In the hall of the National Assembly of Serbia there was a press conference at which the programme of the 14the Belgrade Dance Festival was announced. The conference was announced and welcomed by Maja Gojković, President of the Assembly, and it was continued by Oscar Benedict, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia, who presented to journalists the importance of the city of Belgrade Dance Festival on the European dance scene, its importance to the local community, as well as the enthusiasm of the organisers to reach the best European and world production of artistic dance show in Belgrade and Novi Sad.
Aja Jung, director of the festival, presented the main programme of this year’s festival and thanked the institutions and sponsors, and the media in a friendly and professional cooperation during the preparation of the festival. Ballet companies and contemporary dance troupe who will participate in the upcoming festival, were presented by the ambassadors of Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, USA, Croatia, Israel and Finland. The conference was also addressed by Dejan Turk, CEO of Vip mobile, whichhas been the general sponsor of the Belgrade Dance Festival for ten consecutive years.
Under the slogan “The Great Play”, one of the most artistic dance festivals in the world, as part of its fourteenth edition from 24 March – 11 April, has presented an exceptional selection of plays. A total of 15 companies from 10 countries, with 20 works by renowned choreographers will be presented in Belgrade and Novi Sad. Part of the event are the fashion show films in the “The Days of Play in Cinotheque”, numerous workshops, master classes and exhibitions, as well as hosting the show “Brodsky/Baryshnikov,” directed by Alvis Haramanis and performing the famous Mikhail Baryshnikov (23, 24 and 25 April).
Belgrade Dance Festival has developed thanks to the support of the Ministry of Culture of Serbia, embassies and cultural centres of the participating countries, as well as the City of Belgrade. For affirmation of artistic dance and implementing of programmes in Vojvodina, there has been a significant ongoing cooperation with the Provincial Secretariat for Culture. This year, two ballet companies will perform in Novi Sad under the auspices of the President of the Provincial Government, Igor Mirović.
The Festival has won the Fund Jelena Šantić Award, and UNESCO declared it a leading cultural projects in Southeastern Europe (2006), which was followed by a reception to the World Dance Alliance (WDA UNESCO ITI). In 2011, the festival was organised under the auspices of the President of the Republic, and it received recognition The Star of Belgrade from Agency for European Integration. The Berlin newspaper BalletTanz, in 2012, announced the Belgrade Dance Festival as “the most representative event of the continent” and “a dance trendsetter”. The tenth edition of the event was marked by the launch of Decadance monograph published by the Official Gazette. Five years in a row Belgrade Dance Festival is implemented in cooperation with the EU Delegation in Serbia, and since its twelfth edition under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia.
As a major partner of the Belgrade Dance Festival, Vip mobile has introduced a distinctive model of large companies investing in culture, while jointly created the slogan “Communication on the move” reflecting the strength of ten-year cooperation. Through various projects, among which the most important is the awards “Vip calls”, the award “Vip step forward”, and the project for young people “Vip talents”, Vip contributes to the development of artistic dance in Serbia.
A long-standing affection and an important support to the implementation of the programme is provided by Societe Generale bank, which is also a sponsor of this year, in an effort to make supreme artistic achievements available to the local audience. Precious support comes from the brand Nivea, which is characterised by quality, consumer confidence, and a long tradition of investing in proven values, while traditional and new friends: Nestlé Adriatic with its famous brand NESCAFÉ, Foundation Hemofarm, DDOR Novi Sad, HEINEKEN Serbia, Vahali Production Services, Tikkurila, Fashion & Friends, Planmeca, Karanović & Nikolić, the company Star Import which is general distributor for Mercedes-Benz vehicles, Marbo Product which is a member of PepsiCo brand, Pardon, hotel Hyatt Regency Belgrade, TeleGroup, transport company Lasta, and many others.