This year's "Grad Theater" festival was opened with the ballet gala concert "Life is a Game" in its own production, which the Public Institution "Grad Teatar" did with the ballet studio of the famous ballet artist Ashen Ataljanc.
Before the concert, the festival was officially opened by the composer Zoran Erić, stating that during the first quarter of a century of its existence, the Festival Grad Teatar - Budva grew into a festival whose productions are today considered an invaluable and top contribution to the theater, above all, the art of the entire region.
"This festival, bravely and wisely managed from the very beginning, was the brightest spot in the artistic spaces that once made up Yugoslavia and its surroundings in a terrible and not very short moment of our history.
If Grada Teatro did not exist, many who are part of a large family of the most prominent theater devotees would never and anywhere have performed what they have performed here. Even the briefest mention of all those who created and maintained the City Theater Festival would take too long.
I won't do it, but I leave this sweet obligation to everyone who runs and cares about this festival today. Those who, in any way, made the City Theater live, grow and be there every summer, let them know that they have created a great work and that every effort made means the realization of a dream whose duration is not limited by the will of the individual, but is guided by it. power and energy, which only artists and people dedicated to art carry with them", said Erić at the opening.
He emphasized that we are filled with the memory of the top performances of previous festivals. "Actors, dancers, poets, directors, musicians, painters, in a word, everyone who brought their art here, gave this city, in all its beauty, sublime moments of true artistic inspiration. I applauded Kanjoš Macedonović from the audience 25 years ago, which marked the beginning of Grada Teatro's glorious journey.
I joined this one, which is being played again after 25 years, with my music. In the meantime, performances took place in the creation of which I myself participated, and which, each in its own way, marked unforgettable moments of this Festival. Banović Strahinja, Karolina Neuber, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antigone in New York, Don Krsto, Kanjoš Macedonović...," stressed Erić.
According to him, there are many "those who have invested their knowledge, art, enormous enthusiasm and energy in the City Theater so that after so many years we feel proud and satisfied that we had the opportunity to be a part of something so great".
"It's great that it continues to happen, because an unstoppable flood of emotions once again fills Trg pjesnika, the Space between the churches, in front of the Old Town and all other spaces that artists, with their choice and presence, bring to life and turn them into places from fairy tales, where the most beautiful stories are told , play the strangest games and hear the music of fantastic instruments and enchanting voices", Erić concluded.
During the 47 festival evenings, a total of 56 programs will be performed.
The match and the music disturbed the ballet dancers
In the performance of episodes of the most famous ballets, the audience had the opportunity to enjoy the ballet bravura of Ashhen Ataljanc, Milana Rusa, Dejana Kolarova, Ana Pavlovic, Jovica Begojeva and Tamara Ivanovic, who once again proved that they are the top of ballet art in this region.
Unfortunately, the ugly practice was repeated that during the festival program the artists were disturbed by the noise from the nearby cafes, while the artists of the ballet studio had a lot of trouble with a football match in the European Provençal, which was being broadcast on a nearby video screen at the same time as the performance of the ballet concert.
"I'm sorry that during our performance there was a match on the video screen and that music was heard from some disco or cafe. I think it did not suit this event or the best ballet dancers in the region, who came to Budva to open the festival. I was surprised by what happened," Ataljanc said.
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