January 10th, 2022 - The City of Rijeka announced plans to open a high school for classical ballet, the first of its kind in Croatia. The City is also planning to introduce an elementary school programme in English in one of the schools in Rijeka

The City of Rijeka and Vežica Elementary School sent a letter of intent to the Ministry of Science and Education in which they expressed interest in establishing a new high school for dance in Rijeka.

Vežica Elementary School Principal Violeta Nikolić said there had been a need for a school of this kind for a long time now. Such an educational institution in Rijeka would be the first of its kind in Croatia, reports Novi list.

‘This year, the Elementary School for Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance [in Rijeka] marks its 15th anniversary. In those 15 years, around twenty of our pupils had to continue their education in Zagreb or abroad. Namely, students are leaving for Ljubljana, Milan and Budapest. There is interest in higher education, and if Rijeka had its own school, there would certainly be even more interest. The idea is to open a four-year vocational school after which our students could find employment right away. The school would have two departments, for contemporary dance and classical ballet. It would be the first such school in Croatia’, explained Nikolić.

The principal believes that the new school would certainly attract students, not only from Primorje-Gorski kotar county, but from other parts of Croatia as well. Asked about the personnel that would work in the future school, she said this definitely wouldn’t be an issue as they already have staff that are experts in the field of dance. ‘A high school would only be an extension of what we’ve already been doing for 15 years’, said Nikolić.

The City is on board with the plan, according to Rijeka Deputy Mayor Sandra Krpan, who said the City would find a location for the future school. It wouldn’t be implemented in Vežica Elementary School, but would be an autonomous institution located in the city centre.

‘We embraced the idea of establishing a dance school right away. We’re also planning an expansion of Elementary School Vežica to fit the needs of the Elementary School for Ballet’, said Krpan, adding that the funds for the school expansion have already been set aside in this year’s city budget.

That’s not the only new school the City of Rijeka has in the works, as there are plans to open a new elementary school that would offer a programme in English. Krpan explained that establishment of a new educational institution wouldn’t be necessary in this case, as the new programme would be implemented in one of the existing schools in Rijeka.

‘Rijeka is developing, international companies are increasingly present and we believe that there’s a need for an elementary school programme in the English language. We would introduce it from the first grade of elementary school. We believe that personnel won’t be a problem’, said Krpan, adding that they haven’t yet decided which school would offer the new programme and that it might be implemented in multiple schools.

It has begun: the website of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb has collapsed due to a large number of visitors, while the “snake” can again be seen around the national theatre building. Interest is high this holiday season as well for the ballet's Christmas fairy tale "The Nutcracker". Last year, 8,000 tickets were sold in just one day, so it is clear that you can see the ballet only if you are ready to buy tickets early, reports Večernji List on November 6, 2018.

For many, the Christmas holiday season is unthinkable without The Nutcracker, the famous ballet by Russian composer Tchaikovsky. The Christmas fairy tale is a classic ballet masterpiece which many people like to see in this time of the year. The Tchaikovsky’s score for The Nutcracker is one of his most famous works, which the composer himself adapted for concert performances. However, a family tragedy accompanied the Christmas fairy tale: the composer’s sister had recently died so the ballet also contains a lot of melancholic music.

The Christmas story is one of the most performed ballets all over the world, including in Zagreb. The Croatian National Theatre (HNK) ballet presented several versions of The Nutcracker through the years, and many still remember those starring Vesna Butorac Blaće and Irena Pasarić. The version which will be presented this year had its premiere in 2011, choreographed by Derek Deane.

In this cycle, the HNK ballet will perform The Nutcracker as many as fifteen times: 29 and 30 November; 4, 11, 15, 18, 20, 24, 27, 28, 28, 29, 31 December; and 3 and 4 January 2019.

This year, the ballet will also send a humanitarian message. “I participated in the final evening of the humanitarian drive to raise funds for older citizens in need. I was astonished by the people who called and asked how they could help,” said HNK general manager Dubravka Vrgoč, adding that she immediately decided to reserve one of this year’s performances for people who usually cannot afford to come.

“The Nutcracker is a trademark of our theatre. Knowing the economic situation we live in, we have decided that it will be our Christmas gift, confident that it will make Christmas holidays more enjoyable for those who are usually unable to buy a ticket and come to our theatre,” Vrgoč said. The charity performance will be held on December 13, and the HNK will organise it together with the City Office for Social Welfare and Persons with Disabilities.

For more on the Croatian National Theatre, click here.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Bojana Radović).

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