Folklore is not only dance and song, but also costume, tradition and history

The Montenegrin Capital and the oldest Cultural Art Society in Montenegro "Njegoš" celebrated World Dance Day last Saturday.

Around the world, since 1982, April 29 has been celebrated as the World Dance Day, and it was celebrated in Cetinje as well as in other cities of Montenegro.

"We marked the World Dance Day in a symbolic way, both we in Cetinje and other ensembles in Montenegro. Three ensembles of KUD 'Njegoš' were present on stage - pioneer, preparatory second ensemble and first ensemble. Through several choreographies and colorful costumes, we entertained the audience and opened May, which, I hope, will be even more successful in terms of concerts and performances," she told Magazin. Martina Čulić, member of the first ensemble of KUD "Njegoš".

What is pleasing is that a large number of children are interested in folklore, and Čulić believes that in this way they get to know the culture of Montenegro and the city they live in, in this case Cetinje, its basic history, traditional costumes and the fact that it it also represents how valuable it really is. Artistic director of KUD "Njegoš" Drasko Pejović points out that unlike other sports, which are mostly divided by gender, in folklore, everyone trains together.

"It's nice that they get to know each other and socialize through folklore. New friendships are made here, and there are also many relationships and marriages that 'stemmed' from here, and that is very nice and interesting to point out. There are also many examples where folklore is passed down from generation to generation, we have children who play folklore, and also their grandfathers played folklore", reveals Pejović, while KUD secretary "Njegoš Srdjan Milosevic says that it is important to educate children from an early age in the system of folklore so that they know, "in Montenegrin", who they are from, whose they are and who their ancestors are.

"This can best be learned through folklore, because folklore is not only dance and song, but also costume, tradition and history. I notice that few of these things are represented in textbooks, we try in our folklore schools to teach children how to put on a costume, what part of it is called, what it represents, how it is tied, whether it is handmade, what material it is made of etc. We do this in order to bring them as close as possible to it and not to think that the costume is just a kind of wardrobe. Costume is history and tradition", Milosevic believes.

In the digital age, when children spend most of their free time with computers and phones, it is not easy to animate them to engage in folklore.

"There was a different time when I started to deal with folklore as a seven-year-old. Through the concerts, parades and performances I watched, on the court square or the summer stage, I fell in love with folklore 'at first sight' and the costumes inspired and motivated me to start doing the same. Unfortunately, today is a different time and some other things are popular today. However, through educations with entertaining content or presentations where we will introduce folklore to them, which we carry out in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, I would like to realize our goal and that this will motivate children to cherish the culture and traditions of their country", points out Čulić, while Pejović he admits that because of the times they live in, it is difficult to animate them.

"There is less and less interest in folklore and sports in general. 20 years ago, when we registered children, 500 members applied for that season, and now there are about 100 members. When they come here, we try to make the rehearsals interesting for them and to organize a trip or trip for them, so that they are tied to their phones as little as possible, even though it is their main pastime today," said Pejović.

His colleague Milošević fell in love with folklore because my father was a member of the orchestra, so he took him to rehearsals.

"Contents are now more accessible to children through new media. However, they are looking for something else. We saw it at our school presentations. We have created various types of video material because we have seen that children today focus on what they see. They like the visual and less the written, so it's in vain to give them a flyer. In principle, we do some kind of video presentation, we have video material and our presenters are in costumes, and in this way we want to attract them, so that they can see what folklore is, if this is their first contact with folklore. This is how we do our concerts, which are high-quality productions. We have a high-quality and specific visual identity of our ensemble", boasted Milošević.

All three interlocutors believe that it is necessary to approach children pedagogically, so that they do not easily abandon folklore and switch to something else.

"Each child is a story for himself and everyone experiences things in his own way. A child may hurt a word that another child would not, you should be careful. I am a witness that during all these years, it happened that children leave folklore because of some insignificant little things. However, this is normal in every sport, some do better, some worse, but I believe that everyone can learn to play, if only they have the will", says Pejović, while Čulić admits that it is not easy to lead a pioneering ensemble.

"He sometimes has up to 40 members. Children at that age want to play and have fun, their attention is not at the highest level, so it is definitely necessary to approach it from the pedagogical side, and that is a big responsibility. However, our managers are there to entertain them and teach them something new", Čulić is sure.

"We have our assistants and game teachers, people who have licenses for that. Various types of seminars are held. It goes from a folk dance teacher to a choreographer. Our assistants and teachers know what to do with ages from six to 10, how to do from 10 to 15, etc... We have developed that system, but of course it all depends on the person and cannot be applied to everyone. However, we are trying to find a way that will bear fruit for everyone", continues Milosevic.

Pejović claims that KUD "Njegoš" has around 150 members in several groups.

"We have first and long ensembles and four children's groups," he says, while Čulić proudly points out that they have a representative ensemble, a preparatory second ensemble, a diving ensemble, a first ensemble and also have veterans.

"We are always present in large numbers," she boasted.

KUD "Njegoš" was founded in 1907 as a singing society, but they no longer cherish that segment of folklore.

"The singing society started a long time ago. Throughout history, our singing ensemble has changed. We are currently focusing on games that also contain songs. We are lucky that a large number of our veterans have excellent hearing and sing well, so at several concerts we had a combination of them singing as a choir. Also, we have an idea to gather some of these members in the form of a choir group", revealed the plans of KUD "Njegoš" Milošević, while Pejović boasted that they had a lot of vocal soloists in previous years.

"It's almost here Veselin Mileusnić was our vocal soloist, and now he is Simona Kapicic. We had planned to make a singing group of up to 10 members out of veterans who sing better," Pejović is more precise.

"We focus on both the game and the song. You can't focus only on one field and ignore the other, because I really think that it doesn't befit an ensemble that is among the oldest ensembles in Montenegro, so we try to nurture both song and dance", adds Čulić.

It is known that Cetinje is a city of handball, and once folklore, when it came to the interest of the youngest, was side by side with this sport.

"When I was a boy, both handball and folklore were very popular among younger people. Today, there is less interest in both sports and folklore. There are students, but not as much as before, although there are fewer residents in Cetinje, and therefore less children than before, so it is possible that this also contributes to the above," recalls Pejović, while Čulić once again notes that from an early age learn what folklore actually represents.

"Younger ages focus on sports, because they think it's nicer, easier and better, but I think it's really not. With folklore, you have the opportunity to travel the world, to present your country, to feel beautiful and to educate yourself", notes the interviewee of the Magazine, and Milošević agrees with her, who points out that more and more children prefer sports to folklore.

"However, we have had cases where our members were both handball and football players. In the morning, they went to the training of the sport they train, and in the evening they came to folklore rehearsals and had performances. A child's decision on what to do, nowadays, primarily comes from the parents. "What the parent wants, the child has to achieve somehow, and I think that's a mistake, because the child should be allowed to make his own choices," Milošević concludes.