Atanas Maev, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and a degree in Economic Engineering from TU Karlsruhe in Germany, is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Derida Dance Center in Sofia, Bulgaria. This center is dedicated to producing contemporary dance performances and projects aimed at creating the necessary conditions for contemporary dance creators, such as artistic residencies, educational programs, training, and workshops.
Atanas is also the Co-Founder and Vice President of the Art Link Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting contemporary dance, training choreographers and dancers, and creating new audiences.
Since 2015, Atanas has been a professor at New Bulgarian University, in the Faculty of Business Administration, where he teaches management for the operation of cultural institutions and strategies for obtaining funding for cultural projects.
Atanas has collaborated and worked on various international projects in Bulgaria, Spain, Hungary, and South Korea, among others. He has also worked with the European Commission on the creation of the Open Method of Coordination for Working Groups for the establishment of Artistic Residencies.
As the Artistic Director of Derida Dance Center, he organizes and supervises classical ballet and contemporary dance classes, artistic residencies, and the presentation of international choreographers in Bulgaria. Since 2019, Atanas has collaborated with the CLASH! International Festival, funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union.