dance and music pedagogue, choreographer, mime artist, head of contemporary dance department

Jana Kovač Valdés (1958, Slovenj Gradec) started her training in contemporary dance and music relatively late, in her teens. She took her first dance classes with a well-known Celje-based dance teacher Ana Vovk Pezdirc, who at the time ran a dance company at the Pre-school Education School Celje. Besides obtaining the necessary education to work with pre-school children at the school, she developed an interest in contemporary dance and music and later also studied at the Velenje Music School. She went on to study at the Faculty of Education (Music Department) and graduated in 1980. After taking bridging exams, Jana enrolled in the third year of the Music Education Department at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana.

She started working at the contemporary dance department of the Ljubljana Music and Ballet Conservatory in 1983/84, becoming its head in 1995. She teaches contemporary dance and music for dancers to children aged 6-11. In 2007 she was elected councillor. Jana has been attending a variety of classes and workshops and is trained in a number of dance techniques (summer dance schools in Rovinj and Ljubljana; education programmes with the Public Fund for Cultural Activities).

In 1979 Jana started developing an interest in mime and soon became assistant to the well-known mime artist Andrés Valdés. They started working together and created a series of mime performances, which they presented across Slovenia, former Yugoslavia and Europe. Subsequently they focused on creating mime performances for children and produced four performances that were broadcast also on national television. They perform and give workshops in kindergartens and schools across Slovenia and organise other events aimed at younger audiences.

 

PEDAGOGICAL-CHOREOGRAPHIC WORK

COLLABORATIONS AS MIME ARTIST AND DANCER

WORK FOR TELEVISION

DANCE WORKSHOPS

PEDAGOGICAL WORK (združiti z razdelkom Menstorsko vodstvo)

PUBLISHED WORK

OTHER

AWARDS

SELECTED PERFORMANCES IN MORE DETAIL