Aleksandar Josipovic, a dancer, pedagogue and choreographer – Body never lies

Aleksandar Josipovic (Photo: Mika Knežević)

When fifteen years ago, he stepped onto the scene with his partner, Marina Jeremic, there was a complete silence. Eyes wide open, the public watched every move of this couple, they watched every tinsel and then a loud applause followed.

Today, Aleksandar Josipovic is recognized as the most severe jury member in the Dance with stars show and the only Yugoslav who has ever played at the famous French cabaret, Moulin Rouge. In fact, he is much more than that - a person with rich professional but also academic biography, a person who lives at the Amsterdam-Paris relation and who, on the other hand, takes the 581 local bus to visit his parents in Lazarevac.

From Lazarevac to Paris

Josipovic (33) is a professional dancer, teacher, choreographer and a sports dance champion. Firstly, he studies the Faculty of mathematics, he completed the Centre national de la danse in Paris, postgraduate studies at the Codarts Academy in Rotterdam, master at neuro-linguistic programming in USA. He worked as an assistant in the French clinic for the young, CEREP in Paris. As a lecturer, he works in the field of pedagogy of dance and modern psychology and NLP in France, USA Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Netherlands, Finland, Guadalupe, Spain, etc.

- My parents taught my sister Sandra and me that education in life is very important. They taught us that education does not consist of how much you memorized but of differentiating how much you know or do not know.

He says it is possible to make a balance between job and education, adding that he still needed to give up on some things; he needed a lot of work because he did his academic studies in French and English and he did not teach these languages in Yugoslavia in school. He says Yugoslavia since he always stated as a Yugoslav.

(Copyright: Aleksandar Josipovic)

- But, when one wants something then it is possible. The only thing you need is plan and strategy.

Blame it all on Dirty Dancing

Although it sounds a cliché, our collocutor says that since his childhood, he was inclined to dance.

- As a kid, I was obsessed with the Dirty Dance movie whose scenes I watched even 17 times a day. The war broke out that year, dance became my world where I am safe, where everybody loves, where there is no nationalism and where we all speak the same language – move. That’s how it started.

He grew up in Veliki Crljeni, at Lazarevac, in a small environment at the hilly Balkans where dance definitely is not a favorite vocation for boys.

- Critic, labeling and bad names have always been present, they are present today as well. I am grateful to all those people because, thanks to them, I got to where I am today.

He found freedom in dance; he tried to repeat the moves of Patrick Swayze and Jenifer Gray from the movie. He started dancing in Veliki Crljeni. As of that day until 2000, he was active in sports dance in Serbia where he won the state championship for ten times.

I entered the front door in Moulin Rouge

Still, prestigious French cabaret, unachieved dream of many dancers, brought him more popularity. This is how a boy from Lazarevac became the only dancer from Serbia who has ever danced there:

- Two suitcases, an invitation letter, French visa in Yugoslav passport and only 500 euros in my wallet and the idea in my head – I will get the job. It was very brave for someone 21 years old.

(Copyright: Aleksandar Josipovic)

I entered the main door in Moulin Rouge. There are no shortcuts. To work in Moulin Rouge, you have to know how to dance, that is the first condition. I met the dance manager of the company, went on a two-hour audition, showed all possible dancing and technical combinations and left Moulin Rouge with the contract in my hands.

- I have never said that but after that audition, I was not able to walk for 48 hours. It was a shock for my body and I knew well what was waiting for me because body never lies.

After ten years, he left Moulin Rouge because as he says, one must know when it is time to stop.

- One should usually do it when you are the best, I could have played there for the next ten years but I want something else.

True professional

After all, Josipovic considers his greatest success the fact he is healthy-physically, psychically and mentally. When he looks back, he says he does not regret any decision he made in his life.

- Regrets do not exist in life. Failures either. There are only bad results, and there were some of them.

He believes everyone is an ambassador for himself. Who will go to the dentist’s who does not have teeth? Although he worked with the world choreographers, proved in dancing numerous times, he has said for several times now he thinks of himself as a better lecturer than dancer.

(Photo: Mika Knežević)

Dance with stars

Aleksandar’s comments in the Dance with stars show, broadcasted at Prva TV reflect that he is sharp, funny and without poltroon speech, regardless of who he is talking to. He thinks stars in Serbia do not exist.

- Real stars are only in the sky. To shine, you must be in the dark. There are both successful people and poltroons in Serbia, just like anywhere else in the world.

After Eurovision hosting, membership in the jury of this show is the only professional, defined offer he received to his email from Serbia.

For him, friends are pearls scattered all over the world, people who hold his hand and touch his heart. Whenever he has some time, he goes to his hometown, Lazarevac.

- I sometimes just take the city bus (famous 581) and go to visit my parents. There is never enough time.

Our dance scene has been undergoing transition since ever since

When it comes to dance scene in Serbia, he says that dance is the first to go when it comes to economic crisis.

- But that’s not the major problem because transition is ongoing ever since. There are no expert and educated staff and dance managers. What is there to tell about the country which has three ballet associations, where there is no synergy and where there are some quarrels everywhere, etc?

He writes books, finished his master studies, lectures…

(Photo: Mika Knežević)

Apart from TV show which is one of the most popular topics in media is these days, Aleksandar Josipovic deals with other creative projects with respect to dance education.

And privately, he is planning only to get a good sleep.

I cannot do differently

Aleksandar works even when he does not work. He has plenty of ideas and creativity.

- My associates know they should be careful when I start with ideas.

He mainly watches movies in the plane. He finds it difficult to get used to reading books from iPad although it is practical. In Amsterdam, he has a bunch of books on the waiting list and in Paris another one. If he is not at the hall or guest at TV, you can find him on Twitter. However, as he adds, he perfectly distinguishes between virtual and real life.

- Free time for me is a visit to the gym, chiropractic, dinner with the people I am fond of. I cannot stand boring, simple and uneducated people. I plan everything and appoint ahead, even my free time. I have not succeeded yet in finding time for my summer holiday and hope that this year I will be able to go somewhere where I can relax and do nothing. It sounds as a mission impossible to me. Maybe I am too professional and responsible but I cannot do it differently.

Jelena Djelic