BHAAAS Member Prof. Svjetlana Bukvich Premieres New Work with Carolyn Dorfman Dance and Singer Davor Ebner

The prominent American company, Carolyn Dorfman Dance, has commissioned Sarajevo-born and New York City-based composer and music producer Svjetlana Bukvich, to create electroacoustic music for a new dance/theater piece about the life and legacy of Max Heller, the diverse group of Americans who saved his life, and the city he transformed for the benefit of all. Prof. Bukvich has invited Bosnian pop and rock singer and permanent member of the Sarajevo National Theater Choir, Davor Ebner, to participate in the project. The recording sessions were held at the Pencil Factory studio in Greenpoint, New York, with the assistance of sound engineer Patrick Derivaz. Mr. Ebner received the Transfer for Support of Artist Mobility grant from the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports of Bosnia and Herzegovina for this project. The aim of this new initiative is to provide support to artists in developing their personal artistic practice as well as strengthening professional capacities. The Transfer contributes to the exchange, collaboration, and connection of artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina with artists outside the country.

Prologue: A Dance of Hope — The Story of Max Heller premieres on January 28 2025, at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, after which it will tour the United States. Financial support for the project was provided by The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation of New Jersey.

Carolyn Dorfman Dance is no stranger to Bosnia and Herzegovina. CDD has previously performed for the Sarajevo audience at the National Theater on several occasions with original music by Svjetlana Bukvich. Choreographer Carolyn Dorfman has supported the engagement of Davor Ebner as another way of building cultural bridges between Sarajevo and New York. 

About the work: From an Austrian immigrant and Holocaust survivor to a successful business owner and the first and only Jewish mayor of Greenville, South Carolina, Heller embodies the incredible American hero—his life saved by a twist of fate and the kindness of a total stranger, dedicated thereafter to public service. He fought and successfully overcame the status quo of racial segregation in Greenville, a reality that most people, both Black and white, then accepted as inevitable. His largely unknown story resonates in today's polarized world, marked by anti-immigration sentiments, racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and hate in all its forms. Heller's legacy reminds us not to dwell upon the past but to learn from it, never to consider our own suffering as greater than another's, and to fight injustice in the spheres we touch. We are all capable of heroic deeds. They may seem small to us, but to someone else, these small deeds can greatly change their life.