A MESSAGE FOR INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY 2024

On the occasion of the International Dance Day, 29 April 2024, the Croatian Centre of the International Theatre Institute sends out this year’s Croatian dance message, this time penned by independent dance artist, choreographer and dance pedagogue Ilijana Lončar.
We transmit the message in its entirety.

Ilijana Lončar – Dance is all around
“Dance is all around us!
It shapes us both inside and out. It makes us vulnerable, but also exceptionally strong.
It implies dedication, passion and persistence. Without movement, even the smallest
movement, there is no communication.
When it seems that everything is standing still, it is only an illusion, for that is when we reach a
revelation.
We can dance with both mind and body.
Let’s surrender to the belief in sharing our thoughts, feelings and good intentions.
Let’s be free and brave, let’s express ourselves, respect our differences, and believe…
Let’s remove the constrains of indifference, superficiality and mediocrity, savour our own
resources of artistic strength, and be open to sharing and accepting them.
Let’s be human beings, let’s play, dream and dance.
Dance is all around us!”

ILIJANA LONČAR, a dance artist, choreographer and dance pedagogue, is the winner of this year’s Croatian Professional Contemporary Dance Associations Award, jointly awarded by the Association of Professional Dance Artists “PULS” and UPUH – the Croatian Dancers Association, for exceptional artistic contribution to the promotion of contemporary dance and the development of dance audience based on “her remarkable patience and amazing energy with which she promotes contemporary dance outside the narrow realm of Zagreb. Her dance festival Požeški plesokaz, which hosts local as well as foreign artists, has flourished as one of the most important festivals in Croatia”, said the Award statement.