The Dancer (Balerina), Budva

Bronze of a dancer by Gradimir Aleksić on the rock between Budva Old Town and Mogren beach, in place since 1965

Bronze statue of a dancer · Rock on the coastal path between Budva Old Town and Mogren beach

The Dancer (Balerina) is the bronze figure of a girl on a rock between Budva Old Town and Mogren beach, one of the best-known sights of Budva. The Belgrade sculptor Gradimir Aleksić made it, and it has stood on this rock since 1965. Locals call it Balerina or Igračica (the dancer); the figure is as much a gymnast as a ballerina. It is free to see at any hour, a few minutes on foot from the Old Town along the coastal path to Mogren.

Where it is and how to get there

Leave the Old Town at its western end, below the Citadel, and follow the path along the shore towards Mogren. The statue is on a rock on the seaward side of the path, before the first Mogren cove. From the centre of Budva it is about 1.5 km on foot, around 20 minutes; from the Old Town walls a few minutes. The path is cut into the cliff and is unsafe in a south wind and big waves, when the sea breaks over it. Go in calm weather, and in summer early or late to avoid the crowd that forms around the rock.

The slender bronze dancer, one leg raised behind her, on a rock with waves and the cliffs of the Mogren path behind — The Dancer on her rock below the cliffs of the Mogren pathPhoto: Avi1111 dr. avishai teicher, CC BY-SA 4.0

The statue

The bronze was placed here in 1965. The spot was chosen by Niko Šuljak of Budva, the architect Dejan Cerović and the sculptor himself: a bare rock with the Old Town behind it and the open sea in front. The sculptor made several casts; one stood for a time in Pionirski park in Belgrade. The model is said to have been Olga Kalivoda, a 14-year-old athlete of the Vojvodina club in Novi Sad.

The stories told around the statue, a girl who waited on the rock for a sailor who never came back, or a swimmer who drowned here, are folklore, not the history of the sculpture. The figure appears on the classic "Pozdrav iz Budve" postcards and has become the town's unofficial symbol.

The dancer statue on a rock in calm water in warm evening light, facing the walls and bell tower of Budva Old Town — The Dancer and Budva Old Town in the eveningPhoto: Vitalii Lytvynov, CC BY-SA 3.0

The storm of 2020 and the return

On the night of 28 December 2020 a storm surge reached the Old Town and tore the statue from its rock into the sea. It was recovered, restored and put back on 3 June 2021, about five months after it fell. The work was done by the Tivat firm Projektor for the Municipality of Budva.

The bronze dancer on her rock in the sea, with the walls of Budva Old Town on the left and Sveti Nikola island on the right — The Dancer, with Sveti Nikola island behindPhoto: Bratislav Tabaš, Public domain

The plaque beside the rock

A small plaque near the statue remembers Stevan Tomašević, a 22-year-old electrical engineering student who died while swimming in the cove behind the rock on 13 July 1935. It is older than the statue and unrelated to it.

Nearby

Budva Old Town and the Citadel, directly behind the rock.
Mogren beach, at the end of the path.
Ričardova glava, the beach under the Old Town walls.
Mogren fortress on Spas hill above the path.

History

1965
Placed on the rock
Gradimir Aleksić's bronze is set on a rock chosen with Niko Šuljak and the architect Dejan Cerović.
28 December 2020
Swept into the sea
A storm surge that reached the Old Town tore the statue from its rock.
3 June 2021
Back on the rock
Recovered and restored, the statue is put back by the Tivat firm Projektor for the Municipality of Budva.

How we check facts

Sources

Portal Analitika, Budva: Balerina ponovo na starom mjestu (3 June 2021) · Standard, Budvanska Balerina se ponovo vratila na Mogren · Nova.rs, Talasi odneli balerinu, zaštitni znak Budve (28 Dec 2020 storm) · Kurir, feature on the Budva Balerina (sculptor, 1965, legends, 1935 plaque) · Wikipedia (sr), Balerina (skulptura): model, copies, legends (secondary) · Budva Tourist Organisation, Mogren (path unsafe in south wind and big waves) · OpenStreetMap node 777921148, Dancing Girl Statue, ODbL · OSRM routing (car and foot, OpenStreetMap data, ODbL; times without traffic)