Maša
Kolar

Benois de la Danse nominee

She was born in Zagreb in 1973 and graduated from the School for Contemporary Dance Ana Maletić. She attended Vlaamse Dansacademie in Brugge,Belgium and majored in Contemporary dance, and graduated from the Academy of the dramatic Art, University of Zagreb. Her career in professional dance began in 1986 at the Comedy Theatre in Zagreb, and continued in 1992 in Ballet Dresden, Germany, where in 1995 she earned the status of a soloist. In 1997 she won the Mary Wigman award. In 1998 she joined the Thoss Tanz Kompanie and toured Asia with the role of Carmen, choreographed by Mats Ek.

Since 2000 she has collaborated with Queensland Ballet in Brisbane, Australia. In 2005, 2006 and 2008 she gave lectures at Scandinavian Dance Academy in Stockholm, Sweden and Center for the Arts Interlochen/ USA, as well as assisted Aalto Ballet in Essen, Germany.

In 2007 she joined Aterballetto in Reggio Emilia, Italy, where she worked with choreographers such as Mauro Bigonzetti, Ohad Naharin, Marco Goecke. Since 2006 she has been working in Zagreb youth theatre as a dance teacher and choreographer while pursuing an international career as a freelance dance artist. With Zoran Marković she choreographed Interval for the Ballet of National Theatre and Othello for Bitef Dance Company, both in Belgrade, Serbia. Independently she continues to collaborate with Bitef Dance Company on Don Juan production. In Zagreb she produces, choreographs, and performs in The memory of water, Merry Christmas for naughty kids, TRIAD and Alie. In 2013 and 2017 she choreographed Pour homme et femme, Macbeth, Lace, Rite of Spring and Afternoon of a Faun for Rijeka Ballet in Croatia. In 2016 she choreographed Bolero for Croatian National Ballet in Zagreb and in 2018 Allegro for Croatian National Ballet in Split.

She has received numerous awards: Croatian Theatre Award (2008), Austin Critics Table Award for outstanding dancing in Austin, USA, Award for outstanding dancing performance and Audience Award for choreography BoNeT in Copenhagen, Denmark (2010), Production award of Dance week festival, Vocational Award from UPUH and two awards of the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka.

Since the 2017/18 season she has beenappointed artistic director of Ballet CNT Rijeka/ Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre Rijeka.

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