Delegation of the European Union proudly supports Belgrade Dance Festival which will, in its twelfth edition from 23 March to 9 April, present some of the world’s most famous ballet and dance companies hailing from the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Israel and the US.

“To the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, it is a great pleasure to once again cooperate with Belgrade Dance Festival. Each spring, this extraordinary event brings new dance trends to Serbia, while at the same time bringing joy, beauty and vividness of dance. Its repertoire offers best artistic creations of European dance troupes, thus deepening the exchange of art between Serbia and EU Member States and beyond. Belgrade Dance Festival largely contributes to the development of European dance culture, emphasising its diversity and creativity,“ said Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Ambassador Michael Davenport.

The Festival is responsible for making Belgrade and Serbia an important spot on the map of global dance festivals, the one which the most important dance groups gladly take part in. This year, one of the main Serbian cultural events brings shows and productions performed in cities worldwide. In the last 11 years, Belgrade Dance Festival presented nearly 200 projects done by world’s most significant choreographers, seen by over 18.000 viewers per year on the average.

At the very beginning, the Festival won the “Jelena Santic“ Fund award, whereas UNESCO proclaimed it the leading dance project in the region of South East Europe (2006), followed by the admission to World Dance Alliance. In 2011, the Festival was awarded “Zvezda Beograda“ title by the European Development Agency. In 2012, German magazine BalletTanz, named Belgrade Dance Festival “the most relevant dance event in the Old Continent“ and “the dance trendsetter“.

BDF is simultaneously a global brand and a project promoting artists exchange between Serbia and European Union as well as the founding values of the EU itself: multiculturalism, diversity and tolerance.

For the third time, EU Delegation supports Belgrade Dance Festival. Also, the Festival is supported by EU Member States’ embassies and cultural centres, as well as Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, Provincial Secretariat for Culture of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, and cities of Belgrade, Novi Sad, Vrsac, Pancevo.

More about the 12th Belgrade Dance Festival

Under the slogan “Capture Light“, 12th Belgrade Dance Festival has announced a total of 15 shows in Belgrade, two in Novi Sad, and one in Vrsac and Pancevo. From 23 March-9 April, the audiences will enjoy the most recent productions of the global dance scene.

At the very beginning, London Sadler’s Wells Theatre brings M!longa, signed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, to Centar Sava and Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad.

Two ballet companies will perform on the stage of Centar Sava: Ballet Wiesbaden and Ballet Basel with choreographies by three popular choreographers – Alexander Ekman, Johan Inger and Richard Siegal.

Terazije Theatre will host the first performance of the New York troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, which shows the funny side of traditional ballet through parody and gender role reversal. Terazije Theatre will also host Sicilian company Zappala Danza that already dazzled Belgrade Audiences in 2014, and French company Käfig with the show about boxing and the little details common to both dance and martial arts by Mourad Merzouki.

On the scene of Atelje 212, audiences will enjoy the performance by Tel Aviv company Inbal Pinto, with the show about circus life.

Madlenianum Opera once again hosts one of the most popular London choreographers and composers, Hofesh Shechter, with the award-winning show Sun, which guarantees powerful sounds, innate to rock concerts, and an engaged dance vocabulary.

The Big Scene of Belgrade Drama Theatre presents Anton Lachky’s Brussels company, the choreographer who has for long been part of Akram Kan’s company, with his award-winning show Mind a Gap. ‘Krst’ will also host Norweigian troup Zero Visibility with their premier performance of the show The Guest by Ina Christel Johannessen. The same scene also hosts Company 7273 from Geneva, with the hypnotising work Tarab, as well as the company Sol Pico from Barcelona, with the completely new decoding of Tchaikovsky’s music and the show Memoirs of a Flea.

A limited number of visitors, sitting on the stage of Centar Sava, will have an opportunity to see one of the most famous European choreographers Jerzy Kilian. His appearance, alongside a few shows performed by Netherlands Dance Theatre, is designed exclusively for the audiences of Belgrade Dance Festival.

Festival programme can be found at: www.belgradedancefestival.com