The Croatian ballet boasts very long history. Namely it dates back to 1876 and it’s narrowly connected with the Croatian National Theatre. This second half of the 19th century was a period dominated by foreign travelling troupes, German and Italian ones especially. These troupes gave performances on the improvised stages in the palaces which used to belong to local noblemen. The repertoire of the above mentioned troupes consisted mostly of dramas and operas, or other fancy entertainment forms that included singing and dancing, and during the intermissions of the dramatic pieces, one-act plays or else during the change of scenes, short singing, namely, dancing or pantomime numbers were inserted. The first theatre building with a professional stage was built in 1834 on Mark’s Square and this meant more frequent performances of foreign troupes but also an increasing number of domestic pieces in the Croatian language. Although the newspapers of that time mention only briefly the ballet divertissements that were played in the intervals between great dramatic or opera scenes and, although ballet was still a non-existing art with little meaning in our midst, lowly but unavoidably it began establishing itself in Zagreb's theatrical life. The Croatian National Theatre was founded in 1860, at first only as a drama theatre. The Zagreb Opera was established in 1870. In the very beginning, little attention was paid to the development of ballet as the form of art. However, the expansion of the opera and its repertoire brought to the fore the need for an increasing number of ballet dancers. The first instructor of social dances in Zagreb was Pietro Coronelli and he was engaged as ballet master. His dance school was drawing more and more of students who wished to dance professionally. After the departure of Coronelli, the ballet soloist Ivana Freisinger rehearsed the dances that were part of the operas and operettas on the repertoire. The Beginnings of Ballet refer to the opera Nikola Šubić Zrinski by Ivan Zajc in 1876. This was in fact the first time that a ballet was played instead of usually performed pantomimes, social dances or folklore. So this year is of historical importance for the development of Croatian ballet dancing. Unfortunately, the development of this new art was suddenly interrupted due to the government's decision to reduce and dissolve the opera company. But this awkward situation hasn’t lasted for too long. The founder of our contemporary theatre, Stjepan Miletić, became the director of the National Theatre and began to work on revival of the opera and ballet. According to him, these two elements were, and still are the integral part of the theatre. Already in his first years as manager he engaged some rather important persons in the field of ballet and he also founded the first Zagreb School of Ballet. The premiere of the revived opera Nikola Šubić Zrinski in 1894 was the first performance of the permanent Zagreb ballet. It was followed by several world wide known plays Pohl's romantic story The Seven Ravens with numerous ballet numbers which also required the participation of the entire ballet company.

So, we may conclude that ballet was included as the integral part of the repertoire of opera and operetta, but it also immediately began giving autonomous full-evening performances, Bayer's Student Love and Delibe's Coppélia in 1895, for example. . After the opening night the ballet remained on the Zagreb stage and was played in the interpretation of almost all of our greatest ballerinas. Then the dull period of Croatian ballet occurred - twenty years of stagnation with only several sporadic performances. The year 1921 denotes gradual revival of ballet and that is to thank to Julije Benešić who became the new theatre director. The repertoire was expanded with the most significant works of ballet literature and it did not take long for the Zagreb Ballet to become one of the most distinguished European ballet companies. Within this context there is one name which we simply can’t avoid and that is Margarita Froman She educated the first generations of local dancers, along with creating the national repertoire. The period between two World Wars is characterized by numerous new dance schools and powerful dance personalities, who created author’s dance programs. From 1941 to 1953, with a short break, the Zagreb Ballet was headed by Oskar Harmoš and Ana Roje. They were both dancers of Croatian origin, but for a longer while they have worked in London. Their work denotes a distinct phase in the development of the Zagreb ballet. Sergei Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet, an unavoidable piece on today's ballet repertoires, should certainly be mention as one of the most significant achievements from that period. Together with large ballet spectacles and choreographic revivals of classical works as well as with continuing the successful tradition of staging premieres of domestic composers' works, an increasing number of shorter contemporary ballets were included in the ballet repertoire. Many of them were performed in co-operation with the international festival of contemporary music Zagreb Music Biennale. The dancers that would soon contribute to the further affirmation of the Zagreb Ballet were engaged from other ballet centres. New contemporary tendencies that reached the Zagreb Ballet in the sixties were accompanied by quite indicative organisational changes. In 1965, the Ballet became an independent artistic body, and this meant the opening of various new possibilities, including the enlargement of the dancing troupe. We must emphasize that the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre has always been open to experimenting with modern dance tendencies and co-operated frequently with contemporary choreographers and teachers. The tradition of staging new works of domestic composers was also kept up. With a succession of generations in the seventies, new dancers appeared which in time took over the solo roles: Irena Pasarić, Almira Osmanović, Sorin David and others. Some of them, continuing their careers internationally and in prestigious ballet companies kept up the tradition of presenting Croatian ballet abroad.

Mia Čorak Slavenska

In the eighties, the Zagreb staging an increasing number of full-evening ballet works. The Zagreb Ballet continued developing in the course of the last two decades, always reaching for new and distinct artistic goals. During the last ten seasons the Zagreb Ballet, despite the war conditions, continued to prosper. Concerning both contemporary dance groups and ballet ensembles, professional dance in Croatia is still to a great extent concentrated in Zagreb as a practically exclusive center. There are ballet ensembles in Split and Rijeka but under much more modest production circumstances. In the other Croatian cultural centers, Split, Rijeka and Osijek, professional ballet companies were founded later than in Zagreb. Common to all of them is that they began as part of the opera. Immediately after their establishing as independent companies they began with integral ballet performances. From the outset particular attention was devoted to education and specialization. As far as their repertories are concerned, they opted both for classical and contemporary ballet works, performing domestic and foreign authors. In the last fifty years many ballet dancers, choreographers, pedagogues and ballet masters of the Zagreb ballet have been occasionally or permanently engaged in the ballet companies in Split, Rijeka and Osijek, just as the dancers of these companies came to Zagreb. All three ballets have been cooperating from the very beginning with the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb, as the central theatre house and all of them worked on joint projects with the Zagreb Ballet. Today, contemporary dance scene in Croatia finds itself amidst a new conflict. On the one hand, conservative tendencies that impose old established values of classical ballet repertoire grow increasingly stronger in the main National Theatre. On the other hand, dramaturges have an inclination to validate contemporary dance through the optics of their theories and schemes. Ballet of the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb. The Ballet of the Croatian National Theater in Osijek has been active since 1910 as a component part of the opera and operetta. The Ballet of the Croatian National Theater in Split, under the management of Ana Roje, was officially founded in 1940, although the Split audience had the opportunity to see ballet performances during numerous guest tours. The Split Ballet staged its first independent ballet performance in 1946. The Ballet of the Croatian National Theater Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka was founded in 1946 as part of the Opera and simultaneously with the establishment of the National Theater. The Ballet gave its first performances in 1990.

So, let us say something very briefly about the most important ballet dancers in Croatia. We shall begin with the most famous one. The ballerina we are talking about made really great career in Croatia and abroad as well. Her name is Mia Čorak Slavenska. This great dancer made her debut in Baranović's ballet Licitarsko srce in 1924, at what is today the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, where she soon became prima ballerina at the age of 17. At the 1936 Berlin dance Olympics, coinciding with the Olympic games, she won the choreography and dance award. In France she started working on film. Slavenska was the greatest Croatian ballerina of all times and one of the most influential artists of her time. Almira Osmanović, prima ballerina from 1990 and CNT Split Ballet Artistic director from 2002, became a soloist of Croatian National Ballet in Zagreb in 1979, and pretty soon she has become the principal dancer. Her repertoire includes all principal roles in classical, contemporary and national ballet titles. From 1990 she is national prim ballerina. She won numerous prizes on domestic and international ballet contests. Irena Pasarić is the director of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. She is also very reputable ballet dancer in Croatia, as well as her colleague Dinko Bogdanić, the former director of Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. In regard to ballet manifestations, let us mention The Days of the ballet which is annually held in the building of theatre in Rijeka. But, the most important manifestation is definitely Splitsko ljeto (The Summer of Split). This is in fact manifestation that gathers drama, theatre, ballet, dancing, and music in one unit. In 2000 the Summer Festival of Dance and Non-Verbal Theatre in Sveti Vinčent (in Istria) was established and this project turned out to be an enormous success. This also indicated the decentralization of Croatian dance scene; not everything has to be in the capital. There are some other similar projects which are to be realized in future, and these projects are arising from cooperation of artist and organization from Zagreb, Zadar, Rijeka and Pula.