Rumen Rashev is a prominent figure as principal soloist in Bulgarian ballet in the 1970s and 1980s. He found a place in the world of art without ever intending to, but with the blessing of Nedelcho Izov, director of the National School of Choreography. Rumen was selected to continue his studies at the prestigious Vaganova academy in St. Petersburg – the oldest ballet school in Russia, founded in 1738. At the academy, his teachers were the top names in ballet, but also in acting, history of music, theatre, dance. After graduating, Rashev returned to Bulgaria and started work at the opera in Plovdiv. In 1981, choreographer Margarita Arnaudova invited him to join the prestigious Bulgarian modern dance company Arabesque, and one year later, he was appointed at the Sofia Opera.  For almost a year, Rumen Rashev was principal soloist at the National Ballet, at the same time dancing with Arabesque and teaching at the School of Choreography. In January, 1990 he was officially invited to work in Venezuela. Asked why an established, highly successful artist decided to leave Bulgaria at the very beginning of the transition in the country from communist rule to democracy, Rumen Rashev says:  

“Not that things were bad here, it is just that I got invited to Venezuela for one year and my wife said to me: “Why don’t we change the atmosphere a little”. We left for one year, and it has been 34 years since then.”

Today his home is in Venezuela; he started work in El Salvador for the first time in 2013. “There is a private foundation there with a ballet company,” Rumen Rashev explains. “The first lady danced with this company - Gabriela de Bukele. When Nayib Bukele became president, there was every reason to establish a national ballet. I was invited as director, and on 1 October, 2019 the official start was given to the National Ballet of the Ministry of Culture.”

There are 21 artists dancing with the company at the moment, and there is a scholarship programme was well. Rumen Rashev is the only choreographer for now, but he does not stage any shows:

“I don’t think I should because it is a national ballet. In the space of two years, and with the help of the ministry and the presidency, we were able to invite 6 different choreographers – from Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Germany… So the dancers can come in contact with choreographers of different ages, styles, from different countries – that enriches ballet, enriches them, enriches the repertoire.”

Rumen Rashev travels a lot around Latin America. He has lectured in Brazil and has summer courses there almost every year. “If you want to have a good company you need state assistance,” he says, talking about his impressions of Peru and Mexico. “Most companies in America and the new companies in Europe are private and it is very difficult to find money and sponsors, art is an expensive thing.”

The first ballet the young company staged was Coppélia. They had to wait for a year because they had started out in 2019, and then in 2020 the pandemic struck, and it was only in the autumn that they had their official opening - with suite from Coppélia. Then came the Cuban version of The Poorly Guarded Girl, then Swan Lake. Rumen Rashev is particularly proud of The Nutcracker, staged together with the other two Salvador companies – for folklore ballet and for modern dance. And he has ambitious plans. One of them is Carmen by Alberto Alonso – a virtuoso version for which Alberto’s niece Laura Alonso has been invited to El Salvador.

“What I am interested in is an exchange of companies. In September we guest performed in Cuba, and did a gala together with Laura Alonso’s company. That is what is interesting – an exchange of companies, not just of directors or of producers who will stage something somewhere and will then leave. The ballet dancers get to know each other, hear different languages, see different styles… Not as some kind of contest but as a way to exchange experience, it is wonderful, such an atmosphere of friendship. In Latin America we all speak Spanish, there is no language barrier. The dancers understand one another, help one other… that is a really good thing and it is something I try to do. We are planning a joint gala in Mexico next year.”

Meanwhile, the company of the National Ballet of El Salvador, under Bulgarian ballet master Rumen Rashev performed in Bulgaria for the first time at the end of November, 2024, with a combination of a classical and neo-classical repertoire.

But has the fact he studied in St. Petersburg, at the world’s most famous ballet school named after Agrippina Vaganova opened any doors for him? Does “Vaganova” actually mean the very best in ballet?

“It depends where we are, because sometimes it is not accepted. That is a problem I have in Latin America because the Cuban influence there is very strong. In Central America the British Royal Ballet is very influential. So that Vaganova… people regard me as being overly demanding. It is the most demanding school of all, the best school, the most wonderful! It was sheer happiness to have been sent to study there together with Sylvia. It is the only school with solid scientific foundations. As I have always said – ballet is a spectacular form of art, but it is based on science – physics, mathematics, anatomy.”

Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photos: Stara Zagora Opera, Facebook / Gabriela de Bukele, Facebook /Rumen Rashev