The fourth and final meeting of the project workers for the “Danube Dance Alliance,” a project financed through the Creative Europe program of the European Union, was held in Belgrade. The project brings together partners from eight institutions across six countries in the region: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and Bulgaria. In addition to the Belgrade Dance Institute, which hosted the event, partners include Delavski dom in Trbovlje and Dom kulture Velenje from Slovenia, Zagreb Dance Ensemble and the Mediterranean Dance Centre in Svetvinčenat in Croatia, as well as the Sarajevo War Theatre (SART) and the association “Živimo balet” (We Live Ballet) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Balkan Dance Project and Kolektiv Foundation from Bulgaria, and MOME from Hungary.
At the press conference, the guests and journalists were greeted on behalf of the Belgrade Dance Institute by Dean Vladimir Tomašević, who expressed satisfaction that such a gathering was held at the Institute. At this final annual session, the results and steps taken so far in the preparation of the project were summarized. The project will culminate in the premiere performances of dance projects by choreographers: Aleksandar Ilić, Ognjen Vučinić, Maša Kolar, Branko Mitrović, and Nik Rajšek. An integral part of the project is the recording of the performances, made in the authentic performance spaces using VR technology, by the author Enja Belak.
All speakers emphasized the project’s concept of revitalizing public spaces through the language of contemporary dance. These spaces, significant in the community in earlier times, belong to the culture of remembrance and cultural heritage but have been forgotten and neglected over the years. This project connects contemporary dance and culture, architecture and heritage, and develops cultural tourism. The chosen performance spaces are: the “Youth” fountain in front of the Museum of Yugoslavia (Belgrade), the Bentbaša pool in Sarajevo (a former popular gathering place for Sarajevans), the mine in Velenje (Slovenia, which is closing in a few years), the abandoned chimney in Trbovlje (Slovenia, the highest in Europe, unknown even to its citizens), and the open space of Žlinja in Svetvinčenat in Istria (Croatia). Besides young dancers, the project also involves actors, for example in Sarajevo, all with the aim of affirming contemporary dance. “The process began with educational workshops, organized by partners from Hungary and Bulgaria, where we re-examined certain spaces that go beyond the framework of conventional performance venues, that carry a deeper meaning and are significant to a specific choreographer, and how to affirm them and how they can be treated in the future. Based on these spaces, we created site-specific performances,” said choreographer Aleksandar Ilić.
An important segment of this project is the use of contemporary technologies to attract new audiences. The common element of all choreographies is that the performances are recorded in authentic spaces and combined into a unique project that will be shown in all partner cities using VR technology. The multimedia artist Enya Belak comes from the sphere of dance, and augmented her knowledge with film directing studies, focusing on VR, which she completed in London. Filming five different choreographers with different styles, in five different places, using a special 360-degree camera, within a short timeframe, with transitions from one location to another, as well as integrating the creative with the technical aspect, was a major challenge. “Given that all performance locations are outdoors, it was a real challenge to film the choreography in favorable weather and with adequate light to avoid shadows. The work with the dancers itself was interesting. My instructions to the performers were where to look at which moment, for direct communication with the audience. Yesterday we filmed at the ‘Youth’ fountain, and this is truly the right environment for this choreography, with the advantages being the natural environment of the fountain, where we have several planes, which makes the recording attractive,” said Enja. The filming of the choreography in Velenje remains, followed by the editing of all choreographies with the idea of composing everything into one piece. For the artist herself, the most exciting part was exploring all these spaces; she knew some of them from before, but now, after so many years, she was looking at them with different eyes. The film will be edited with original music by Marjan Crnković.
Within this meeting, the Belgrade Dance Institute also organized a series of workshops involving students from all departments. In cooperation with the Greek choreographer Alex Kross and the Slovenian multimedia artist Enya Belak, students presented new achievements in contemporary dance expression through combination with VR technology after the conference.
The first premiere performance within the “Danube Dance Alliance” project is Aleksandar Ilić’s choreography “Forgotten Presence / Return to the Source,” which will take place on May 29th next year as part of the Solo Festival in Belgrade.
The “Danube Dance Alliance” project represents an important step in connecting artists, institutions, and audiences in the region and Europe through contemporary dance and new technologies. With this meeting, Belgrade positions itself as a significant artistic center that actively contributes to the development of the European dance scene and opens up space for new forms of collaboration and creative expression.
