D. Dance Alliance Makes Its Slovenian Debut: Velenje Hosts International Artistic Production Connecting Dance, Heritage and Local Stories
Velenje, 1 July 2026 – As part of the international dance project D. Dance Alliance, in which Iskriva Institute is a partner, two artistic productions were presented in Velenje for the first time in Slovenia: the dance performance Worker’s Atlas and the immersive VR dance film Dancescapes 360°. Held on 30 June and 1 July, the events brought together contemporary dance, theatre, new technologies, and local industrial heritage, demonstrating how art can open new perspectives on the stories of places and people.
The performance Worker’s Atlas premiered on 30 June at the Slovenian Coal Mining Museum in Velenje. Conceived and choreographed by internationally renowned choreographer Maša Kolar, the production was created specifically for the museum space and explores the body as a tool of work, movement, perseverance, and collective memory. The performance features dancers Mojca Majcen, Luka Ostrež, Michele Pastorini, and Tamás Tuza, as well as actor Luka Bokšan. The music was created by Velenje-based artist Stane Špegel. Retired miners and employees of Premogovnik Velenje also contributed to the creation of the performance by sharing their personal stories, which became an important part of its foundation.
The following day, on 1 July, the Slovenian premiere of the immersive VR dance film Dancescapes 360°, directed by Enya Belak, took place at Velenje Gallery. The film uses 360-degree technology to connect five dance miniatures created at different locations within the D. Dance Alliance project – in Velenje, Trbovlje, Svetvinčenat, Belgrade, and Sarajevo – taking viewers through a virtual experience of diverse environments and stories. The project involved 19 dancers, with individual choreographies created by Nik Rajšek, Maša Kolar, Ognjen Vučinić, Aleksandar Ilić, and Branko Mitrović.
D. Dance Alliance is a two-year international project connecting art, contemporary dance, cultural heritage, architecture, and new technologies. It brings together ten partner organisations from eight countries and explores new ways in which dance can connect people, places, and local stories. The Velenje presentation represented an important milestone in the project, using the city’s mining heritage as a foundation for connecting the past, the present, and future development opportunities.
As a project partner, Iskriva Institute contributes to connecting art, space, and communities, while exploring new approaches to how cultural content can support the development of local environments. The Velenje event demonstrated the power of international cooperation and co-creation with local communities.
The D. Dance Alliance tour continued in San Vincenti, Croatia, where the dance production Recyclism, choreographed by Croatian choreographer Ognjen Vučinić and produced by the Zagreb Dance Company and the Mediterranean Dance Centre, was presented. The event also featured the Croatian premiere of the immersive VR dance film Dancescapes 360°. It attracted more than 100 visitors and marked the completion of an important phase of the project’s two-year creative process, in which the local community played a significant role.
The next stop of the tour will be in Trbovlje this September. More information HERE.
The D. Dance Alliance project is co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe Programme. The Slovenian participation in the project is also co-funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the Ministry of Public Administration of the Republic of Slovenia.
