This is the first, out of two journals of Nela Antonović (born Radovanović), created between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s (1965–1983), that offer a distinctive perspective on the history of modern and contemporary dance in Serbia.
The journals encompass nearly two decades of Nela Antonović’s work within the troupe Contemporary Belgrade Ballet under the direction of choreographer Smiljana Mandukić, as well as the broader context of the development of modern dance in Belgrade and Yugoslavia. They contain a wide variety of materials: newspaper clippings, program booklets, photographs from rehearsals and performances, handwritten notes, drawings, membership cards, and even objects such as textile ribbons and tickets. This heterogeneity of materials not only documents artistic work but also reveals the ways in which dance was embedded within the broader system of cultural production, in which amateur associations, youth organizations, television productions, educational institutions, and political structures all played significant roles.
