About
Avant-garde is a dance event that allows professional dancers of different styles and backgrounds to create and perform together for the purpose of art and entertainment only. The show represents the quality of our dance scene in Slovenia. The inspiration for our beginnings are shows like Dancer’s Delight, UpFront, performances in club Jete etc.
The most important qualities of our event are definitely high level performance, unity, freedom, respect and love for dance. With all of that we were able to create a safe space where we push ourselves as dancers, choreographers and the community itself to create the best versions of ourselves in the moment.
Over the past two years 100 different dancers trained with 23 choreographers for 4 months to succeed in selling out 3 shows and getting standing ovations in all of them.
This created a pivotal moment for our community. For the first time in a while our generation of dancers started to breathe as one. It started a chain of support and new friendships that translated not only into dancers evolving but also into personal growth.
We started the journey in a small theater and now we are performing in a beautiful open venue in the heart of ljubljana – Siti Teater, BTC.
We are still very ambitious and plan on expanding our shows and touring around Europe soon.
Till then you can see us once a year in September. Next show is on the 19th of September 2021. Get your tickets before they sell out.
Shows
Founder
Leja Messec is a Slovenian creative director, choreographer and dancer. In 2018 she moved to London to pursue her dancing career. A few months later, being in such an inspiring dance community where support and love was shown loudly and frequently, and opportunities were given to dancers on a daily basis, she had an idea.
She wanted to create a big stage for Slovenian choreographers and dancers where they could showcase themselves as artists and working dancers. It was supposed to serve as some kind of audition as well – opportunity for working choreographers to see up–and–coming dancers on the big stage doing what they do best.
The idea of the show came as much from seeing a better community in London as from wanting one herself, especially when she was younger. As a young evolving dancer in Slovenia all she craved for was unity and a possibility to train in different genres and not be judged, for dancers of different dance schools to be friends and not enemies, and for there to be a space for up-and-coming ambitious choreographers and dancers to create freely and without competition.
She decided it was time for somebody to do something.
And here we are – three years later, a lot of sacrifices, tears, growth, learning, teaching, organising, failing, succeeding, dancing and healing her heart went into this project, but she is as proud as ever. Proud of herself and the dance community in Slovenia for learning to open hearts and let each other in. Proud to be a part of something that is constantly evolving and changing.
Proud of Avant-garde for continuing to be an example of what we can do if we work together as one.
