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On February 15 on the occasion of the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia, President Aleksandar Vučić presented these decorations to deserving individuals and institutions, including the Ballet of the National Theatre in Belgrade.

At the ceremony held at the Presidency of the Republic of Serbia, the Artistic Director of the National Theatre Ballet, Ana Pavlović, received the prestigious award.

The statement regarding the award said that the Order was awarded for special merits and achieved results in the field of ballet art, on the occasion of the centenary of the existence of a permanent ballet ensemble and repertoire.

"I am deeply honoured by the award given to the National Theatre Ballet in Belgrade. The Sretenje Order of the First Class is an invaluable birthday gift on the occasion of a significant jubilee - the centenary of Ballet in Serbia. I also want to express my personal satisfaction in the fact that I am at the head of the Ballet, which will mark and celebrate its great anniversary as it should - with the premiere of the ballet Le Corsaire on March 19 this year. The fact that the National Theatre Ballet has existed continuously for a whole century speaks volumes of its importance, but also reminds us that it is necessary to constantly work on cherishing and improving the art of ballet, because it represents a significant part of our cultural history," Ana Pavlović stated who is also a prima ballerina of the National Theatre in Belgrade.

The Sretenje Order is a decoration of the Republic of Serbia established on October 26, 2009 by the Law on Decorations of the Republic of Serbia.

It is awarded by the decree of the President of the Republic of Serbia, for special services to the Republic of Serbia and its citizens in public, economic, cultural, educational, sports and humanitarian domain.

The author of the conceptual design of the Sretenje Order, which has three classes, is the academic sculptor Nikola Vukosavljević, a full-time sculpture professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade.

Among the institutions and public figures from cultural, economic, sports and social domain awarded on the occasion of the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia, we would single out, among others, the premier stage actress of the National Theatre Radmila Živković (Sretenje Order of the Second Class for Special Merits in Public and Cultural Domain, Especially in Acting), as well as the former principal ballet dancer and Director of the National Theatre Ballet, Konstantin Kostyukov (Gold Medal for Outstanding Merits and Achieved Results in Ballet Art).