Powerful dance experiences with outstanding Yellowbiz Art Collective and HNK Rijeka and three premiere performances

During February, the Zagreb Dance Center presents three premiere performances by renowned creators – Nika Disney’s dance piece Fleeting, award-winning artist Roberta Milevoj’s With Roberta, and Intermezzo by Filipa Bavčević and Nastasja Štefanić Kralj. One of the cultural highlights of the month is a special guest performance of the Yellowbiz Art Collective with the show What Do You See, Or Not, created in co-production with the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajec Rijeka. On top of that, during the second part of the winter holidays, elementary school children (forms one to four) will be able to participate in a unique dance workshop, Dance and School, combining creativity, learning and artistic dance expression through play and movement. This month, the Zagreb Dance Center becomes an unmissable stop for all lovers of dance and creativity!

Three premieres – contemporary dance at its finest

With premiere performances on 18 and 19 February, the piece Intermezzo by Filipa Bavčević and Nastasja Štefanić Kralj examines the ways of translating and treating a musical score. What material might be translated from musical notation into dance movement, and how does musical composition become the starting point for creating a dance performance. In the piece Fleeting, Nika Disney takes the audience on an emotional journey that explores the interstitial space between memories and the present moment. The work was created in a period when the body lost its former ability to move, while at the same time the desire to dance remained strong. The premiere performances are on the program on 21 and 22 February at 8 p.m.

With Roberta is the fourth consecutive solo performance in which award-winning dance artist Roberta Milevoj relies on autobiographical or self-reflexive elements as the foundation for building her choreographic material. After the projects Roberta, Roberta (2011), Roberta Again (2013), Rob3rta (2019), the artist takes the research of her own past as the basis for creating a performance piece and a dance vocabulary in the present, finding inspiration both in the continuity of dancing and in small, everyday things (footnotes) from private life. The piece is co-produced by the Istrian National Theatre – Pula City Theatre, artistic organisation Nikad kraja, and ZPC, while premiere performances are scheduled for 25 and 26 February at the ZPC.

Special guest performance: Yellowbiz Art Collective and Croatian National Treatre Ivan pl. Zajec Rijeka with the piece What Do You See, Or Not

One of the February program highlights is the guest performance of the Yellowbiz Art Collective with the show What Do You See, Or Not, on 15 February at 8 p.m., created in co-production with the Croatian National Treatre Rijeka. The performance, created in cooperation with one of the leading theatres in Croatia, gives the audience the opportunity to question what they are really observing on stage. Movements, sounds and feelings may not be what they seem; they can reveal truths different from those we originally and instinctively supposed. Giving the audience an opportunity to enjoy stellar dance performances and exceptional production, the Yellowbiz Art Collective’s guest appearance at the Zagreb Dance Center marks an important cultural moment of the month.

Children’s workshop: Dance and School (24–28 February)

During the second part of the winter school holidays, in cooperation with Sunčica Bandić’s dance studio MOT, ZPC presents a special educational dance workshop Dance and School intended for elementary school children (forms 1 to 4). Through play, dance and movement, children will explore new ways of learning and understanding didactic content. The workshops provide the opportunity for the children to discover their body’s expressive potential, unleash creativity and develop artistic expression, while developing new perspectives on familiar educational content by learning through movement.

Women’s Film Festival: Reflections of Love

On Valentine’s Day, 14 February, the Zagreb Dance Center will host this year’s edition of the Women’s Film Festival, organized by Danijela Stanojević, which opens with the dance performance Immersion Repeated by Josipa Bubaš, and continues with the panel discussion Reflections of Love, which is also the theme of this year’s festival. Moderated by Željka Jelavić, panellists Aida Bagić and Josipa Bubaš discuss love, the body and gender perspectives by way of artistic and social reflections. Find more details about the festival’s program  here.

Reprise performance of hit shows

Fans of contemporary dance art should not miss the reprise performances of successful shows that delighted the audience and the critics alike. The month of dance and love at ZPC kicks off with a performance for the youngest – Koloplet – which takes us to the great world of wishes. With a joyful combination of dance and music, coupled with children’s interaction, the play encourages creativity and imagination and provides an unforgettable experience for children and their parents. The highly acclaimed dance piece There, Where All Souls Go created by Miloš Isailović, performed by the Zagreb Dance Company, and the successful piece Monuments by Nikola Krgović N/OBE and Saša Božić are also part of the rich reprise repertory of the ZPC during February. The piece Ova: Misericordia by Valentina Miloš and Anika Cetina, the first instalment of the Ova dance trilogy, in which the authors explore how to put on stage the examinations of life and death within the theatrical tradition, concludes the month’s program at the Zagreb Dance Center.

See you at a place where dance is art, education and inspiration!