{"id":2369,"date":"2026-05-03T23:33:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T22:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freedance.hr\/kdf-eng\/?page_id=2369"},"modified":"2026-05-03T23:45:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T22:45:39","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/freedance.hr\/kdf-eng\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"ABOUT"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"2369\" class=\"elementor elementor-2369\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ab988d2 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"ab988d2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b41a00a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b41a00a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1>ABOUT THE KDF<\/h1><p>Karlovac Dance Festival (KDF) was launched in 2011 by the Center for Dance and Performing Arts F.R.E.E. D.A.N.C.E. Karlovac as an initiative and a space open to collaboration, as well as the exchange of knowledge and experience, with the aim of fostering and supporting the development of contemporary dance art.<\/p><p>The KDF project strives to realize and enrich socio-cultural, educational, and creative values. Its goal is to establish in Karlovac an international partner-based dance project, with a focus on a production platform, multicultural and artistic collaborations, residencies, research projects, and open dialogue between artists, audiences, and both national and international participants.<\/p><h2>F.R.E.E. D.A.N.C.E.<\/h2><p>FREE DANCE is an association for dance and performing arts founded in 2004.<\/p><p><strong>Primary activities:<\/strong> <br \/>dance education, organization, collaboration, and production of dance and performing arts projects, as well as the development of dance art.<\/p><p><strong>Goals:<\/strong> <br \/>promotion of cultural and educational dance-related objectives; creating conditions for the development of contemporary dance.<\/p><p><strong>Strategy:<\/strong> <br \/>creativity, research-based work, and developmental dance programs.<\/p><h2>Karlovac Dance Festival 001<\/h2><h3>KDF 001 \/ \u201cOpen Doors\u201d<\/h3><p>International festival of contemporary dance and performing arts.<\/p><ul><li>International guest performances<\/li><li>Production platform<\/li><li>Research laboratory for contemporary dance<\/li><li>Collaborations and dialogue<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Program organizer:<\/strong> Center for Dance and Performing Arts F.R.E.E. D.A.N.C.E.<\/p><p><strong>Festival director:<\/strong> Melita Spahi\u0107 Bezjak<\/p><p>The festival project aims to develop socio-cultural, educational, and creative values, with particular attention to the identity of the Karlovac, Croatian, and international dance scene.<\/p><h2>Project Goals<\/h2><h3>Main objectives<\/h3><ul><li>Multicultural production and artistic collaborations<\/li><li>Development of professional experience in festival production<\/li><li>International and national exchange of knowledge and experience<\/li><\/ul><h3>Additional objectives<\/h3><ul><li>Presentation of works by Croatian dance authors<\/li><li>Presentation of international artists and educational content<\/li><li>Development of Karlovac as a center of contemporary dance culture<\/li><li>Production of international residency projects<\/li><\/ul><h3>Educational and cultural aspects<\/h3><ul><li>Non-formal education for children, youth, and adults<\/li><li>Audience development and access to information<\/li><li>International cultural exchange<\/li><li>Creation of new choreographic works<\/li><li>Development of dance writing and discourse<\/li><\/ul><p><em>\u201cCulture and creativity are part of citizens\u2019 everyday lives\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p><h2>Festival Locations<\/h2><p>The festival takes place at open-air locations across the city of Karlovac:<\/p><ul><li>Karlovac Star (historic center) and streets<\/li><li>Parks<\/li><li>Korana River<\/li><li>Dubovac Old Town<\/li><li>Korzo<\/li><\/ul><p>Special emphasis is placed on the lack of dedicated performance spaces for dance in Karlovac.<\/p><h2>Partners 2011<\/h2><h3>International partners<\/h3><ul><li>Veedha, Athens (Greece)<\/li><li>Improvisamente, Sardinia (Italy)<\/li><li>Melita Spahi\u0107 Dance, London (UK)<\/li><li>Atxarte Lopez de Munain (Basque Country)<\/li><li>Avatara Ayuso Dance Company (UK\/Spain)<\/li><\/ul><h3>Partners in Croatia<\/h3><ul><li>Studio 23 Karlovac<\/li><li>Promenada Club<\/li><li>Kino Klub Karlovac<\/li><\/ul><h2>Future and Vision<\/h2><p>The project encourages the development of the contemporary dance scene in Karlovac and Croatia through long-term cultural initiatives.<\/p><h2>Mission of KDF<\/h2><ul><li>Increase audiences for contemporary dance<\/li><li>Encourage open communication and access to information<\/li><li>Develop the cultural and personal identity of the city<\/li><li>International recognition of Karlovac<\/li><li>Development of dance strategy at local and national levels<\/li><\/ul><p>The project includes exhibitions, lectures, a dance library and video archive, as well as educational screenings that provide broader access to materials on contemporary dance.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d377db e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6d377db\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ABOUT THE KDF Karlovac Dance Festival (KDF) was launched in 2011 by the Center for Dance and Performing Arts F.R.E.E. D.A.N.C.E. Karlovac as an initiative and a space open to collaboration, as well as the exchange of knowledge and experience, with the aim of fostering and supporting the development of contemporary dance art. The KDF&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/freedance.hr\/kdf-eng\/about\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">ABOUT<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2369","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freedance.hr\/kdf-eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freedance.hr\/kdf-eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freedance.hr\/kdf-eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freedance.hr\/kdf-eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freedance.hr\/kdf-eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2369"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/freedance.hr\/kdf-eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2390,"href":"https:\/\/freedance.hr\/kdf-eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2369\/revisions\/2390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freedance.hr\/kdf-eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}