Japanese artists win choreographic miniatures competition

BELGRADE – Japan’s Maiko Hasegawa and Mamoru Sokata are the winners of the 18th Festival of Choreographic Miniatures, an international competition of choreographers and premieres of their short choreographies, the Association of Ballet Artists of Serbia, the organiser of the event, has said.

The competitive programme on the Rasa Plaovic stage of the National Theatre in Belgrade featured 11 choreographers from around the world and 10 from Serbia, while the jury was comprised of Portuguese choreographer Fabio Simoes, Tomaz Rode, a Slovenian ballet artist and the Chairman of the Association of Ballet Artists of Slovenia, Serbian choreographer and pedagogue Isidora Stanisic, Serbian choreographer and costume designer Boris Caksiran and Olga Olcan Miljevic, a soloist of the Ballet Company of the National Theatre in Belgrade.

The jury awarded the second prize to Slovak choreographer Simona Macovicova, while the third prize went to Nami Itiel of Israel. The prizes also include cheques for EUR 2000, EUR 1000 and EUR 500 respectively, which were handed out late Saturday on the Rasa Plaovic stage after the final competition.

In addition to the competitive part, which ended on Saturday, the event will also include two non-competitive nights, with the play Pop It Up by Dragana Bulut – one of the past laureates – to be performed late Monday by Novi Sad-based New Dance Forum.

The following night will feature the play Crossroads by Milica Jevtic, Milos Kecman and Milan Backulja, last year’s winners of the festival’s Encouragement award.