Karakashyan & Artists

Karakashyan and Artists is a multidisciplinary company of dance artists from Bulgaria, boldly moving through disciplines and brought together by director and choreographer Kosta Karakashyan. In a world where people often feel like spectators of their own lives we create unique large-scale immersive productions which resonate viscerally with audience members close enough to join the action. Our work aims to empower the audience through the synergy of movement and storytelling. We aim to cultivate empathy and tenderness in society and to advocate for social change through our art. Our process explores a movement language that subverts traditional dance vocabulary in favor of authentic emotional expression, inviting our collaborators to follow their own impulses, creativity, and agency. Informed by a desire to explore the boundaries of emotion and society, Karakashyan and Artists embraces the beauty of the intimate, the visceral, and the subversive. Our work is set in kitchens, landfills, public spaces, warehouses, beaches, toilets, caves, runways, and film sets, incorporating dance, theatre, film, design, and literature. We strongly rebel against any boundaries in our creative approach thus finding new exciting opportunities to incorporate our love for dance, society, and culture. Founder Kosta Karakashyan's work across dance, film, and education has been described as "an important voice for LGBTQ+ struggles in Chechnya and elsewhere". A two-time Bulgarian National Ballroom Champion, Karakashyan has performed and choreographed on Dancing with the Stars Vietnam and across Bulgaria, New York, Canada, Germany, Norway, Egypt, Vietnam, and Japan. His work has been featured by The Guardian, Elle Magazine, them, GLAAD, and Radio Free Europe. The Guardian writes:"Karakashyan moves with hard jolts and swift stealth, a body of expression, skill, and power; a body standing its ground and not about to give up."