Skopje, 11 April 2024 (MIA) — The 20th Dance Fest Skopje international dance festival will open with a performance of "The Ladies of Avignon" ballet as part of the festival's "Parallels" program at the National Opera and Ballet at 8 pm. 

This year's festival will run through May 17 under the slogan "Raw — From Movement to Virtuosity: 20 Years of Contemporary Dance Excellence."

"Parallels" is a collaboration between Dance Fest Skopje and the National Opera and Ballet. It features three modern ballet choreographies by contemporary Macedonian choreographers, according to National Ballet artistic director and choreographer Olga Pango, who created the choreography for "The Ladies of Avignon."

According to festival organizers, the Picasso-inspired performance is one of the most remarkable recent productions on the Macedonian ballet scene.

The music was written by Macedonian singer-songwriter Kaliopi. Sasho Dimoski wrote the libretto, Valentin Svetozarev designed the set and Rade Vasilev designed the costumes.

The ballet premiered on March 9, 2021. It has been performed in Serbia, Bulgaria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in addition to Skopje, Ohrid, Veles, Kumanovo and Bitola.

The cast includes Aleksandra Mijalkova, Mimi Pop Aleksova, Sasha Evtimova, Ivana Kocevska, Hristina Nacevska, Miroslav Mitrashinovikj, Balázs Lőcsei, Andrew Cook and Agim Baftii.

Dance Fest Skopje 2024 will also present "Saga" choreographed by Risima Risimkin to music by Toni Kitanovski. The set was designed by Matea Mijanovikj and the costumes were designed by Blagoj Micevski.

On April 23, it will stage a ballet triptych conceived by costume designer Aleksandar Noshpal and written by Sonja Zdravkova Dzheperavoska. The choreography is by Ivana Kocevska, the music by Darija Andonovska, Adrijana Danchevska, Aleksandar Grozdanovski, Sasha Eftimova and Aleksandar Pejovski, organizers say.

The festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary on April 30 at the Macedonian National Theater and will close on May 17 with a performance choreographed by renowned French-Algerian hip-hop choreographer Mourad Merzouki.

Dance Fest Skopje 2024 is supported by the Ministry of Culture, the French Institute, the Austrian Embassy in Skopje and other sponsors.

Performance venues include the National Opera and Ballet, the Macedonian National Theater, MKC Youth Cultural Center, and the National Gallery. mr/