Who Am I?
Englishman. A Europe and world loving anti-Brexit, anti-Royal family Englishman. I have been living in Serbia for 12 years. I like to run and to try and speak Serbian; but not necessarily at the same time. I like to cook, eat, swim, be at the Croatian coast and follow Leicester City football team.
What do I do?
I am an actor, director and pedagogue. I perform in films and on stage in English and Serbian. I have been running an English language youth theatre for 11 years and we now have 80 young people who meet weekly aged 7 to 18 years of age. I am also an academic with an MA in Theatre and Education and PhD in Philosophy of Theatre. I am a playwright and I write occasional articles for journals in the fields of social engaged theatre. I have worked as a trainer and consultant on various EU projects and have enjoyed all of them.
What do I want to achieve?
I would like to share ideas about theatre and dance with other professionals. I am interested in how techniques of theatre/dance/physical theatre performance and performance-making are developed, how can be shared and what are their potentials for educational settings.
Most of my recent work has been as a trainer and director so I look forward to getting new resources from friendly and relaxed colleagues to stimulate my practice and mind.
Who am I?
My name is Ivana Tabori Obradović. I am an editor in cultural programs for children, psychologist and a freelance choreographer from time to time. I am a mother of two. Still trying to grow up….
Since my childhood and kindergarten I started to create moves, to dance and to express my thoughts and feelings through movement. Also, during the teenage period dancing helped me a lot to articulate my feelings and to overcome this turbulent period. As a youngster I discovered the world of dance improvisation and contact improvisation. Those workshops opened a whole new dimension of dance to me and made me discover myself in a new way. That is why I believe in the affirmative power of dance improvisation. Improvisation is also a good way to be in touch with your inner self and to transform what bothers you into something constructive. I strongly believe if we give a chance to kids to play with dance improvisation and to feel beauty of free movement and creation we will largely put them on the road free from the bad environment impact.
What do I do?
For the last 10 years I have been employed at Children’s Cultural Centre Belgrade, primarily in the field of culture and child education. I am an editor in chief of the International gathering of children of Europe - Joy of Europe, founded by the City of Belgrade, which has a tradition of 50 years. Within the platform Dance Hub, I created and organized several seminars, workshops and stage performances for children and teenagers, as well as for dance pedagogues and choreographers, in Children’s Cultural Center Belgrade. I have created and produced a variety of educational and physiological programs and executed many debates and forums/round tables for children and teenagers.
I have been involved in contemporary dance since 1997, working as a dancer, but also as a choreographer and dance pedagogue for children and adults and also as a choreographer for commercials, events, theatre etc.
I have 4 years of experience working in the corporate sector within the HR department.
What do I want to achieve (related with theatre/dance)?
I want to popularize the importance of dance in the education and development of children overall. I want to learn and improve my professional work and to incorporate new insights, experiences and knowledges in our professional practices.
Who am I?
My name is Dragana Stanisavljević. I started my dance education with classical ballet because, like most children, I was fascinated by the glamor that carries with it. As I grew up I began to learn about the world of contemporary dance and I am still learning. In the meantime, while I was studying, I started working as a dance educator, sort of as a pocket money. I liked it a lot, and till today I still work as a dance teacher. It is unbelievable, but I still do it. Being a theater is natural state for me, dance is my life and cooking is a passion. For me the work process is more interesting and important than just performing it. Now I am a freelancer, dance teacher (educator), choreographer and I still take a part in some dance and drama performances. Whoever calls me, I am there. I am a co-founder of “DDT – creative movement center” and cook-chief amateur. My family can hardly wait for me not to work because then they can enjoy the various deacons (specialties) I prepare for them. They are pretty spoiled and frown when I, for example, don't have time to mix bread. Unfortunately I am a freelance artist and I never know how or when I will be busy.
What do I do?
I have been actively involved in the work of Children’s Cultural Center Belgrade as a dance teacher (educator) since 1992. My job as a teacher is to teach children how to love and enjoy dance besides technique. I created many workshops for children and youth, many of them supported by the Ministry of Culture of Republic of Serbia. I try to bring magic of dance and theater in general trough the workshops. I have executed and performed dance performances with DDT company as choreographer and dancer and organized international dance workshops for dancers and choreographers. With my performances I have performed on independent stages and festivals in Serbia and abroad. I have gained professional working with many international artists from all around the world.
What do I want to achieve?
My idea is to bring dance closer to everyone, to explain the importance of creative expression through movement and to develop critical thinking. I want to integrate dance and drama into the education system because I consider them as important factors in the education of children and young people. I want to explain to responsible adult people that theater (dance, opera, drama) is a serious job - business.
Who am I?
I am Tijana Kesić Stamenković, or easier Tika. I'm a graduated actress with 14 years of experience in lecturing and managing my own acting school. I worked in creating different programs, training lectures, and i'm also teaching in other acting schools. I have developed characters in the project »We live together« with people with special needs and elementary school kids. I also worked as a drama professor at the English speaking Chartwell International School in Belgrade, creating 4 musicals in cooperation with Milena Petrović, Phd.
I am a professional associate and coordinator for NTC-drama workshops wich I have created in cooperation with the authors of the NTC learning system. Also i am the author and director of the International Festival of Children's Drama Plays »Glumijada« in the past 4 years. I am a child locked inside a grown up body, so I became a drama teacher not to get in trouble with the grown up world.
What do I do?
I love learning. I learn how to play with my children as much as possible, and how trough that play to activate as many brain regions as possible in them, and thus to encourage all aspects of their development. We learn to come up with new ideas trough fun, play and mistakes. I also teach other adults how to do the same, to play and make mistakes and teach children in this way.
I play with children in drama classes in Serbia and the region so that they have an opportunity to learn more about themselves and to have more self-esteem. I see at least one “snake emperero swallowing an elephant“every day and share it with my children and associates.
What do I want to achieve (related with theatre/dance)?
With the help of Improvisational theatre, movement, games and NTC methods, I try to “infect” as many children as possible with various artistic forms. I also want to “infect” the adults working with children (actors, directors, educators and teachers) with imrpo and associative approach to learning, because learning by heart is proven to be the most primitive and stressful form of learning with worst results.
I wish for children, as many as possible, to be much more creatively and physically active, in movement, while simultaneously mentally engaged, so that they spend less time on digital gadgets.
I want for as many people as possible to keep the inner child within themselves and for today's children not to lose it! I think theater, movement and dance are the best for ay for that.
