Lidija Sotlar (; 12 June 1929 – 16 October 2018) was a Serbian-born Slovenian ballerina and teacher who was a member and a soloist of the

Ljubljana Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet The Ljubljana Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet ( sl, Slovensko narodno gledališče Opera in balet Ljubljana, ), or shortly Ljubljana SNG Opera and Ballet, is Slovenia's national opera and ballet company. Its seat is the Ljubljana Opera Ho ...

between 1948 and 1972, performing the role of 80 characters from a wide variety of ballet repertoire. She led the Lidija Sotlar Ballet Group which she established at the Central Ballet School in Ljubljana and passed on her knowledge of ballet to several generations of Slovenian dancers and established the Yugoslav Ballet Artists in 1977 that she led artistically and organisationally until 1983. Sotlar was a 2001 recipient of the Honorary Badge of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia.

Biography

Born Lidija Lipovž in the Serbian town of

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-cyr, Крушевац, , tr, Alacahisar or Kruşevca) is a city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina river. According to the 2011 census, t ...

on 12 June 1929, she is the daughter of a train driver who was moved to the town by the authorities. She was raised in the town and finished four grades of primary school and was taught Slovenian. Sotlar's family fled to Slovenia when the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out and she continued her education in Ljubljana. She was initially educated at the gymnasium and then at the Secondary School of Economics. Sotlar became acquainted with ballet in 1942 after watching an opera-ballet performance at school and decided this would be her career. In 1944, she was one three successful applicants to join the , and began performing on stage in Ljubljana during the 1945/46 season. Sotlar graduated from 's class in 1953. From 1948 to 1972, she was a membr and a soloist for the

, and briefly danced in

Split, Croatia )'' , settlement_type = List of cities and towns in Croatia, City , anthem = ''Marjane, Marjane'' , image_skyline = , imagesize = 267px , image_caption = Top: Nighttime view of ...

. Sotlar created and recreated 80 characters from a wide variety of ballet repertoire and increased the reputation of Slovenian ballet on tour in Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia and the former Yugoslavia. The first solo role she took on was Đavolica in ''Đavlu u selu'' in 1952. Sotlar portrayed Saloma in 1954; Giselle and Myrtha ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'' at the Croatian National Theatre, Split in 1958; Zarema in ''Bahčisarajska fontana'' in 1961; Odette in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'' in 1962 and Juliet in '' Romeo in Juliet'' in 1968. She also had roles as the Mistress of the Copper Mountain in ''

The Stone Flower "The Stone Flower" ( rus, Каменный цветок, Kamennyj tsvetok, p=ˈkamʲɪnːɨj tsvʲɪˈtok), also known as "The Flower of Stone", is a folk tale (also known as ''skaz'') of the Ural region of Russia collected and reworked by Pave ...

'' and as Liza in ''

La fille mal gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

''. Sotlar ended her career in ballet in 1972 because she did not want audiences to remember her for minor roles she would have performance later in her life. That year, she was featured in the short documentary film ''Portret Lidije Sotlarjeve'' by Mojca Vogelnik. Between 1975 and 1983, she was the leader of the Lidija Sotlar Ballet Group which she established at the Central Ballet School in Ljubljana and passed on her knowledge of ballet to several generations of Slovenian dancers, some of whom went on to have solo stage careers. Sotlar established the Meeting of Yugoslav Ballet Artists in 1977 and was its artistic and organisational leader until 1983 as she organised multiple several ballet concerts in Slovenia and abroad. In 2006, she authored her autobiography ''Spomini balerine'', which the Slovenian Chamber Music Theatre published.

Personal life

She was married to the actor

Bert Sotlar Bert Sotlar (1921–1992) was a Yugoslav film actor. He starred in the 1959 German film ''Dorothea Angermann''.Alpi p.249 Selected filmography * ''The House on the Coast'' (1954) * ''Three Quarters of a Sun'' (1959) * ''Dorothea Angermann ''Doro ...

from 1955 to his death in 1992. Sotlar died on 16 October 2018, and was buried at

Žale Žale Central Cemetery ( sl, Centralno pokopališče Žale), often simply Žale, is the largest and the central cemetery in Ljubljana and Slovenia. It is located in the Bežigrad District and operated by the Žale Public Company. History The ce ...

Awards

In 1997, she was named the inaugural recipient of the Society of Ballet Artists of Slovenia Lidija Wisiak Award. Sotlar was decorated with the Honorary Badge of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia in 1999 "on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Slovenian ballet for artistic achievements and other merits in this field" by

Milan Kučan Milan Kučan (; born 14 January 1941) is a Slovene politician who served as the first President of Slovenia from 23 December 1991 until 22 December 2002. Before being president of Slovenia, he was the 13th President of the Presidency of SR Slov ...

, the

President of Slovenia The president of Slovenia, officially the president of the Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Predsednik Republike Slovenije), is the head of state of the Republic of Slovenia. The position was established on 23 December 1991 when the National Assembly (S ...

. She received a plaque from the capital city of Ljubljana in 2001 "for her artistic work, mentoring and teaching work. with young people and organizational work in ballet art in Ljubljana." In 2008, Sotlar was named a winner of the 's (the highest recognition of the Ljubljana municipality for creations in the field of art and culture) Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony at the

City Museum of Ljubljana The City Museum of Ljubljana ( sl, Mestni muzej Ljubljana) was established in 1935. It is housed in Turjak Palace at 15 Gentry Street () in the centre of Ljubljana. The museum offers various pedagogical activities for children and students between ...

.
She was nominated for the

Prešeren Award The Prešeren Award ( sl, Prešernova nagrada), also called the Grand Prešeren Award ( sl, Velika Prešernova nagrada), is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia. It is awarded each yea ...

on multiple occasions.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sotlar, Lidija 1929 births 2018 deaths People from Kruševac 20th-century Slovenian women 21st-century Slovenian women 20th-century ballet dancers 20th-century women educators Slovenian ballerinas Slovenian educators Recipients of the Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia Burials at Žale