Entertainment throughout the day and high culture in the evenings, free in June in the heart of the city.

'June 2011 in Ljubljana' runs from Friday 10 to Thursday 23 June 2011 at Prešeren Square in Ljubljana.

For the third consecutive year, 'June in Ljubljana', organised by the City of Ljubljana, Ljubljana Tourism and Festival Ljubljana offers the broadest circle of visitors a high artistic experience of dance, music and theatre.

'June in Ljubljana' is a unique event at which visitors have the chance to check out the latest artistic productions, and these are also a showcase of top creativity to those residents that are not regulars on the cultural scene. When 'June in Ljubljana' pulses with the artistic rhythm, the capital draws in a new cultural audience and offers cultural institutions a chance to showcase themselves in the best light. 'June in Ljubljana’ is thus the biggest open-air cultural event in Ljubljana and has become a hallmark of Ljubljana's cultural offer.

This year's 'June in Ljubljana' programme is the richest yet, as it has grown into an international event. Outstanding ballet performances are to be brought to Ljubljana with residents and visitors alike being able to see in the first five evenings five top class shows by the Munich Dance Theatre: Romeo and Juliet on three evenings and a Midsummer Night's Dream on two. Munich Dance Theatre (Tanz Theater München) is under the umbrella of Munich's Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz and the artistic direction of Hans Henning Paar. The work of Hans Henning Paar is oriented mainly around modern and contemporary ballet techniques, where acting is needed alongside professional technical capabilities. The dancers also have a chance of mutual artistic development. The basis of the choreographic work is the understanding of ballet as an expression of life, regardless of whether the dance is expressed in an emotional or intellectual way with abstract or narrative content. This international ballet ensemble comprises 20 dancers and we are convinced that a magical atmosphere will be conjured up in Prešeren Square.

In addition to the Munich ballet, as is already traditional as part of 'June', you will also be able to visit Ljubljana Ballet Theatre. Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana are to present two productions, ballet evenings choreographed by Twyle Tharp and Dinko Bogdanić entitled Under the Stars, premiered in October last year.

This year's 'June' is also notable as it offers top ballet not only to adults but also to our youngest, as it is possible to take in the production of Picko and Packo by Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana in the late afternoons. The ballet performance with singing and the spoken word is an excellent opportunity for all children to get to know the art of ballet in a cute and colourful way.

As well as ballet, 'June' this year is to cater to the most demanding theatre gourmets. The Slovenian Youth Theatre is to present its high-profile theatre-musical project entitled Chrysanthemum on the Piano. This is to be an evening where the musical interpretation of poetry will be linked to the authorship and masterful acting presence of Janja Majzelj, inspired by the poetry of Svetlana Makarovič. The musical-scenic event will showcase the exceptional interpretation and authorship of the project by Janja Majzelj, one of this year's Prešeren Fund Award winners.

The satisfaction of lovers of modern dance aesthetics will be taken care of by members of Slovenia's only professional modern dance ensemble, EnKnapGroup. The performance of 10 min south is a choreographic omnibus by five choreographers, whose creations will be accessible to all on the stage in June. They are Dalija Aćin (Serbia), Ivica Buljan (Croatia/Slovenia), Jordi Casanovas (Spain), Olga Pona (Russia) and David Zambrano (Venezuela/Holland). They are five top creators in the field of modern dance and theatre, five 10-minute choreographic vignettes about time: five temporal perspectives, five passages of time and duration, five subjective interpretations of time, five diverse cultural and historical starting points. Five times for ten minutes, so that each lasts varying lengths of time.

Ljubljana City Theatre brings to the June stage a hit performance, the musical Spring Awakening, in the form of a concert “in the rock-punk way”. The story is set in Germany in the late 19th century. In these environs we get to know a group of teenagers whose parents are unable to openly and responsibly answer questions related to sexual awakening and maturing. The story is centred on three teenagers – Wendla, played by Iva Krajnc, rebellious and stubborn Melchior (Klemen Slakonja) and trapped in school distress Moritz (Jurij Drevenšek). The social norms are so senseless and relentlessly repressive that the youngsters' spring awakening is made impossible, with tragic consequences.

Tuesday 21 June 2011 sees the 'June' stage across the whole city of Ljubljana lit up by the international day of music. This music festival is dedicated to live music, musicians, diverse musical genres and amateurs and professionals who will play that day free of charge. The whole event is non-profit and its main purpose is to promote live music. All musical events are to take place in the open air, streets, squares, parks, bridges and playgrounds, while at Prešeren Square a special musical experience awaits us as the finale.

The 200,000th spectator will experience the 5moških.com performance on the ‘June’ stage, which will bid farewell to the Slovenian stage in Prešeren Square. Since the premiere in 2006 to the most recent performance, 5moških.com has been seen by an audience of 191,597, an outstanding achievement in Slovenian theatre, as it is the most watched performance in Slovenian theatre history. The performers are Lado Bizovičar, Sebastijan Cavazza, Matjaž Javšnik, Rado Mulej, Matjaž Tribušon and Jurij Zrnec, who is also the performance director.

This year’s ‘June’ programme is structured so that the morning events, intended mainly for children, are followed by afternoon dance and musical light entertainment, while the evenings are dedicated to world-class dance, theatre and musical creations. In total there are around 65 diverse events, all of which will be free of charge to attend. This year’s ‘June’ is to be the last in Prešeren Square, as the event moves to Congress Square next year.

The programme of this year’s ‘June in Ljubljana’ is on Ljubljana Tourism’s website.

Ljubljana Tourism