Founded in 1996, the Folklore Ensemble „Šiljakovina“ has been cherishing the rich cultural diversity of the national folk tradition performing folk music, songs and dances originating from different Croatian regions.
Our wide repertoire includes songs and dances from Slavonia (eastern part of Croatia), Međimurje (northern part of Croatia), Sesvetsko prigorje (east off the capital Zagreb), Zagorje (hilly region just north off the capital city), Turopolje (the region south off Zagreb), Vukomeričke Gorice (our native region), Bilogora (along the border with Hungary), Kordun and Lika (mountainous parts of central Croatia) and Bunjevci – Croats living mostly in Vojvodina and southern Hungary.
We have also artistically adapted for the stage traditional customs of our region, such as those connected to St. George’s Day, St. John’s Day, Christmas, St. Stephen’s Day as well as rich tradition of harvesting and cultivating wine.
The Ensemble has participated in many folk festivals in Croatia, such as the national festival of choreographic folklore in Koprivnica and the national festival of authentic regional dances Vinkovačke jeseni. Our younger members have participated in many regional festivals of choreographic and authentic children dances. The Ensemble’s international experience includes folk festivals in Poland, Macedonia and Hungary.
The Ensemble is very proud of its collection rich with authentic national costumes of Turopolje and Vukomeričke gorice, some of them being estimated as museum pieces. We also gather costumes from other parts of Croatia, some of them are authenthic and the others are replica.
In present day, the Enesemble works guided by excellent folkloric experts and gathers around one hundred members – dancers, singers and musicians in 7 sections of different age groups.
The Ensemble conducted by:
Artistic instructor: Dubravko Radić
Vocal instructor: Tomislav Habulin
Head of orchestra: Dražen Lučan
General director: Dražen Lučan