SINCE
© HiFilms
“Plast-tonia” is the first large-scale project of the Muzotanz Dance Company. In addition to a performance, it also includes two dance miniatures and an information campaign dedicated to preventing plastic pollution and reducing its negative consequences for the environment.
In the autumn of 2020, the Dance Company Muzotanz implemented four street flash mob actions (broadcasted online as well) with the miniature “Travellers” and eight visits to metropolitan high schools with the miniature “The Animal” (focusing on attracting the attention of young people to contemporary dance art and the environmental theme of the project). The performance premiered in December 2020 at the “Derrida” stage (where Plast-tonia is performed during the 2020/2021 theatre season).
It was followed by two online interactive dance performances – for Bulgarian- and English-speaking audiences. All events under the project aim to provide access to culture, attract attention and encourage civic activity regarding the socially significant topic, and introduce new audiences to contemporary dance art in Bulgaria.
In 2022, the performance returned on stage with a national tour and regular performances at the RCCA Toplocentrala (seasons 2022/2023 and 2023/2024). In 2023, three new dancers joined the Plast-tonian team.
Plast-tonia
© Petko Lungov & Nikolay Kamburov
The dance project “Plast-tonia” is a dystopian view of the Earth, which survived an apocalypse due to the global environmental crisis.
Who are the survivors? And what does their world look like today? A new order is operating on the planet. From “Above”, oppression has never been so cruel, and restrictions so extreme. Obedience is a condition for survival, and the fading memory of “life before” creeps temptingly only in one’s tired sleep. There is no going back for the Plast-tonians. And for us… Is there a way back?!
Premiere
© Petko Lungov & Nikolay Kamburov
Tour
Second generation Plast-tonians
© Juliana Nikolova
The 20th
© Boryana Pandova
For further dates on which you can watch all active productions of the company, follow: Muzotanz Dance Company
Plast-tonia on the Street
The layers are shifted.
They come to tell you.
They come to warn you…
Do you hear them already?
Look for them!
This is only the beginning.
Plast-tonia is everything that you feel is about to happen to our world, but you don’t want to accept…
© Nikolay Kamburov
Plast-tonia in school
The Plast-tonians made eight space-time stops in Sofia schools to look into the eyes of our future and “tell” it what lies ahead…
Producers: Muzotanz Dance Company, Storycatchers, and BB Soundscapers
Choreographer: Ina Gerginova
Music: Alexander Evtimov-Shamancheto and Rosen Zahariev-Roko
Scenography and Costumes: Velika Prahova
Dancers: Bozhana Manovska, Christina Vesselinova, Mariana Kapoustyanova, Milen Petrov, Mihail Bonev, Nikolay Raychev, Vasil Zolumov, and Yanitsa Stankeva
Photographer and Cameraman: Petko Lungov
Lighting Design: Victor Georgiev
Graphic Design: Vessela Dantcheva
Chief Assistant Production: Lyudmil Venev
Consultant: Danita Zarichinova (Eco Association FOR THE EARTH)
Coordinator: Lachezar Afrikanov
The artists
Ina Gerginova
/choreography/
Alexander Evtimov-Shamancheto
/music and sound design/
Rosen Zahariev-Roko
/music/
Velika Prahova
/scenography and costums/
Viktor Georgiev
/lights design/
Petko Lungov
/photography and video/
Second generation Plast-tonians
Ina Gerginova
Idea and realization
Ina Gerginova is a choreographer, dancer, actress, and teacher. She is interested in interdisciplinary and experimental art forms. Ina is the founder of Muzotanz Dance Company, which focuses on social engagement in the arts. The main tool of expression in her work as a choreographer is contemporary dance. In her last two performances (“Plast-tonia” and “Differsonalities”), she explores the use of dance dramaturgy, large-scale scenography, and cinematic approaches in theatre. Ina also practices playback theatre and works as a voice-over artist.
In 2022, she directed her first short dance film, “Inner Room,” which received a nomination for IMPULS (Annual awards of the professional dance community in Bulgaria). Ina Gerginova graduated from NATFA “Krastyo Sarafov” with a BA in Dance Theatre in 2013. Since then, she has worked with many Bulgarian and foreign choreographers and participated in numerous workshops with world-renowned teachers such as David Zambrano, Francisco Cordova, Rob Hayden, Marion Sparber, Alan Fuentes-Guerra, and Fighting Monkey, among others. She takes part in prestigious international forums and festivals. In 2022, she received a scholarship for the largest international dance festival, ImPulsTanz, in a training program for choreographers – ATLAS.
Ina created the platforms Muzotanz: Live (a series of improvised dance performances with live music), M.U.T.E (laboratories for experimental collaboration between artists from different fields), and the online platform for socially engaged contemporary arts – Move for Change. In 2022, Ina also created the interactive dance format Danceperimental.
Ina has been involved in playback theater for 10 years (as an actress and a conductor). She is the co-founder of the Storycatchers Association. Her master’s degree in Artistic Psycho-Social Practices and Psychodrama enriches her creative vision, knowledge of group dynamics, and management of artistic processes, and develops her interest in psycho-social work with art. She creates and conducts various seminars for professional artists, amateurs, people interested in theater and dance, and groups with different needs. Ina is inspired, motivated, and driven by the belief that art is for the people, it should be accessible, and it should “speak” about things that usually remain unspoken.
Plast-tonia is…
The black breath of ghostly factories, the dry skeletons of trees… The bodies… The rattling machines… The wasteland. Darkness. The memory of colors and sounds echoes deafeningly. The mouth is stuck with thirst. Does not dare to speak. The eyes speak… Sticky fear flows slowly through the veins… It pulsates… It turns into anger… Direction… Stop! Touch… Ray… Forbidden! … Everything! And you… yourself… you are forbidden! …
Before Plast-tonia
Before Plast-tonia
is our today…
More plastic products have been produced since 2000 than in the previous 50 years.
Almost half of the plastic produced is disposable.
Every year, about 10 million tons of plastic waste (or 1 truck per minute) falls into the oceans. Every day, 3 tons of plastic enter the Black Sea from land and rivers.
At the same time, few realize that soil plastic pollution can be between 4 and 23 times more than in the seas.
Only 14% of global plastics can be recycled. Less than 40% of biologically based plastics are biodegradable. Most plastic products break down into smaller pieces (so-called “microplastics” – particles with a diameter of less than 5 mm). A huge number of animals die by swallowing large or microscopic waste.
Microplastics are present in 83% of tap and 94% of bottled water.
Europe is the second largest producer of plastics in the world after Asia, producing an average of 50 million tons per year.
Many chemicals are used to produce different types of plastics. Some of them mimic natural hormones and directly affect the endocrine system. Daily contact with hormonally active substances in plastics can lead to cancer, infertility, allergies, obesity, asthma, diabetes, and more.
Between 3.8 and 7.1 kg of CO2 can be released during the production of a polyester T-shirt.
Coca-Cola ranks first in the world in the production of disposable plastic bottles with 88 billion a year, or 167,000 per minute. Stacked side by side, this number of bottles can reach the moon and back 31 times.
These are just a few small pieces of the puzzle of facts that prove that all processes – from production, through consumption to the disposal of plastics, have a detrimental effect on our planet.
*The data is from the year 2020; for even more up-to-date information, follow the channels of our partners.
Is there a disposable plastic product that you can give up? And one you can’t?
Close your eyes… Imagine your favorite place in nature? Without which of its main elements can you imagine it? And now… How can you imagine the world?
What did you do today for our common home?
Postpone Plast-tonia
We are part of the problem, but we can also be part of its solution. The personal contribution of each of us is essential. In fact, very little effort is required to achieve a significant result.
5 easy ways to be a part of the change:
Recycle and reduce! (Picture with the yellow trash can! + Some fresh mesh bag with fruit inside, bottle, and jug) So at least the plastic that can be recycled, will be recycled, but it is more important to find an alternative. Find your water bottle, shopping bag, and food box. Bring your favorite glass outside.
Be creative! Find a new application for the things you would throw away. (e.g., a plastic fruit bowl can turn into a chandelier or something else cool)
Buy clothes that are good quality and last longer. Return to natural fabrics.
Support small producers. Find out more about where food comes from, how it is prepared and packaged.
Talk to others around you more often about all this.
For more up-to-date information on the topic, follow the online channels of our partners: Ecological Association “For the Earth”, WWF – Bulgaria, Greenpeace – Bulgaria.
Don’t forget to also check out these helpful materials provided by them:
- Small booklet about recycling
- A plastic-free future
- Learn about nature from home
- Small book about plastic waste
Our partners from EcoSwitch offer a wide variety of alternatives to plastic, as well as the opportunity to supply cosmetics and household products in their Station Zero Refill Shop at the address: ul. Yuriy Venelin” 4, 1000 Sofia Center, Sofia or online at: EcoSwitch.
They created for us – for free, a special limited edition of bottles with the Postpone Plast-tonia brand.
© Petko Lungov
As you can see, it’s not difficult for each of us to be a part of the change in our own way, so don’t forget to postpone Plast-tonia a little every day!
The project is implemented with the financial support of:
Special thanks to:
Partners:
