The tour was jointly organised by the Linđo folklore ensemble of Dubrovnik, the Croatian Heritage Foundation branch office in Dubrovnik in collaboration with the Croatian Centre in Vienna, the Zagreb Culture & Sports Society of Vienna, the Croatian Home of Linz, Kuga of Veliki Borištof, the Croatian Dream Association of Salzburg and the Croatian-Austrian Society of Dubrovnik.
The tour by the Dubrovnik-based ensemble from the 2nd to 8th of April was made possible by the help of the Croatian Embassy in Austria. The tour was co-organised by the Linđo folklore ensemble, the Croatian Heritage Foundation branch office in Dubrovnik and Croatian associations in Austria: the Croatian Centre in Vienna, the Zagreb Culture & Sports Society of Vienna, the Croatian Home of Linz, Kuga of Veliki Borištof, the Croatian Dream Association of Salzburg and the Croatian-Austrian Society of Dubrovnik.
The Linđo ensemble has garnered major awards at many festivals, but a tour of Austria is certainly a highlight in the recent history of this renowned folklore ensemble, which showcases the folklore heritage primarily of Dubrovnik and the Dalmatia region, but also of Croatia as a whole.
The Linđo ensemble, led by Dubravka Sarić, completed an extraordinary, albeit exhausting tour of Austria. The Croatian Centre in Vienna was the ensemble’s first stop on April 3, accompanying the Discussions at the Centre programme with performance artist, dancer and head of the Drmeš Dance Project in Vienna Tatjana Šehić.
Vienna’s stunning Odeon theatre was the venue on the 4th of April. Linđo demonstrated their brilliant folklore performance and earned ovations from the audience of three hundred, including Croatian immigrants, Gradišće Croats and numerous Austrians. Gabriela Novak-Karall, the general secretary of the Croatian Centre in Vienna and the president of the Kolo-Slavuj supra-regional Gradišće Croat folklore ensemble, largely responsible for the successful Linđo appearance in Vienna, spoke following the performance of one of the “high points in the presentation of Croatia and its traditional heritage, above all that of Dubrovnik, in the Austrian metropolis.” Joining Linđo to perform at the concert was the Kolo-Slavuj Gradišće Croat folklore ensemble.
Croatian Ambassador to Austria Gordan Bakota was also on hand and was captivated by the folklore artistry of Linđo and Kolo-Slavuj. Also on hand for the concert was minister counsellor for culture at our embassy in Vienna Zdenka Weber and the newly arrived Croatian ambassador to the UN Mission in Vienna Dubravka Simonović.
On the 5th of April the members of Linđo visited Željezno (Eisenstadt), the capital of the Gradišće (Burgenland) region. They were guests of the regional government and were received and welcomed in excellent Croatian of the Gradišće dialect by the president of the Burgenland regional parliament Gerhard Steier. They were also guests of the regional TV studios of the Austrian Broadcasting company ORF where the guests from Dubrovnik were received by Fred Hergović, head of the editorial desk for ethnic groups, who explained the mission and work of this studio.
A tour of the local points of interest was followed by an evening hosted by the family of Klaus and Gizela Čenar. On Saturday, April 6, the ensemble was hosted by Paul Blagus, followed by an afternoon performance at the KUGA culture centre in Veliki Borištof. The Linđo tour wrapped up on the 7th of April in Linz, capital of Upper Austria.
Text by: Petar Tyran
See the Linđo tour photo gallery