We function like an army

The ballet performance "Mediterranean", performed by the Montenegrin Ballet Ensemble, will be performed at the Music Center of Montenegro on Saturday, June 10 at 20 p.m. The audience in the capital of Montenegro will have the opportunity to enjoy this performance just one day after its premiere at the opening of the Budva Festival of Games.

The members of the ensemble are: Ksenija Sindjic, Angela Mihova, Marija Boljević, Kristina Mrkic i Staša Šćepanović, while they composed the music for "Mediterranean". Srđan Bulatović i Darko Nikcevic.

Ballet choreographer Saša Evtimova in an interview with "Vijesti" she admits that she had a demanding task, and she is sure that she managed to answer it and that the audience will like what she and the ballerinas did.

"It was not an easy task to come up with a complete choreography. When a company calls you to do a play, you then have an idea that you are working on. However, when the director of MCCG me Isidora Damjanović called me to do this project, they already had everything, including music and animation, only I needed to come up with the choreography. That's why it was a little more difficult to come up with everything," explains Evtimova.

Another difficulty she faced was that this ensemble was not made up of professional dancers.

"These are girls who don't have a lot of experience, so I think this piece is a bit more complicated for them because it's a contemporary ballet. I am happy because all the people who worked on this project, especially the ballerinas, were very supportive. It means a lot to the choreographer, especially when he has the support of the players, that we understand each other as if we were one being. When you have such a work process, everything works fantastically. I am really satisfied, the girls are dear to me, I love them, I appreciate them, and they are really the support I needed", notes the "Vijesti" interlocutor.

Although the Ballet Ensemble of MCCG has only one performance behind it, there are not many ballerinas from the first time who will play in this piece as well.

"Only the three of them from the play 'Three Sorrels' will be found in this piece as well. I have new girlfriends. One of them was injured, so a Macedonian woman from the Institute of Artistic Dance, Angela Mihova, joined us. In the beginning, I had a problem precisely because they are not professional players, and I am used to working with professional players. However, I think that by working together, we have reached a level where they can match those who have at least a few years of experience on stage", Eutimova praised the ballerinas.

Precisely because they do not have excessive experience, some ballerinas learn faster and some slower, but Evtimova hopes that this will not be seen in the performance of the piece.

"Even with professional players, it happens that someone is late for a second or two. After all, we are living beings and such things are possible. I hope it won't happen, we are trying and moving towards making everyone equal. So far we have had several rehearsals where we were all equal and that is wonderful, we function like an army. But at the premiere there is also trepidation, adrenaline, there is also the audience, the animation that has to be watched, the lights, and it is normal that there are mistakes. But even those mistakes are corrected in subsequent performances", explains Evtimova and adds that the most important thing is that the girls enjoy the whole process.

"It's nice when the girls go on stage to dance, not my work and choreography, but the work they put in. Without them this performance would not exist, without them the Montenegrin Ballet Ensemble would not exist either. This is their show, they should feel as if the stage is their temple and do their best, and I know that each of them will do their best because what they do means a lot to them", adds Evtimova.

She notes that experience is gained through frequent performances, and that a lot of effort and work is invested in order to play a piece like this just once or twice.

"When they told me that the 'Three Sorrels' were only danced twice, I was not happy. They did that piece, and then they didn't do anything for a year. Everyone goes their own way and their duties, and when the time comes for them to dance again, they go back to the beginning. It would be good if that work continues with some other choreographers who will be hired by MCCG and pedagogues who can work with them. Performances are very important, and now while this story is developing, we should not look at whether we have 300 or 150 people in the audience. You have to start somewhere. Not every show can be a hit. We have to educate the audience to come to these events, so only when they open their eyes do we have something to talk about and can go into everything in more detail", concludes Evtimova.

Music has to move me

The music for the ballet performance "Mediterranean" was composed by the famous Montenegrin guitar duo Bulatović-Nikčević. Saša reflected on how she liked the musical background to which she created the choreography:

"When I first heard it, it wasn't typical ballet music, it was more guitar music. However, the music they wrote was additionally edited and adapted to this piece, they upgraded it with violin, cellos and other instruments, and now a new dimension has opened up, it sounds really beautiful, so it was a pleasure to design the choreography. Srdjan and Darko did a phenomenal job. I need music to touch me, since I do emotional performances. I want everyone who watches the play to come to it with an open and clean heart and be touched by it," said Evtimova.

It is precisely the Nikčević-Bulatović duo that weave ethnic motifs through their music, and they are also found in this work.

"There will be ethnic motifs and that's exactly what I like about this composition, which also has a lot of dynamic moments. I think we have achieved a fine balance, and that the audience will enjoy it", hopes Evtimova.