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METCH - Ivo Dimchev
METCH
Interactive solo performance by Ivo DimchevMETCH is a concert, exhibition, auction, exercise, overproduction of paintings, an obsessive dialogue with the audience and, of course, music. About it, Ivo Dimchev warns: „I know that many people come to my shows because they like my songs. But, in the end, these people will have to experience or confront my complex and unpredictable relationship with theater, dance, politics, and contemporary art.“
The performance was created by Ivo Dimchev in New York in 2024, and since then it has found its audience in Sofia and the major European capitals.Nominated for the IKAR Award 2025 in the category „Contemporary Dance and Performance“.
*m.e.t.ch.- Music, Exhibition, Text, Choreography - the name of the performance is an abbreviation of the words Music, Exhibition, Text, Choreography (from English)
The world media on METCH
„Animalistic one moment, delicate the next, he weaves darkness and light, and verbal and physical finesse.“, The New York Times.
„Dimchev is a first-rate lyricist, profound even when he is ordinary... As a performer he glides effortlessly between male and female personae; his vocal range is just as protean, from low baritone to soprano, adorned with theremin-like vibrations.", The New Yorker.
About Ivo Dimchev
Ivo Dimchev is a choreographer, visual artist, singer, songwriter and queer activist. His work is an extreme and colorful blend of performance, dance, theater, music, drawing and photography. He is the author of more than 40 stage productions and has received numerous international awards for dance and theater. Most of his stage works are included in his book "Stage Works 2002-2016".
He is also the author of more than 100 original songs, all included in his „Songbook”.
His works have been presented throughout Europe, South and North America, and Asia.
He teaches classes at the National Theatre Academy in Budapest, the Royal Conservatory of Dance in Antwerp, Belgium, the University of the Arts in Bern, the University of the Arts in Amsterdam, as well as “DanceWeb” in Vienna.During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dimchev gave more than 400 private concerts in the homes of various people in Bulgaria, Istanbul, New York and Los Angeles. The „New Yorker" covered them in a series titled „The Extravagant Volatility of Ivo Dimchev".
What happens in the room is closer to a living studio than a conventional theater night. Expect pigment, canvas, and a keyboard sharing the same spotlight, with the audience folded into the workbench. The evening moves between song and image-making, trading intimacy for momentum: a melody births a sketch; a sketch provokes a confession; a confession mutates into dance. The temperature changes quickly—funny, then piercing, then tender again.
Dimchev treats form like material. He’ll linger on a breath until it becomes music, flip a gesture into choreography, frame a casual remark so it lands like a monologue. The voice is a full instrument here—velvet one second, metallic the next—often set against minimal keys. Visuals are not decoration but evidence: the stage fills with freshly made works, traces of decisions taken in front of you rather than in rehearsal.
Audience presence matters. You are invited to react, ask, tease, resist. Participation is never mandatory, yet your energy continually redirects the arc of the night. Because so much is born in the moment, no two performances align the same way; what feels like a concert mid-show may tilt toward gallery or confession by the end.
Practical notes
- The performance is for adults (18+). Themes and language can be intense; sensitivity is part of the point.
- Seating is typically close to the action. If you like front-row electricity, arrive early; if you prefer a little distance, choose a side view—you’ll still see the making happen.
- Photos are usually discouraged during the more intimate passages; check signage or ask ushers before shooting.
For audiences who follow adventurous Bulgarian stage work, this evening speaks the same fearless language as other boundary-pushing titles on our platform. If you enjoy artists who bend format and invite you into the risk of the live moment, explore also Bez garanciya or the darkly comic edges of Idiotyt zvyni vinagi tri pyti. Prefer hybrids of storytelling and satire? Try Kod Jalto or the late-week crowd favorite Petak vecher.
Come ready to watch an artist build a performance while you’re in the room—song by song, image by image, with the audience not just looking on but leaving fingerprints on the result.
Event partner information:
Artvent is a leading company in the production, organization, and promotion of cultural events such as theatrical performances and concerts.
More details at www.artvent.bg
Artvent Ltd.
7-9 Mokrenski Prohod St.
1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Event partner information:
Artvent is a leading company in the production, organization, and promotion of cultural events such as theatrical performances and concerts.
More details at www.artvent.bg
Artvent Ltd.
7-9 Mokrenski Prohod St.
1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
With:
Solo Performers
90 min.
18+