Here[begin] Dance is the performance and production project of artist Zornitsa Stoyanova. Her art employs a wide range of media converging on the common theme of exploring and exposing the human condition. Here[begin] is interested in making dances, talking to people, and playing with space, time, tools, technology, paper and paint. Often times theatrical, Zornitsa's collaborations explore non linear stories, movement invention, spoken word, and object installation. She is equally interested in making set performances, as well as structured improvisations. Visual art is a big inspiration to Zornitsa and is sometimes a reason for a creation of a new piece. Ongoing company members/collaborators are percussionist Toshi Makihara, composer and lecturer Greg Dunn, dancers and choreographers Eric Conroe,Emma Morehouse, Erin Shanti Desmond, Greg Holt, Zack Svoboda and Lisa Rothstein.

Who is Zornitsa?

Zornitsa Stoyanova (Director)is a movement artist based in Philadelphia, PA. A native of Bulgaria, she holds B.A. in Dance and Sound Design from Bennington College, VT where she studied with Dana Reitz, Eva Kartzag, Susan Sgorbati, Susan Rethorst, Brendan McCall, Paul Matteson, Keith Thompson and Terry Creach. Shortly after concluding her studies in Vermont she moved to Philadelphia, PA where in 2008 she was awarded two fellowships. First to study with Headlong Performance Institute a post Baccalaureate program, where she focused on abstract character building, clowning and interactive theatrical performance. The second fellowship was a week-long intensive study of performance and improvisation with Deborah Hay.  That same year she also had the amazing opportunity to study technique with Anouk Van Dijk’s dance company.  She is deeply inspired by Anouk’s Countertechnique ideas and Deborah’s performance qualities and tries to incorporate those very different approaches to her performance. More recently she reconnected with mentor Susan Rethorst.  In December 2010, Zornitsa organized and participated in a week long workshop led by Rethorst, which pushed her into unexpected territory of focusing primarily on body, minimal movement, and particular states of performance that shift the energy in the theater ever so slightly.
Since moving to Philadelphia, Zornitsa has choreographed and performed numerous dances, improvisations and human installations.  Her work has been presented by Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts, Bowerbird, NEXUS Gallery, The New Edge Mix Festival, Etc. Series, StudioSeries, Inhale Performing Series, The A.W.A.R.D. Show! Philadelphia, Spiel Hhr, New York Dance Exchange as well as Mascher Artist in Residency show.  Apart from Philadelphia, she has also shown work at Joyce SoHo, Danspace at St. Mark’s Church in NYC, Hubbart Hall in Cambridge, NY, her native Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as Budapest, Hungary.  Zornitsa also dances with Emergent Improvisation Project, based in Vermont, Group Motion Dance, Pima Group and others in Philadelphia.  
Zornitsa’s second passion in life is web and graphic design. She enjoys composing two dimensional digital and marketing materials using ideas and elements from her studies in choreography. Working closely in a collaborative matter with her clients, Zornitsa guarantees a unique and personal creative process.   Her specialty is HTML | CSS | Flash | SEO | WordPress CMS.