Serbian Ballet Falls Victim to Battle Over Cash

Serbia's National Theatre has cancelled two ballets shows, blaming the Culture Ministry for not providing the cash needed to maintain the programme.

The two shows, The Portrait of Dorian Grey and Giselle, scheduled for April 6 and 7, were scrapped because the ministry was reportedly late in signing the annual funding contract with the theatre.

The theatre's main financial source is the Serbian state, which allocates funds for the theatre through the Culture Ministry.

On Tuesday, the ministry said that since the start of the year it had given the theatre 223 million dinars [?1.8 million], which is 27 per cent of the planned annual sum, for its regular operations.

The ministry blamed Dejan Savic, the theatre's outgoing director, for pulling the two ballet shows from the repertoire.

"Dejan Savic wants to cover up his own responsibility for negligent operations and failure to fulfill his obligations towards employees.

"The ministry believes that the real reason for the cancellation of two ballet performances is... unpaid fees. According to all applicable regulations, the administration headed by Dejan Savic is responsible for this," the ministry wrote in a statement.

Savic, however, has hit back, claiming that the ?1.8 million that the theatre received from the ministry was just meant for regular expenses, such as salaries, while programme activities depended on the signing of the annual agreement. "That contract we have not yet signed," Savic told TV N1 on Tuesday.

In an open letter published on Monday, the National Theatre wrote that it had been forced to scrap the ballet shows "due to negligence and lack of interest of the Ministry of Culture".

The Theatre also stated that it had met all its...