Milena Bogavac, Olivera Kovačević Crnjanski: Ballerinas (2014)

The Forum for New Dance (Forum za Novi Ples) was a dance company based in Novi Sad, Serbia, which operated during the period 2002-2016. The company was a pioneering force in the contemporary dance scene in Serbia and the wider region. It played a significant role in promoting and developing contemporary dance, particularly at a time when this art form was still emerging in the Balkans. The initiators and founders of this project were: Olivera Kovačević Crnjanski, Andrew Peter Greenwood, Jasna Kovačević, Ivana Inđin, and Branko Popović. The project consisted of: educational workshops, contemporary dance evenings, and performances. The participants of the Forum were mostly dancers from the Serbian National Theatre (SNP), but over time, the team increasingly included performers, dancers from the independent dance scene, and contemporary dance teachers from the ballet school in Novi Sad. Among many productions of this company by various notable choreographers and artists (Guy Weizman and Roni Hover, Gregor Luštek and Rosana Hribar, Dragana Bulut, Saša Asentić, Ana Vujanović, Jens Van Dal), the performance Ballerinas (Balerine) by Milena Bogavac stood out. Through the format of documentary performance, Bogavac and dancers (Jelena Alempijević, Sonja Bogatić, Frosina Dimovski, Milena Krkotić, Andreja Kulešević, Jelena Marković, Sanja Pavić, Ista Stepanov, Sara Tošić) educate the audience about the advantages and disadvantages of being a dancer, and the broader socio-cultural neglected position of classical and contemporary dance within the cultural policies of Serbia.