LADO, the State Ensemble of Croatian Folk Dances and Songs
Unlike many European nations, Croatia has historically used folk dance as a form of representation, according to dance historian and ethnographer Stjepan Sremac. Following World War II, the Yugoslav State established several professional ensembles, among which was Lado, the Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs of Croatia, under the direction of Zvonko Ljevakovic. Unlike Igor Moiseyev, and in direct opposition to the Moiseyev aesthetic, Ljevakovic employed many authentic details of dance movements, costume, and vocal and instrumental music in his theatricalized folk dance choreographies. Many of the people in Eastern Europe, in which nearly every nation had a professional folk dance ensemble, have turned away from the state-sponsored companies in favor of newer forms of cultural expression, however Lado’s popularity, due to performance strategies created by the new artistic director, Ivan Ivancan, Jr, has greatly increased.