After last year's huge success and the guest appearance at the cult National Contemporary Dance Theater "Chayo" in Paris, France, choreographer Risima Risimkin continues to conquer the most important world stages and present Macedonia at the highest artistic level.

From August 24 to 31, 2023 Risimkin, together with the dancers of the Skopje Dance Theater, will be guests on the stage of the Shakespeare Festival in Verona, Italy, which will once again represent the country at an extraordinary and very significant festival.

The festival was established in 1948 and this year it will be 75 years old, the rich history of Verona's summer seasons was created on its stages, which include guest appearances by a long list of productions, actors, directors, scenographers, musicians, dancers, choreographers, etc.

The festival, whose historical and artistic value is enormous, has for years been a central location for theater culture at the world level. Rysimkin and Skopje Dance Theater will be part of the "Shakespeare Fringe" program, which will be held at the end of August.

- I am very grateful that my work as an artist has been recognized by the artistic management of the festival and, of course, excited by the thought that we will be visiting this extraordinary city and festival with a great tradition. For me, female characters in Shakespeare's plays are a particularly interesting topic and it is a challenge for me to research and create in that context, on which the creation of the play "Lady Macbeth (The Quartet)" is based. This topic is also relevant in the context of the time in which we live, and I want to draw parallels between the timeless work of Shakespeare and the modern aspects of the topics he covers - said Rysimkin.

The continuous performances of the Skopje Dance Theater on world stages, which in recent years has performed in New York, Paris, Beijing, The Hague, Amsterdam and other important centers of culture, for which it receives excellent reviews, is a confirmation of the quality and necessity of this company, which creates and nurtures young artistic staff.

- The Skopje Dance Theater is a laboratory in which we produce an excellent artistic product. The young dancers and choreographers that the company produces are wonderful artists and are already conquering the international scene. Adriana Dančevska, who is part of the first composition of the company, in a duet with Dejan Bitrovski, performed in November 2022 at the 26th Festival of Choreographic Miniatures in Belgrade, where, for her choreography "Don't touch my eyes", she won the First award at the festival, as well as the Audience Award. I sincerely hope that in addition to the worldwide recognition of its quality, the Skopje Dance Theater will be truly recognized at home as well - emphasizes Risimkin.