THE FIRST 20 YEARS OF OUR DANCE STORYTELLING
Our story starts with me, Svetozar Krstic. In 2000, in a rare moment of inactivity between performances in Florida, I unknowingly wrote an introduction. A few seconds of vision - a great dance troupe performs on a big stage with one goal - to uplift the dance culture of Serbia and get it back on its feet.
Extraordinary ambition. Out of the impossibility to fully articulate all its aspects, I decided to name the vision Una Saga Serbica and in 2002 it was officially created.
Chapter I
A small team was assembled and it laid out the foundation for future chapters. Worked really hard on designing plays for our, so far, the toughest audience - kids. In 2005 we founded Una Saga Serbica children's theater. With an annual average of 600 performances, the first chapter of the Saga still successfully institutes a dance culture, for preschool and school children, across the country.
Chapter II
The journey leads me to the ensemble "Frula" where from 2006 to 2011 as an assistant and later director I worked on choreography, rehearsing the ensemble and organizing tours. An invaluable experience gained by leading a complex organism such as an ensemble steers me into the most ambitious step - the first, great, story of Saga.
Chapter III
In 2012, the project "Dances and Sounds of the Balkans" began - a performance that will be a mix of cultures, dances, movements, and sounds of the Balkans. On October 26th 2013, our debut was premiered in front of the audience of the full Sava Center hall in Belgrade.
And this is the most important chapter in our story. It is an unforgettable magnificent moment at the end of our premiere performance when I went to the stage from the directors booth, which was in the middle of the auditorium. Walking through the audience, I looked at the faces of the enthusiastic spectators and felt a rush of energy, the audience uplifted by emotions with tears in their eyes. I climbed on the stage with the ensemble and the entire author team to bow down to our audience. The same reaction, energy and emotion was seen on the faces of both the performers and the authors. That's when I realized that my main goal had been achieved - I passed on to others the belief that we could get the dance culture back on its feet.
Chapter IV
Saga joins forces with the cultural institution "Vuk Stefanović Karadžić" in the realization of the project "Banović Strahinja".
Chapter V
The saga continues in the corporate world, where with business partners and other institutions and organizations produces and performs in events for companies that now recognize the quality of our creativity and want to present themselves in the best light.
Chapter VI
Una Saga Serbica in the late 2000 became recognized as a great brand therefore we were invited by the national television RTS1, Eurosong and Eurovision, many domestic and regional artists and performers to participate and cooperate on stages throughout Serbia and the region.
Chapter VII
The power of love for the dance and divine power went into the next project “Dances of the Gods” that premiered in 2018 in the sold-out Sava Center. This thread of artistic expression speaks in essence, about my own struggle with the realization of all projects - the first meeting of lovers, overcoming obstacles, patience, overcoming obstacles, and above all, the victory of a sincere and brave heart.
Chapter VIII
Realizing that the performance of our troupe alone is not enough, that three big projects and over 100,000 live spectators do not fulfill our main goal - I decided to start a youth education program where all generations will meet and have the opportunity to learn. Future dancers, soloists, actors, musicians and singers must have their own space and center towards which they will gravitate.
In 2018, we opened the doors of a fully equipped and adapted space for dancers called Una Saga Serbica Dance Center and designed programs for everyone from 3 to 103 years old.
