MARIJA ŠĆEKIĆ

marijascekic.com
A distinctive artist who has been exploring new and fresh artistic approaches for years

Choreographer and dancer Marija Šćekić, is the founder and Artistic Director of Histeria NOVA Artistic organization. She was professionally trained in classical ballet, contemporary dance and butoh. She studied choreography and contemporary dance at Concordia University in Montréal (Canada). For many years, the name Histeria Nova was a pseudonym for Marija Šćekić, an independent dance artist, choreographer and producer. In July 2005, the name Histeria NOVA officially became a registered nonprofit artistic organization with efforts to explore dance and choreography as a movement theatre where elements of audio-visual and performance arts are inseparable. Her deep passion for biological science, music and nature found its expression through choreography in early 1996 while creating her first choreography Modulations for which she received Concordia Dance Prize.

In 2006, Marija Šćekić received Croatian Dramatic Artists Award for Shadow, a full-evening choreography for contemporary dancer, butoh performer and free jazz music.

In 2007, she started to explore dance as a non-verbal form of communication for protection of endangered wildlife and created Modulation 2, about echolocation and underwater sound pollution that causes the death of many marine mammals, especially whales and dolphins. For this, she received European Commission Special Acknowledgment for creativity and innovative artistic expression towards nature protection.

In 2007, she created Human Error, a multimedia performance for a real performer and 3-dimensional virtual entity, collaborating with radiologists, neuroscientists and new media engineers from Canada and Croatia. The Ministry of Entrepreneurship and crafts recognized the work of Marija Šćekić and in the same year, Histeria NOVA received EDE European Commission Special Acknowledgement for the development of cultural entrepreneurship in Croatia.

For many years, Marija has worked as the dance pedagogue for LADO Ensemble in Zagreb and as the Director of the dance programme at School for Ballet and Contemporary dance in Šibenik.

In 2010, she started to work with mountain climbers and members of Croatian Mountain Rescue Association and created an interdisciplinary dance project, Gates of Velebit, which was the first, pioneering step towards future development of vertical dance in Croatia.

In 2017, she founded Histeria NOVA School for Natural Movement and Dance in Zadar where she currently teaches principles of human anatomy, biomechanics and neuromuscular movement connections for dancers.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

2016 - Paklenica Film Festival Award for "Baba's tears" - short experimental dance film about Ramić couple, the last inhabitants of Paklenica National park
2007 – European Commision Special Acknowledgment for innovative artistic expression for environment protection in piece "Modulation shape 2"
2007 – Special Acknowledgment by European Commission for large contribution in promotion of the importance of entrepreneurship and potentials of young people in the Republic of Croatia
2006 – Croatian Association of Dramatic Artists’ Award for best dance creation of the year for piece SJENA
1999 – Concordia University Contemporary dance Prize for outstanding academic achievement

MARIJA ŠĆEKIĆ

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

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