Bulgaria kicked off the day of rehearsals with some strong performances of Water in the hall.

The press enclosure has started to fill up now, and the performers have a slightly larger audience of journalists and fans to try and impress. Elitsa and Stoyan benefitted from this straight away, receiving an enthusiastic response to their first performance.

Elemental performance
The camera angles are beginning to come together now and focus on the drum arrangement for the percussive intro, with lots of sweeping shots across the stage throughout the song. The effect is one of constant flow around the stage and hall, very appropriate given the title of the song, Water. In fact, the elemental theme is really coming across now; the wind machine is a perfect compliment to the blue fire of the lightning, the hot red flames of the middle eight drum break and the water of the visuals.

With four full runs, the Bulgarian duo seem to have the performance nailed. Elitsa is pitch-perfect, although at times it sounds like the might be holding back slightly. The confidence they have is reflected sassily in Elitsa's defiant tossing aside of the drumsticks she uses, twice; Stoyan is looking more like he means business in his dum dabba dum break as he kneels on the floor in front of Elitsa.

It had been suggested at one point that the act comes across more like a Eurovision interval act, but as everything comes together on stage, it appears more and more like a perfect contest opener.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Elitsa and Stoyan cut stunning figures, coming into their second press conference .

David from the Schlager boys asked the first question about the large feathered wings Elitsa wears in the promo video. He asked if they might have brought the wings to wear for a surprise on stage. Stoyan answered, "We bring some stuff, but it will be a surprise. We improvise. We want to bring improvisation even to Eurovision."

Elitsa added, "We have this power inside, and we can fly even with out wings."

The duo talked about their percussion instruments. Saying that anything can serve as a drum Stoyan and Elitsa detailed the various instruments on stage which includes drums from the Balkans, Instanbul and China. Stoyan indicated that the Chinese drum posses a special energy. Elitsa said that, "Everyone who sees this one the Chinese drum will want to have that at home."

Responding to Billboard magazine, Stoyan said that when they write a new song he "starts the groove" and then Elitsa begins to add the vocal element while the song evolves naturally.

Elitsa spends a lot of time with the older women in the village learning about folklore. She would rather see, and hear, and feel her country's folklore then to read about. "Bulgarian culture has an old and mystic energy," he says.

Elitsa also said she believe in the special little creatures like fairies, gnomes, and trolls. She says they'll invite all these little creatures on the stage when the play on 10th May. "And," she smiles slyly, "12th May".

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSj_lOgoWDQ