MASQUERADE AND ENDLESS DANCE

PREMIERE FOR INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY: "MASQUERADE AND ENDLESS DANCE" ON THE MADLENIANUM STAGE

On the Large Stage of Madlenianum, on 25th April at 7:30 PM, a unique theatrical evening combining drama and ballet will be performed, presenting the premiere of the diptych "Masquerade and Endless Dance" in anticipation of the International Dance Day, celebrated worldwide on 29th April.

The International Dance Day, established in 1982 by the International Dance Council CID UNESCO, will be marked at Madlenianum with a performance that uniquely merges movement and word, personal confession and stage poetry, classical ballet and contemporary dramatic expression.

In the first part of the evening, the drama "Endless Dance", written by Jelena Paligoric Sinkevic and directed by Nastasja Alja Danicic, brings an intimate story inspired by the life of ballerina and actress Svjetlana Knezevic. Through the relationship between a mother and daughter in 1960s Yugoslavia, it follows the growing up of little Ana and her first steps into the world of ballet, a journey that begins with dance and becomes a life's calling.

A particular strength of the performance lies in the fact that Svjetlana Knezevic and her daughter Milica Janketic appear together on stage, with Milica portraying her own grandmother, building a powerful intergenerational stage dialogue. The role of little Ana is played by young ballerina Vera Sinkevic, bringing tenderness and authenticity to the first encounters with dance.

This is a story about recognizing a gift, the love of art and also about the courage and sacrifice that such a path entails.

In the second part of the evening, the ballet "Masquerade" will be performed, choreographed by Aleksandar Ilic, to music by Aram Khachaturian and Dmitri Shostakovich. This one-act work brings together young performers, members of the Youth Ballet, students of the Belgrade Ballet School and students of the Institute for Artistic Dance.

The ballet presents a poetic story of longing and the birth of love, told through a game of attraction and distancing. The focus is on the dynamics of relationships among the young, where one young man stands out as the centre of attention, setting emotional currents in motion on stage. The plot is set in an atmosphere of night and light, where a single glance can mean everything and a single step can change a destiny.

Khachaturian's final waltz brings a climax in the form of a lavish stage whirlwind, in which neoclassical expression reaches its full brilliance, merging the technical precision of classical ballet with contemporary stage language.

"Masquerade and Endless Dance" is the first production at Madlenianum to connect ballet and drama, artists and generations in this way, creating a new theatrical experience in which dance becomes the central language.

This theatrical evening places dance at the heart of artistic expression, celebrating its holiday through the encounter of different forms, poetics, and life stories, reminding us, as the performance proclaims: "I am the dance, the dance is me".

Photo: Belkisa Beka Abdulovic