Interview – Aja Jung, Director of Belgrade Dance Festival
The Belgrade Dance Festival was created as a real adventure, i.e. a private initiative in Serbian culture. Fifteen years ago, it was a rarity and great courage – that in which each applause was shared with all those interested, and each problem was solved independently. As time was passing by, the Festival was persistently developing, becoming more visible, transforming into a project of a public interest and significance.
The occasion for this interview with Aja Jung is the just finished jubilee 15th Belgrade Dance Festival, as well as the high international acknowledgements that she received as the producer of the Festival. Among them, especially notable are the French Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) at the level of the Knight, as well as the Italian Star Order – the highest Italian decoration in the field of culture.
The Festival has become a reference event in the European, as well as the world’s frameworks. It was not established by state institutions, but it rather began and has been lasting as a personal initiative. What initially motivated you?
As a dancer, I’ve had an opportunity to appear at quite a large number of festivals – from Edinburgh to New York, from Thessaloniki to Yerevan… I was always fascinated with the well-conceived and well-organized festivals that brought a special atmosphere and permanently changed the relationship between guests, hosts, passers-by and artists. To visit Avignon at the time of the theater festival, Tel Aviv at the time of the contemporary dance exhibition, Venice during the Biennale, etc. is an incredible experience. The Belgrade Dance Festival was created as a real adventure, i.e. a private initiative in Serbian culture. Fifteen years ago, it was a rarity and great courage – that in which each applause was shared with all those interested, and each problem was solved independently. As time was passing by, the Festival was persistently developing, becoming more visible, transforming into a project of a public interest and significance. The responsibility for the program selection was certainly becoming greater. Belgrade is the city I was born in. I’m glad that, today, I can say that exactly here I have created one of the most referenced European events, namely within the artistic field which had no special tradition. The Festival has moved contemporary dance from the farthest margins right to the center of our interests.
What took you to the world of contemporary ballet?
Dance is a magic. There’s no other explanation.
What did the beginnings of the Festival look like? Did you have a vision of what you wanted to achieve even then? Who were your “allies”?
My family and my friends. Just like today. In comparison with the beginning, there are fewer friends today, because they couldn’t have borne the success. Also, the Festival has always had its sponsors, partners, good media coverage, and the audience has increasingly become attracted to it. I don’t believe it is about a long-term vision or strategy, but rather millions of interesting ideas and my crackbrained persistence to achieve them.
So far, you have presented more than three hundred choreographic achievements. You have brought famous troupes, dancers, choreographers, the promising artists… in Belgrade. What principles do you follow when establishing a program?
New and quality productions. The choreographers known to the world cultural public, as well as those younger authors that the Belgrade Dance Festival has just presented to the audience for the first time. I’m being alert to what’s going to happen and I aspire to the unknown. In this job, it’s important to be the first.
Could you single out some special “star” moments of the Festival?
All that is connected with the scene is unpredictable, exciting, unrepeatable, so that it is a special experience by itself. If you mean some big stars having come to Serbia, then those certainly are Jiří Kylián, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Carla Fracci, Sylvie Guillem, José Carlos Martínez, Nacho Duato, etc. To me, negotiating the guest appearances of the Milan Teatro alla Scala Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Monte Carlo Ballet, etc. as well as the Hong Kong Ballet, who have only recently appeared as guests, remains an unforgettable experience. These are large companies, which are rather inert.
The Festival is a rare example of a public-private partnership in culture. At the same time, you have succeeded in receiving a strong support of the international institutions and permanent patrons. How did you do that?
Let’s talk about it from a different perspective – it’s not always the case that a girl finds a good husband. Sometimes, a husband finds a good wife, and in rare cases there’s a good marriage. When a project is devised well, when it’s got first-rate performances, when foreign stars come, then it’s possible to have partners, too. I have really seriously worked on the program and the image of each festival edition, which in turn has resulted in professional partnerships with international and local institutions, as well as with patrons. I’m proud of my cooperation with the Vip Mobile company lasting for 11 years already; a long friendly cooperation with the companies Nivea, DDOR Novi Sad, Hemofarm, Nestle Adriatic, Haineken, Marbo Product… For the first time this year, we’ve got Erste Bank and Visa Company. Their presence is also a confirmation of the quality and tradition, as well as the program that would have the same or similar patrons in other European capitals.
How do you see a near and far future of the BDF? In which direction will the Festival be developing? What would you want it to mean for the forthcoming generations?
I don’t like to make forecasts. It’s important for the Festival to grow, develop, be alert to trends, open up to young artists and producers, and fresh ideas. I always insist that a next festival is the confirmation of the previous, and that success is only an incentive for us to accelerate the pace, not to slow down.
It is your attitude that a serious city needs projects and artists that affirm us. Belgrade is considered as a capital of entertainment, and in your interviews, you emphasize that a first-rate culture can be an equally powerful “attraction” for tourists. What need we do to achieve it?
We need to change the offer. If the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra did have several thousands of people at an open-air concert, then there is hope for us. If instead of “saloon singers” parents were playing Strauss and Beethoven to their children, we would have generations who appreciate a good sound. All depends on what you offer or set as a paragon. The Italians are not born as people of good taste – it’s rather that everything around them is nice or well-packed so that sort of esthetics develops and becomes a principle. For generations, provincial fathers have been saving their money to take their children to an opera in some big theater for the first time – for example to the Arena in Verona, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples… It’s the tradition that they love and convey from one generation to another. In our case, the state must impose classical music, visual arts, artistic dance, the theater… There’s no child who will look at dirty graffiti if you allow him/her to have a look at the paintings by Marc Chagall. Well, it’s time for us to change.
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