan Municipality, KulturKontakt Austria, Pro Helvetia , Goethe Institute, European Cultural Foundation Amsterdam, Open Society Foundation Bulgaria, Soros Center for the Arts Sofia, Open Society Institute Budapest, Mutual Understanding Trust New York, Asia-Europe Foundation Singapore a.o.

Pro Rodopi Foundation has participated as a co-organizer in seven international projects, funded and co-financed by various programs of the European Union, incl. “Creative Europe”, “Culture 2007-13”, “Erasmus +”, “The Civil Society Facility / EU – Turkey Intercultural Dialogue: Culture & Arts (ICD-CA)” a.o.