Macedonian dancer and choreographer, Igor Kirov, studied at the Macedonian School of Ballet in Skopje and the Dutch Dance Academy in Rotterdam. Having completed his studies, he has danced in many European dance troupes and collaborated with renowned choreographers such as Itzik Galili, Ton Simons, Bill T. Jones, Steven Petronio, Jacopo Godani, Edd Wubbe, Carlos Matos, etc .
While still a dancer, Kirov began to choreograph duets and trios for companies he was dancing at. In 2006, he was awarded the Most Talented Young Choreographer Prize in the Nagoya International Competition (Japan).
From then onwards, Kirov has made choreographies for numerous ballet houses and troupes all over the world: the Macedonian National Ballet; Croatian National Ballets in Split and Rijeka, German state theatres in Oldenburg, Darmstadt, Noverre for Stuttgart, Dresden and Dellatre Dance Company in Mainz, the Graz Opera and the Klagenfurt State Theatre (Austria); St. Gallen State Theatre (Switzerland) the Bordeaux National Opera (France); the Orlando Ballet (USA); the Masdanza Festival (Spain); the Equilibro Dinamico (Italy); and the SIDance Festival (South Korea).
In parallel with his work for other theatres, Kirov established his own troupe, the Kirov Dance Company (2007), with which he has won numerous prizes and accolades: for “TEM….N” Best Choreography Audience Award at the 14th Masdanza International Modern Dance Competition, (The Canary Islands); for “On the Edge” Special Award in the 1st International Choreography and Ballet Competition at the Beijing National Performing Arts Centre; “Touch” won 2nd Prize in the 16th International Festival of Choreographic Miniatures (Belgrade); finalist in the 26th Choreography Competition (Hannover). Kirov’s recent choreographies that have been warmly received by audiences from Macedonia to Korea, and from Italy to Germany include: “He He Helium”, “Cube”, “14 Hours’ Before I Let You Go”, “From That Day On”, “The Diary of Nijinsky”, “Stories”, “The Red Room”, “Letters for Him”, “Atlantis”, “Death and the Dervish” and many others.
In 2016, the Macedonian Composers Association (SOKOM) presented Igor Kirov with the Virtuosi Award, for finest artistic achievements in the International Recognition Category. Together with Mojca Majcen, Kirov co-founded the BALKAN DANCE PROJECT aiming to connect young and talented dancers and choreographers. As a visiting professor, he teaches at art academies in Munich, Skopje, Belgrade and Tokyo. Igor Kirov has also been the Artistic Director of the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre in Split from 2016-2020.