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Danijela Popović

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Danijela Popović (Belgrade) is a Serbian-American actress, composer, pianist, pedagogue and playwright. She completed her higher musical education at the elite Juilliard School in New York and her acting studies at the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York.

She is known to the wider audience for her role in the film "Yugodivas" and as a musical creator within the group "D'Divaz". She has performed as a concert performer of modern and serious music in over 500 performances.

After a series of notable theater roles, Popović introduced herself to New York theater audiences in the summer of 2024 as the complete author — writer, actress, and pianist — of the critically acclaimed monodrama "When it hurts you play". The play had its premiere in Serbia at the Monodrama and Pantomime Festival in Zemun in November 2024.

Biography

Born in Belgrade, then in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Danijela Popović completed primary and secondary school in her hometown, along with her musical education, which she completed with a degree in piano at the Faculty of Music, University of Arts in Belgrade, in the class of Prof. Dušan Trbojević, to whom she later served as an assistant at the same department. She also worked as an assistant professor at the String Department of the same faculty, as a collaborative pianist. Her mentor during her master's studies in Yugoslavia was Prof. Arbo Waldma.

She moved to New York in 1990 to pursue postgraduate studies at The Juilliard School, a prestigious arts academy that is one of the world's leading performing arts conservatories.

Music activity

After graduating, she worked for eight years with the Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem, as principal pianist, piano professor, and head of the Piano Department.

With Milica Paranosić and Aleksandra Vojčić, Danijela Popović is a co-founder and performer of the female ensemble "D'Divaz" for which she composed, performed, promoted and marketed highly acclaimed original music. With D'Divaz, she released an album in 2000, guested on Elliot Sharp's album "State of Mind", was a Storm King Artists in Residence, organized a concert for the renovation of the Children's Hospital in Belgrade, and starred in the film "Yugo Divas".

She has performed over 500 concerts and recitals; she has appeared on American television networks ABC, CBS, Fox 5, and in Serbia Studio B in Belgrade and Radio Television Belgrade. She has performed, among others, at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Joes Pub at the Public Theatre.

Popović also collaborates with the composer and conductor of Serbian origin, the founder of new classicism, Miloš Raičković.

Acting

Popović studied acting at The Herbert Berghof (HB) Studio of New York, where she was also a member of the ensemble. She is also a member of the Necessary ITEMS Project, a theater ensemble based in New York.Her roles include: Benefit directed by Eli Ellsworth; The Circus of Life directed by Lynn Barr; Lady with a Lapdog With Jokes and Happy Ending directed by Alexey Burago; The Dome (produced by Prospect Theatre); Almost A Fantasy (Fringe NYC 2012), directed by John Grabowski; The Red Wednesday (Ice Factory 2013), directed by Sanaj Gajar; Mother of God directed by Vincent Gaeta; Medea (American Thyme Theatre); Waiting for Godot directed by Vincent Gaeta; The Requiem (Necessary ITEMS); Crime and Punishment directed by Alexey Burago...

For the play Flight Number Love (produced by Necessary ITEMS Project, Theatre For The New City & The Last Station), directed by Irina Abraham, Danijela Popović was nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actress Award at The Planet Connections Theatre Festival.

Monodrama "When it hurts you play"

In June 2024, Popović introduced herself to the New York theater audience as the complete author — the writer, actress, and pianist — of the critically acclaimed monodrama "When it hurts you play" directed by Alexey Burago.

The monodrama had its Serbian premiere at the Monodrama and Pantomime Festival in Zemun in November 2024. The piece was presented to the European audience as follows: "Serbian-American pianist and actress Danijela Popovic performs her original one-woman piano show. 'When It Hurts, You Play' is a story about a woman born in a communist country, desperately searching for spiritual connections within the confines of an oppressive regime. An only child struggling with loneliness finds sanctuary in the piano. Soon, this magical instrument becomes a medium to express her deepest fears, disappointments and failures. After a tragic accident sends her fleeing to a new continent, the piano becomes her closest comrade and companion. Now as a professional pianist, she reminisces on different chapters of her extraordinary life, its hilarious ups and downs, tumultuous love affairs and the unforgettable music along the way. Filled with live virtuosic piano performances, When It Hurts, You Play is an evening of theater not be to missed."


References

  1. Југодиве at IMDb
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