Interview: Aleksandra Đogović, coordinator of the New Belgrade Cultural Network
In two days, during which promotions of foreign cultures are being held, it is only possible to begin familiarizing oneself with, I believe, an infinite chain of elements which create a culture of one country. That is why we are trying to present only the first links of that chain, considering the limitations of the conditions and the budget. We are trying not only to organize lectures on the culture featured, but also to hold workshops in which the audience can participate, if they want to
By IVANA SPASOJEVIĆ
During the last weekend of April, New Belgrade Cultural Networkorganized the Days of Finland in New Belgrade. During the two-days program, a part of Finnish culture and tradition were featured - Finnish tango, language, cinematography and photography, classical music and the school of painting. Visitors of Block 45 in New Belgrade had the chance to learn new things about the tradition and life style in this Nordic country, free of charge, and to meet Finns who came to Serbia because of this cultural program.
Aleksandra Đogović, the coordinator of NBCN, speaks to WAVE magazine about the visitors of this Network, the traditional weekend program, Finnish tango and Serbo-Finnish friendship.
New Belgrade Cultural Network organized Days of Spain first, then Days of France and now Days of Finland. What is the criteria in choosing countries and their cultures to be represented?
- We seek the inspiration in our visitors - people from New Belgrade which follow the activities of the Network. As a new institution of culture, we don't want to impose programs, but to wake the cultural scene of New Belgrade together. Our doors are always open for the people of Belgrade, as for their ideas. That is how Spanish, French and now Finnish culture came to the blocks of New Belgrade.
Days of Finland started with Finnish tango. Is it similar to classical Argentinian tango? What were the visitors' reactions to the sounds of the dance?
- The program began with the dance which was unknown to many, even for the majority of dance experts. I had some luck in finding people who knew about Finnish tango here in Serbia, and who were up to teaching the audience the basics and the philosophy of the dance. They also explained the evolution of the Argentinian tango in Nordic countries into 'Finnish tango'. We also had a workshop with about 30 participants, mainly women and girls.
The president of the Assembly of Serbo-Finnish friendship association held a public class of Finnish language. How did the participants manage, given that a fairly small number of people in Serbia speak Finnish?
- Considering that Finnish is a less available language for an average Serb, and that it is tought in only few places in the city, I was pleasantly surprised with the number of participants in this workshop. We also had some Finnish guests who helped the people from Belgrade to pronounce some Finnish words properly. In the end, participants learned how to say: 'Serbia and Finland are beautiful countries'.
There was also a series of Finnish film projected. What is the nature of their cinematography and does it depict their mentality faithfully?
- We projected three short films which are actually a reprise of the broadcasted short films from the latest Nordic panoramma, the famous BALKANKULT festival. Usually, Finnish films are considered to be mainly dramas with heavy and dark life stories. However, the films projected during the Days of Finland were filled with funny moments, and some of the visitors watched them twice.
Finnish pianist Uki Ovaskainen held a concert of classical music, and you also had guests from Finland who recited their poetry. How much did it mean to you to have a native Finn at your manifestation?
- Opening acts of Uki Ovaskainen's concert were performances by Anastasija and Marija Vasić performing several compositions of Finnish folk music, and after that Uki's son Vuk played some classical compositions on cello. Special guests were Finns who recited their poems on Finnish, and they were translated by Čedomir Cvetković. It is a great pleasure to introduce visitors to a native person from the promoted country. In that way, we are showing the similarities between two nations on a micro level.
Which country's culture will be presented next?
- The last weekend of May is dedicated to Russia. Inspiration for this project was found in our school of Russian ballet, here in the Cultural Network. The lecturer is Russian balerinna Iryna Bakoc, who will, together with her little ballerinas, prepare a spectacular performance.
published: http://www.wavemagazine.net/arhiva/55/culture/aleksandra-djogovic-days-of-finland.htm
In two days, during which promotions of foreign cultures are being held, it is only possible to begin familiarizing oneself with, I believe, an infinite chain of elements which create a culture of one country. That is why we are trying to present only the first links of that chain, considering the limitations of the conditions and the budget. We are trying not only to organize lectures on the culture featured, but also to hold workshops in which the audience can participate, if they want to
By IVANA SPASOJEVIĆ
During the last weekend of April, New Belgrade Cultural Networkorganized the Days of Finland in New Belgrade. During the two-days program, a part of Finnish culture and tradition were featured - Finnish tango, language, cinematography and photography, classical music and the school of painting. Visitors of Block 45 in New Belgrade had the chance to learn new things about the tradition and life style in this Nordic country, free of charge, and to meet Finns who came to Serbia because of this cultural program.Aleksandra Đogović, the coordinator of NBCN, speaks to WAVE magazine about the visitors of this Network, the traditional weekend program, Finnish tango and Serbo-Finnish friendship.
New Belgrade Cultural Network organized Days of Spain first, then Days of France and now Days of Finland. What is the criteria in choosing countries and their cultures to be represented?
- We seek the inspiration in our visitors - people from New Belgrade which follow the activities of the Network. As a new institution of culture, we don't want to impose programs, but to wake the cultural scene of New Belgrade together. Our doors are always open for the people of Belgrade, as for their ideas. That is how Spanish, French and now Finnish culture came to the blocks of New Belgrade.
Days of Finland started with Finnish tango. Is it similar to classical Argentinian tango? What were the visitors' reactions to the sounds of the dance?
- The program began with the dance which was unknown to many, even for the majority of dance experts. I had some luck in finding people who knew about Finnish tango here in Serbia, and who were up to teaching the audience the basics and the philosophy of the dance. They also explained the evolution of the Argentinian tango in Nordic countries into 'Finnish tango'. We also had a workshop with about 30 participants, mainly women and girls.
The president of the Assembly of Serbo-Finnish friendship association held a public class of Finnish language. How did the participants manage, given that a fairly small number of people in Serbia speak Finnish?- Considering that Finnish is a less available language for an average Serb, and that it is tought in only few places in the city, I was pleasantly surprised with the number of participants in this workshop. We also had some Finnish guests who helped the people from Belgrade to pronounce some Finnish words properly. In the end, participants learned how to say: 'Serbia and Finland are beautiful countries'.
There was also a series of Finnish film projected. What is the nature of their cinematography and does it depict their mentality faithfully?
- We projected three short films which are actually a reprise of the broadcasted short films from the latest Nordic panoramma, the famous BALKANKULT festival. Usually, Finnish films are considered to be mainly dramas with heavy and dark life stories. However, the films projected during the Days of Finland were filled with funny moments, and some of the visitors watched them twice.
Finnish pianist Uki Ovaskainen held a concert of classical music, and you also had guests from Finland who recited their poetry. How much did it mean to you to have a native Finn at your manifestation?
- Opening acts of Uki Ovaskainen's concert were performances by Anastasija and Marija Vasić performing several compositions of Finnish folk music, and after that Uki's son Vuk played some classical compositions on cello. Special guests were Finns who recited their poems on Finnish, and they were translated by Čedomir Cvetković. It is a great pleasure to introduce visitors to a native person from the promoted country. In that way, we are showing the similarities between two nations on a micro level.
Which country's culture will be presented next?
- The last weekend of May is dedicated to Russia. Inspiration for this project was found in our school of Russian ballet, here in the Cultural Network. The lecturer is Russian balerinna Iryna Bakoc, who will, together with her little ballerinas, prepare a spectacular performance.
published: http://www.wavemagazine.net/arhiva/55/culture/aleksandra-djogovic-days-of-finland.htm
Нема коментара:
Постави коментар