About us

History

The first attempts to organize a group for preserving Serbian tradition and folklore in New Englad happened under the leadership of Petar Petrov from Bulgaria and Mrs. Mirjana Petrovic, under the auspices of the Serbian Orthodox Church St. Sava in Boston in 1997 and 1998. During this time, there were two other ensembles that preformed in the area, composed of local Serbs, Bulgarians, and Americans.

In the winter of 1999, in a time following the wars in the former Yugoslavia, in the moment when the small Serbian community in Boston went through difficult times because of the poor image of Serbia and Serbs in American media, Dr. Mrijana Kondic began organizing a group of people interested in Serbian tradition and dance. With the arrival of Djordje Koldzic, a dancer with almost three decades of experience, and a soloist in two highly regarded ensembles in Serbia (Branko Krsmanovic in Belgrade, and Abrasevic in Valjevo), a new ensemble was created, emulating some of the highest quality folklore ensembles in Serbia.

The dancers of the original group chose the name Grachanitsa after a famous Serbian monastery in Kosovo, built on the remains of a 13th century church. The Grachanista monastery, a spiritual and cultural center of this part of Serbia for centuries, was classified as a UNESCO world heritage cultural site in 1993.

From its founding, over 250 dancers have participated in Grachanitsa’s activities. Grachanitsa’s first public performance was in Concord, MA, at the Balkan Music night in 2001. Since then, the ensemble has performed over forty times in some of the most famous venues throughout the US and Canada.

Grachanitsa’s program currently includes ten choreographies of renowned Serbian choreographers Branko Markovic, Srboljub Ninkovic, Dragoslav Dzadzevic, Ratomir Djurovic, and Milan Bosiljcic Beli.

In addition to Grachanitsa, there is also a children’s dance ensemble, which has been practicing for over four years at the Serbian Orthodox Church St. Sava. Under the guidance of Srdjan Nickovic, Dragana Bogavac, and Djordje Koldzic, children have the opportunity to learn the basics of Serbian folk dance and tradition, and perform several times a year.

Grachanitsa is currently in the process of registering as a non-profit organization in the US. Members of the group, along with unselfish support from donors, have invested over $30,000 into Grachanitsa, of which the biggest part was spent on purchasing original hand-made costumes from Serbia. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them, and remind everyone who is interested in Serbian heritage and folklore, to continue supporting Serbian tradition in New England by supporting Grachanista.

Artistic Director: Djordje Koldzic
Assistant Artistic Director: Srdjan Nickovic
Children’s Assistant Director: Dragana Bogavac

Practices

Grachanitsa’s practices take place on Tuesdays at the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA.
Children’s lessons are from 6 – 7pm, beginner’s lessons from 7 – 8pm, and Grachanitsa’s rehearsals from 8 – 10pm.
If you are interested in our rehearsals, feel free to stop by, or contact us.

Dancers:

Aleksandar Bukvic
Aleksandra Andjelkovic
Aleksandra Drljaca
Alen Arbutina
Alexander Jovanovic
Alice Tomic
Ana Koldzic
Andjela Suka
Anita Zilic
Ankica Pogorzelski
Biljana Arsic
Branko Bojovic
Darko Cotic
Dejan Stankovic
Djordje (George) N. Koldzic
Dobrin Draganov
Dragana Bogavac
Dunja Stankovic
Dusan Kozic
Eleonora Vidolova
Goran Deletic
Gordana Simic
Ivana Djuretic
Iveta Iontcheva
Jansen Savic
Jelena Djordjevic
Jelena Glisovic
Jelena Jovin
Jelena Mirkovic
Loraine Milosh
Marija Jankovich (Velickovic)
Marijana Bogavac
Marizela Savic
Marko Kocic
Mia Levi
Michele Stojanov
Mirela Zilic
Miroslav Arsic
Nada Jovanovic (Bankovic)
Negovan Nickovic
Nenad Pejic
Neso Beric
Nevena Vukosavljevic
Nikola Kojic
Rebecca Woodward
Sandra Tanasijevic
Sanja Stojkovic (Petrovic)
Sinisa Baranac
Sladjana Baranac
Srdjan Nickovic
Stevan Arbutina
Suzana Stojakovic
Tamara Halkina
Tamara Maric
Tamara Pavasovic
Tamara Sevaljevic
Tatiana Nouchev

2008-2009 Board

President: Djordje
Vice President: Srdjan
Secretary: Dunja
Treasurer: Tamara
Annual Concert Coordinator: Ankica
Travel Coordinator: Mia Levi
Webmaster: Goran
Music Coordinator: Dobri
Fundraising Chair: Ankica Pogorzelski
Costume Coordinators: Dragana, Mare, Nesko, Goca, Ankica
Beginner’s Lessons Assistants: Nenad, Mia, Goca
Members at large: Dragana, Ankica, Marijana, Jelena, Nesko, Mia, Nenad, Dejan, Dean