trajanje karijere je istovremeno bio i trajanje baletne trupe uz koju ste radili. Kako biste opisali svoje iskustvo kao solistica i kako se to razlikuje od rada s trupom?
Kao solistica, imala sam privilegiju izvoditi glavne uloge i biti u centru pažnje na sceni. To je bilo izuzetno zahtjevno i intenzivno iskustvo, ali istovremeno i vrlo emotivno i zadovoljavajuće. Rad s trupom je nešto drugačije – radi se o timskom radu i sinergiji, gdje je važno biti ujedinjen s ostalim plesačima kako bi se ostvario zajednički cilj. Meni osobno, oba iskustva su vrlo vrijedna i dopunjuju se međusobno.
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Koji vam je najdraži baletni solo koji ste izvodili i zašto?
Teško je izdvojiti samo jedan solo jer sam imala priliku izvoditi razne uloge u različitim baletnim djelima. No, ako moram birati, izdvojila bih ulogu Odetthe u Labuđem jezeru. To je uloga koja zahtijeva veliku tehničku vještinu, ali istovremeno pruža mogućnost izražavanja dubokih emocija. Izazov je balansirati između svjetlosti i tame, između dobre i zle Odetthe. To je za mene bio izuzetno značajan solo koji mi je omogućio da istražim različite aspekte plesa.
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Kakvu poruku šalje balet publici i zašto je važno da ga podržavamo?
Balet je umjetnost koja, svojim univerzalnim jezikom pokreta, može prenijeti duboke emocije i priče koje nadilaze jezične barijere. Kroz ples, balet daje gledateljima mogućnost da se izgube u svijetu ljepote, strasti i snage. Balet je i izvor inspiracije i oduševljenja, ali istovremeno zahtijeva strpljenje i predanost umjetnosti. Podržavanje baleta je važno jer nam omogućuje da uživamo u ovoj predivnoj umjetnosti i da podržimo umjetnike koji s ljubavlju i posvećenošću oživljavaju balet na pozornici.
The goal is to translate the following Croatian text into English while preserving its original meaning. You may use synonyms for words as desired, but the resulting translation should not appear like a translated text.
Original Croatian text: “Napravi mudrije izbor – uči iz prošlosti, sanjaj o budućnosti i živi sadašnjost!”
Potential translation: “Make wiser choices – learn from the past, dream of the future, and live in the present!” I am celebrating a year of artistic work with the role of Mrs. Bennet in Leo Mujić’s ballet Pride and Prejudice, which he specifically created for me.
You have also performed in modern and contemporary ballet performances. What is the connection between classical ballet and contemporary dance techniques?
Classical ballet is the foundation, the basis for every other dance technique, and if you have a good foundation, then nothing is difficult to dance. Of course, there are many differences – ballet is focused upwards with elongated lines, slender bodies, while contemporary dance is more focused downwards and involves various techniques that require a lot of improvisation, a freer spirit, and the dancers’ bodies themselves imply a different aesthetic. Ballet is truly rigid in character, and its aesthetics of ballet bodies and lines require perfection.
You have been involved in ballet since childhood. How has that shaped you as a person?
It has shaped me a lot. I used to be very timid, calm, shy, and polite. Engaging in ballet completely transformed me into a confident and independent individual. My character developed over the years, becoming stronger and more competitive. Ballet brought discipline into my life, as well as the ability to sacrifice unimportant things and not succumb to peer pressure. Long and demanding rehearsals became a part of my daily routine as I strived for the best results. I never lacked energy, as it is part of my nature, and I even enjoyed spending the whole day in the studio.
When and how did you realize that ballet was your calling?
As a child, at the age of five, I told my parents that I wanted to become a ballerina. Back then, I didn’t fully grasp the magnitude of the calling I had chosen, but I recognized the inner voice that guided me. Once ballet captured my heart, there was no turning back. I vowed to go all the way to the top. And I achieved that, despite all the trials and obstacles life threw at me. I fulfilled the dream of many little girls and became a professional ballet dancer. I am a ballerina.
Should stage performances, which are an integral part of ballet, be accompanied by other skills and knowledge in addition to physical fitness, body control, and musicality?
Through years of work in the theater, I have realized that if you want to be a better performer in narrative and other ballets, it is desirable to have a “spiced up” life. Ups and downs in my personal life have truly shaped me, and I had experiences to draw from. Furthermore, an artist is crippled if they only pursue their primary field; engaging in other artistic disciplines, various hobbies, and other sports enriches the soul, allowing it to give its maximum in the primary field.
How are emotions expressed through stage performances in ballet, where there is no verbal expression?
The body is truly marvelous. The possibilities are endless, and I believe many would be surprised at how a whole story, all feelings, and various emotional states can be told through non-verbal language, through movement alone. I have often thought of how text The actor makes the job easier, and as dancers, we have to put much more effort into the performance itself in order for it to be understandable to everyone, but I am grateful for the universal ballet methodology and the international language that is common to the whole world. Here, language does not represent boundaries.
Every dance performance is the result of the joint dedicated work of a larger number of people on an idea. How is unity achieved in realizing such an idea?
Through dedication. Working in large companies requires exceptional teamwork and discipline. Any deviation from this results in a collapse and wasting time on wrong goals. Listening to your mentor, teacher, choreographer, and ballet master greatly helps in the functionalization of work and its ultimate outcome. Large ballet productions require working with hundreds of people, and if everyone worked individually, they would never come to an agreement. It is a difficult job, but cooperation must exist for the staging of each title to be harmonious and smooth.
Today, you are engaged in dance pedagogy – you teach ballet. You work with both children and adults and also engage in choreography. What are the challenges of working with children, and what are the challenges of working with adults? The answer says it all.
How did you decide to teach adults? Does that mean that it is never too late to learn ballet for recreational purposes, and that ballet can be approached as lifelong learning?
I work with adult recreational dancers, amateurs who already have ballet knowledge, so it is much easier for me because I only build elements based on their readiness. Ballet is indeed a lifelong experience, and even today I continue to learn and improve to become even better and more precise. Of course, it is not excluded for someone in their fifties to enter a ballet studio for the first time and encounter all the challenges, but then the beginnings are longer and harder. Ballet involves the whole body, it is necessary to simultaneously remember the given exercise, listen to the musical accompaniment and dance to the music, correct movements, and bring a dose of nobility, because ballet originated in royal courts and carries within it the classicism and aesthetics of movement.
And finally: what is dance for you and what do you want to convey through it?
Dance has been everything to me. Ballet has been m Oh my God. I praised and idolized him, and that’s why I succeeded because I fully dedicated myself to the profession I pursued with all my heart and soul. Playfulness and the joy of dancing that radiated to the very last spectator on the balcony in the audience accompanied me. Technique is something that is expected to be learned during an eight-year school. Working in theaters, with various choreographers and educators, enriches a dancer in their further work and allows them to grow. What I pass on to my students today is the joy, enjoyment, and surrender to the ease of dancing. Ethereality is what I want to achieve, and that impression of weightless dancing astounds anyone who watches. The connection and fluidity of steps are very important because then the dance feels like a song, flowing and merging into new forms.
Ballet is a fleeting art, and one really needs to enjoy every moment of performance and achieve the ease of execution so that dancing is pleasant and not exhausting.
Interview conducted by: Mirna Peršić Kučalo
Source of photographs: private archive