Taking part in the dance pairs Croatian folk dance competition were Lydia Novak and Mathias Hoeld of the Kolo Slavuj Gradišće Croatian folklore ensemble, performing the Racko round dance, and Jutta Binder-Schoretits dancing with her partner Michael Navratil.
The Croatian Heritage Foundation has partnered with the Drmeš DA! festival event staged on the 7th of June at Zagreb’s Puppet Theatre (Kazalište lutaka) and organised by the Ethno Club and Goran Knežević, a prominent Croatian folklore enthusiast. The event was held under the auspices of the culture ministry and the City of Zagreb.
This is the 12th reincarnation of the event that sees dance pairs showcase Croatian folk dances. This year the support of the CHF saw the participation of two pairs from the Kolo Slavuj Gradišće Croatian folklore ensemble, accompanied by orchestra. The first to perform were Lydia Novak and Mathias Hoeld, dancing the Racko round dance, while the thirteenth pair were Jutta Binder-Schoretits and Michael Navratil, presenting their interpretation of the čardaš (csárdás) dance. The unlucky number did not prevent the panel of judges from awarding them an excellent third place prize. The Kolo Slavuj ensemble also took home a Croatian Heritage Foundation commendation for its contribution to the preservation and development of Croatian culture and national identity abroad, accepted on behalf of the ensemble by the head of its board and member of the Croatian Government advisory board on Croatians abroad representing ethnic Croatians in Austria. The other pairs were from Croatian culture and arts societies, with the winning pair of Lucija Lenardić and Dorian Rupčić coming from the Petar Preradović Culture and Arts Society of Đurđevac. Dorian has attended the CHF’s School of Croatian Folklore, while the choreography for the čardaš dance they performed was by Kristina Benko Markovica, a lecturer at the CHF School of Croatian Folklore. Second prize deservingly went to Zrinka Ari of the Zabok ensemble and Zvonimir Jurun of the Jedinstvo Culture and Arts Society of Split, also a long-time participant of our School of Croatian Folklore, performing the šaltin polka of Split.
By: Snježana Jurišić