The Croatian National Theater announces an open call for choreographers for the opening of the 33rd edition of the Music Biennale Zagreb. The call is for a new ballet to be staged in April 2025 at the Croatian National Theater on the theme of “Broken Relationships”.
The choreographer will be associated with one of the composers selected for the project, and the duration of the choreography should be about 20 minutes. It will be performed by the dancers of the Croatian National Theatre.
Thus, the selected choreographer should create a new choreographic work for the CNT (HNK) dancers, lasting approximately 20 minutes, on music created specifically by the composer associated with the choreographer.
A 3-year contract will be stipulated between the Theater and the choreographer.
The choreographer must choose a minimum of 2, and maximum of 12 dancers.
Casting will be done in collaboration with the director of the Ballet and the production needs of the Theatre should be taken into consideration.
The rehearsal period will take place between January and March 2025, in accordance with the Theater calendar and the needs of the choreographer, for a maximum of 4 weeks, with additional days of preparation on stage.
The choreographer will receive gross compensation of €6,000.00 and accommodation in Zagreb for the rehearsal period.
Necessary documentation and requirements:
● CV of the choreographer
● Links to 2, 3 videos of previous works (no trailers or short clips)
● A written project for the new choreography on the theme of “Broken Relationships”, which questions every aspect of the theme in a free form.
Illustrative images can be attached to the project such as: sketches of scenes and costumes, and mood boards.
● Age of majority is required for participation.
● Registration can be individual or in collaboration with a composer
● In case that there is a composer-choreographer application, the composer’s curriculum vitae and portfolio must be attached to the aforementioned documentation and in the proposal for the new project. In addition to the choreographic concept, the musical concept must also be described; in the case of a joint application the selection board reserves the right to select both authors, or only one of the two.
Application should be sent to choreographers@hnk.hr
By submitting the application, the authors accept all the conditions of this open call
All decisions of the selection board are final and there is no possibility of appeal.
For more detailed information you can contact us at choreographers@hnk.hr
Selection board and deadlines:
● The selection board is composed of the director of the Croatian National Ballet Massimiliano Volpini, the Artistic team of the Music Biennale Zagreb and the National principal dancers Irena Pasarić, Svebor Sečak and Tomislav Petranović.
● The deadline for submitting the applications is January 31, 2024.
● The choice of the choreographer will be announced by the end of February 2024 on the website of the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb (www.hnt.hr)
● The application must be in digital form, tender documentation should be sent to: choreographers@hnk.hr
Theme of the 2025 festival: Broken relationships
The 33rd edition of the Zagreb Music Biennial is inspired by the Museum of Broken Relationships in Gornji Grad: https://brokenships.com/ The Museum of Broken Relationships is a physical and virtual space that collects, preserves and displays personal objects and stories with symbolic emotional value. The Museum is an ever-growing collection of objects, mementos of past relationships, accompanied by personal but anonymous stories of their donors. Unlike destructive self-help instructions for recovering from grief and loss, the Museum offers the opportunity to creatively overcome emotional breakdown by participating in the Museum’s universal collection. The Museum of Broken Relationships is an original artistic project created by Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić in 2006. Since then, the Museum has taken thousands of people on trips around the world, challenging human understanding of heritage. In 2010, the museum won the EMYA Kenneth Hudson Award for the most innovative and daring museum project in Europe.
Starting from an emotional understanding of this concept, the festival expands it to cultural, social, and political themes. Accordingly, the theme of “broken relationships” can also be understood as: a broken connection between different cultural actors, a broken connection with the city’s neglected architectural and cultural heritage, a broken connection between artists abroad and their home countries, and obviously beyond.
Candidates’ proposals may be inspired by the ideas mentioned above or they may question the idea of interruption, dissolution, or reconnection in a completely free and innovative way.
