AWARD AND SPECIAL PRAISE OF TERPSYCHOR
The Terpsichore Award, a prestigious recognition of the Association of Professional Ballet Dancers, Choreographers and Ballet Educators of Serbia (PUBS) awarded annually to artists or cultural institutions in the field of artistic dance for 2022 went to Ana Ignjatović Zagorac, contemporary dancer, member of Bitef Dance Company and pedagogue contemporary dance, and Special praise to Miona Petrović a contemporary dancer, performer, choreographer and also member of the Bitef Dance company.
The award and special commendation are given in 2022, for the eleventh time in a row, on the occasion of the World Dance Day, an international holiday that is celebrated all over the world, and which was established by the International Dance Council – CID UNESCO. Previous winners of the Terpsichore Award are Ana Pavlović First Soloist, Jovan Veselinović First Soloist, Konstantin Kostjukov First Soloist and Choreographer, Đordje Makarević First Soloist and Choreographer, Mira Nešić Classical Ballet Teacher, Ballet of the National Theater in Belgrade, Bojana Žegarac Knežević First Soloist, Milan Rus ballet, Igor Pastor, First Soloist n and Olga Olcan Miljevic, ballet soloist of the National Theater in Belgrade.
During this year, a three-member jury consisted of representatives of classical ballet, folk dance and contemporary dance: Olga Olcan Miljevic, soloist of the National Theater Ballet and last year’s laureate Terpsichore, Andjelika Petrovic, first dancer of the Serbian Folk Dance and Song Ensemble Kolo, and Jovana Grujić, contemporary dancer and pedagogue of contemporary dance.
Ana Ignjatović-Zagorac is professionally engaged in contemporary dance and is one of the founders of the contemporary dance scene in Serbia. From the very beginning of her playing career, she worked on the affirmation of modern dance in the region and the improvement of her position on the cultural scene. She is a freelance artist, a member of the troupe of the Bitef Dance company and a pedagogue of contemporary dance at the Lujo Davičo Ballet School in Belgrade. She has played a number of notable roles on the stage of Bitef Theater, KPGT, Madlenianum in performances by domestic and foreign choreographers, and won many awards and recognitions, the most important of which are the Golden Badge of the Cultural and Educational Community and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Smiljana Mandukić Association of Ballet Artists of Serbia for the best interpretation in the contemporary dance performance Wishing Machines.
Miona Petrović made her first contact with artistic dance in the Studio for Classical Ballet with pedagogue Jelena Katić, and four years later at the Children’s Cultural Center she continued her training in the field of modern ballet with Olga Vuckovic, jazz ballet with Eta Kovacevic and Dragana Stanisavljevic. She is a freelance artist, contemporary dancer, performer, choreographer and member of the Bitef Dance company. She studied at the Dance Loft School in Switzerland and especially at numerous workshops with choreographers Jacek Luminski, Russell Maliphant, Martin Sonderkamp, Joe Alter, Maya Lipsker, Gregor Lustek, Jesica Wright, Neta Pulvermacher, Matej Kejzar, Joel Leander, Ellsa Wollaston , Charles Linehan, Idan Sharabi, James Amar…
She has achieved a large number of roles on the stage of BITEF Theater, Madlenianum, within the Balkan Dance Project as well as independent productions.
In cooperation with the Israeli choreographer Yoram Karmi, she will present herself at the second edition of the Sola Festival in Novi Sad at the Barka Cultural Station on May 28th this year.
She is a second year student at the Belgrade Dance Institute in the choreography department.
The author of all the medallions of Terpsichore, which is made of pure 925 sterling silver, is the artist Tamara Mladenović, who lives and works in Greece.
The award ceremony will be held on April 26th at the Museum of the National Theater in Belgrade, starting at 1 p.m.
The Terpsichore Award and Special Praise is realized with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, the National Theater in Belgrade and the Belgrade Dance Institute.
Photography Jelena Janković
Photography Nemanja Maraš