Zagreb Dance Company opens 2026 at the Zagreb Dance Center: return of "Where All Souls Go" and reprises of "Petricore"
The beginning of 2026 at the Zagreb Dance Center (ZPC) brings the return of two performances by the Zagreb Dance Company (ZPA) that resonated strongly with the audience and the profession in the past season. Already on January 22nd and 23rd, the reprise performances of "Where All Souls Go" in the concept and choreography of Miloš Isailović are scheduled, while "Petricore", a work by the author duo Igor x Moreno (Igor Urzelai Hernando and Moreno Solinas), returns to the stage on February 18th and 19th. For visitors outside of Zagreb, these performances are an additional reason for a cultural weekend in the city, with practical options like
accommodation in Zagreb or
accommodation near the performance venue.
ZPA, one of the key domestic professional organizations in the field of contemporary dance, confirms the continuity of the repertoire with these titles, but also a strategic openness to different authorial poetics: from an intimate, emotional dance "fresco" that observes the body as a field of internal and social tensions, to a precisely constructed collective performance that examines togetherness as an experience of simultaneous comfort and discomfort.
Dates and basic information: two titles, four performances
Both performances play in the evening slot at the premises of the Zagreb Dance Center, at Ilica 10/1. In January, ZPC emphasizes a reprise program of successful shows alongside increased audience interest, and the return of ZPA's performances fits into such program logic: alongside proven artistic value, reprises expand the audience reach and extend the life of the title beyond the premiere cycle. For those planning arrival and logistics, it is practical to consider
accommodation offers in Zagreb in advance, especially if the performances are combined with other cultural contents in the city center.
- "Where All Souls Go" – January 22nd and 23rd, 2026 (ZPC)
- "Petricore" – February 18th and 19th, 2026 (ZPC)
ZPC on its program pages directs to ticket purchases, and also states the box office working hours (Tuesday–Saturday from 14:00 to 20:00). It is common for interest in reprises to intensify precisely in the weeks when the audience returns to city halls after the holiday break, so the recommendation is to follow ticket availability on official channels. Visitors coming from other parts of Croatia or the region often choose
accommodation in the center of Zagreb to access the hall on foot or by public transport.
"Where All Souls Go": the body as a place of internal conflict and collective trajectories
"Where All Souls Go" by Miloš Isailović is built around questions that sound simple, but turn into a layered performance structure on stage: where does the "soul" go when it leaves love, what happens to people without a soul, is there a place of light that everyone strives for, and what are we when we meet a kindred soul. The announcement of the performance emphasizes that it is about following different stories of several completely different people – those ready and unready for love, strong and weak – who, despite differences, find themselves on the same path towards the same goal.
Precisely this framework allows the choreography to treat the body as a "terrain" on which private and collective lines refract: personal memories, emotional fractures, but also social patterns that determine the way we love, lose and try to establish closeness again. According to the description conveyed in the context of the reception of the performance, critic Jelena Mihelčić highlighted the visual impressiveness and emotional "rawness" and the way the performance explores the body as a space of internal conflict and an intersection of personal and collective trajectories with a strong choreographic language. Such a critical key additionally directs the viewer: a narrative "story" in the classical sense is not expected, but an intense, physical dramaturgy that leads from image to image, from conflict to conflict.
Performance cast and author team
The performance involves dancers whose stage precision is an important part of ZPA's identity: Lara Kapeloto, Luna Lilek, Nika Lilek, Silvija Musić, Endi Schrotter, and Linda Tarnovski. The official data also lists key collaborators who shape the whole: music is signed by Ana Krstajić, costumes by Vera Damjanović, scenography by Andreja Rondović, and lighting design by Anton Modrušan. Precisely light in contemporary dance is often the "second language" of choreography: it does not serve only to make the body visible, but to emotionally "tune" the space, amplify the feeling of transitions, fractures, and silences.
The performance itself was created in a co-production context with the Adriatic Dance Festival in Budva, which is an important reminder of regional cultural connections: contemporary dance in this part of Europe largely relies on collaborations and networking, because such a model enables both the mobility of titles and the exchange of audiences. For the audience planning to come to performances in Zagreb, such an international context can be an additional motivation for travel and stay, with options like
accommodation for visitors in Zagreb.
Who is Miloš Isailović and why is this title important in the repertoire
ZPC in the description of the performance also brings a broader biographical framework of Miloš Isailović: he is an author born in 1988 in Loznica, educated in the ballet and contemporary dance system, with professional experience covering work in institutional ensembles, but also collaborations with internationally relevant names. Such a profile often brings a specific balance: it simultaneously relies on the technical discipline of the classical school and on the openness of contemporary dance towards the "unspoken", towards the body as a place of questions, not answers.
Precisely because of this, "Where All Souls Go" in the ZPA repertoire can function as a title that connects audiences of different expectations: those who come for the virtuosity of the performance and those who come for emotional and intellectual tension, for the theme of love, loss, and the search for meaning. Such performances often get a "second life" in reprises, because viewers come again, and new viewers enter the performance with a reputation that precedes it.
"Petricore": togetherness that does not erase uniqueness
If "Where All Souls Go" starts from fragments of intimate stories and internal fractures, "Petricore" leans strongly on the collective image. Already in the description of the performance, its basic idea is highlighted: "Petricore celebrates the power of togetherness and the complexity of coexistence", whereby five performers "move as one". But that "one" is not one-dimensional; a paradox is emphasized: togetherness that never erases uniqueness and uniqueness that becomes visible only through the collective.
The title "Petricore" refers to petrichor – the scent of rain on dry, cracked earth – and in the poetic interpretation of the performance, that scent becomes a metaphor for renewal: what happens when bodies meet, when empathy is re-established among people, when "humanity" is recognized in others. That metaphor gives the performance a clear emotional signature, but simultaneously leaves room for reading: petrichor can be comfort, but also a reminder of the drought that precedes it.
Author signature Igor x Moreno and international production context
"Petricore" is signed by choreographers Igor Urzelai Hernando and Moreno Solinas, who operate under the artistic name Igor x Moreno. In the description of the performance, it is highlighted that their works stem from a fascination with people and what makes us "special animals", and that they use choreography and non-verbal language to create experiences that can surprise, energize, and even disturb. That "disturbing" element is not provocation for the sake of provocation, but a consequence of precise performance construction: when the body is brought to the limits of endurance, the viewer begins to feel their own limits.
ZPA also emphasizes the way the performance was created: the process was shaped through work phases in Zagreb, Svetvinčenat, and Sassari, where performers and choreographers met, built trust, and developed the performance. Such a process – distributed in multiple environments – is often key for contemporary dance, because it enables intense laboratory conditions, a break from routine, but also different spatial and cultural "triggers" that enter the final stage image.
Performers and stage language that "asks questions"
On stage are Dora Brkarić, Lara Kapeloto, Iva Katarinčić, Silvija Musić, and Linda Tarnovski. The critical reception of the performance highlights its "energy voltage" and the way the performance opens the season with direct questions, shaping a state of wondering through physicality, gaze, and collective movement. This is an important detail: contemporary dance is often experienced through movement, but here the "gaze" is explicitly highlighted as an equal component – as a means of communication and pressure, as a way to introduce the audience into a relationship, and not just observation.
In such a framework, "Petricore" functions as a performance that is not exhausted in one emotion. In the same breath, one can feel the attraction of conformity and the joy of togetherness, but also the friction of differences. Precisely in that friction lies the political and social potential of the performance: without direct preaching, the choreography speaks about contemporary life in which community is not given, but is constantly renegotiated.
Broader context: why reprises are important and what they mean to the audience
Reprise performances in the dance field often carry additional value. A premiere is a moment of concentrated attention, but reprises are a moment of confirmation: an indicator that the performance has an audience, that it is talked about, that it is capable of communicating even outside the "premiere euphoria". In Zagreb, where the cultural offer is dense and competitive, the return of titles in ZPC also means that the institution recognizes interest and gives space to continuity.
For the audience, this also means a practical benefit: whoever missed the performance gets a new opportunity; whoever has already watched it can see it in a different mood and with a different focus. And for the city, especially in the winter months, this means a lively evening scene that is not reduced only to large institutional houses. Visitors planning to come from other cities often combine the performance with a short stay, so a logical option imposes itself as
accommodation for a weekend in Zagreb or
accommodation near ZPC, since the hall is located in the very city center.
Practical information for visitors: location, tickets and arrival planning
The Zagreb Dance Center is located at Ilica 10/1. The official ZPC pages direct to ticket purchases with individual dates, and also state the box office working hours (Tuesday–Saturday, 14:00–20:00). Since the dates for "Where All Souls Go" on January 22nd and 23rd and "Petricore" on February 18th and 19th are clearly defined in time, the recommendation is to plan arrival in advance, especially for the audience arriving from outside Zagreb and wanting to coordinate transport, the evening slot, and potential return or overnight stay. In that case, practical options are like
accommodation in Zagreb for performance visitors, especially in the wider center due to easier movement after the performance.
With all differences in poetics, common to these two titles is the focus on the body as the carrier of "real" questions: love, loss, belonging, community, endurance, gaze, touch, collective. Precisely because of this, the January and February reprises do not act as mere repetition, but as a continuation of a conversation that has already begun – on stage and in the audience.
Sources:- Zagreb Dance Center – official performance schedule for January 2026 (link)
- Zagreb Dance Center – official page of the performance "Where All Souls Go" with dates, description and data about the author team (link)
- Zagreb Dance Center – official page of the performance "Petricore" with dates, description and data about the author team (link)
- Zagreb Dance Company – official page of the performance "Where All Souls Go" (link)
- Zagreb Dance Company – official page of the performance "Petricore" (link)
- Culturenet.hr – announcement of the January program of the Zagreb Dance Center (link)
- Plesna scena – critical review by Jasmina Fučkan on the performance "Petricore" (link)
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