Gojkovic reminded the gathering that this is the second time for the National Assembly to host a conference on the Belgrade Dance Festival which has, thanks to Aja Jung’s idea and enthusiasm, become a prestigious event always winning over new audiences and pushing the limits of dance and theatre aesthetics. She added that UNESCO’s 2006 decision to declare it the leading dance project in South-East Europe, followed by a reception into the World Dance Alliance, best testifies to the fact.

“This March and April Belgrade will again be a noteworthy place on the world cultural map, capital of the art of dance, welcoming the most important ballet troupes of our age and enabling the Belgrade and Novi Sad audiences to enjoy world-famous titles”, said Speaker Gojkovic.

The National Assembly Speaker opined that what makes the festival so significant are its programme’s high standards and the organisers’ wish to go one step further every year and win over new audiences. She said that, since its inception, the festival has hosted almost 250 performances set by the most important choreographers of our time and every year the festival draws 20,000 viewers and 120 journalists from the country and abroad.

Michael Davenport, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, said that the EU Delegation is proud to support the Belgrade Dance Festival. Davenport congratulated the organisers on this year’s programme, stressing that every year it enables Serbian artists to meet colleagues from around Europe. He announced that the EU Delegation to Serbia and the Belgrade Dance Festival have organised a master course of classical ballet, to be taught 2-8 March by the leading European classical ballet teacher Marco Ferrini.

The Belgrade Dance Festival is realised in cooperation with the EU Delegation to Serbia and has for the second year running been held under the auspices of the Serbian Ministry of Culture and the Media. Minister Ivan Tasovac said that being the patron of one of the most significant dance festivals on the world festival map is a special privilege for the Ministry of Culture and the Media.

Mayor of Belgrade Sinisa Mali said that as one of the best festivals on the world cultural and art scene, the Belgrade Dance Festival contributes to the city’s position on the cultural maps of Europe and the world.

Aja Jung, Director of the Belgrade Dance Festival, informed the assembly about the programme of the 13^th Belgrade Dance Festival, which is to take place 19 March – 10 April 2016.

The assembly was also addressed by French Ambassador H.E. Christine Moro, Spanish Ambassador H.E. Miguel Fuertes Suarez, German Ambassador H.E. Axel Dittmann, Canadian Ambassador H.E. Philip Pinnington, Italian Ambassador H.E. Giuseppe Manzi and Swiss Ambassador H.E. Jean-Daniel Ruch., as well as the Director of VIP Mobile Dejan Turk.

Click here to watch a video of the conference.