The abbreviation ASA stands for “Аverage Speed of Answer”. The concept and choreography are by Jivko Jeliazkov. The participants in the project were selected during a series of creative workshops in Budapest, Kaunas and Sofia. The four participants – who are from Bulgaria, Hungary and South Korea – are extremely different in terms of their physiques, movement techniques and approaches to dance, which is part of the work’s concept. ASA passes through the various dimensions of our life – from physical, grounded awareness to abstract, cosmic consciousness. What do the mountains of information we absorb daily turn into, and what are the ways of articulating them? The performance traces the new challenges facing humanity’s ability to recognise its own intuitiveness in the era of the information society.

The performance ASA is a co-production between EDNO and the dance company Derida Dance. It is the first Bulgarian project for contemporary dance supported by the European Commission’s Culture Programme and is part of the project “Circle: connecting dance practices in Europe”.

In 2002, director and choreographer Jivko Jeliazkov and art manager Atanas Maev united around the idea of creating a team of artists working in the field of contemporary dance, theater and performance. Initially, the team participated in the preparation of a conceptual project for founding a private theater in southern Spain. After its successful realisation in 2004, Jivko Jeliazkov and Atanas Maev registered the Derida Dance Company.

In 2006 Derida Dance was included in the register of cultural associations active in Spain. The company attracted professionals from Bulgaria, Spain, Scotland, Wales, Cuba, France, Argentina and Russia.
After returning to Bulgaria in 2008, Derida Dance realised yet another of its ideas: the Derida Dance Centеr, the first center for contemporary dance in Sofia. As a result of purposeful efforts to develop the contemporary dance environment in Bulgaria, Derida Dance – in cooperation with the America for Bulgaria Foundation – developed a year-long training program “Probiotic for contemporary dance in Bulgaria”, which supported the professional development of freelance dancers.

In 2010, Derida Dance became an official member of IETM, one of the largest international networks in the sphere of contemporary performing arts, as well as a partner to Aerowaves, a cross-border network for dance performances.