Ljubljana is an artistic, creative and open city. For those, seeking independent arts and culture, Ljubljana offers numerous spaces that showcase the best contemporary Slovenian as well as international independent performance arts scene spanning from independent off-off theatre performances to contemporary dance performances and art festivals.
Located in Ljubljana’s Old Town, the Glej Theatre (Gledališče Glej; »Glej« meaning »watch!« or »look!«) is Slovenia’s oldest independent theatre founded in 1970. Glej, as an experimental venue and production house, is renowned for its unconventional theatre performances and for constantly researching new artistic approaches within its unique black box ambient.
Also located in the Old Town is the Ljubljana Mini Theatre (Mini teater), founded in 1999, which through its paradox goal – to be an elite theatre that is accessible to the public, eccentric yet attractive for a wide audience – breaks the traditional boundaries of theatre, affirming them merely in the way of thinking. While the theatre is dedicated mainly to puppets, this does not prevent it from also producing acted performances for adults and youth.
Dance Theatre Ljubljana (Plesni teater Ljubljana or PTL) was in 1984 established as the first professional contemporary dance company in Slovenia. This small but artistically exciting contemporary dance theatre in its venue presents to the public a wide range of selected Slovenian and international contemporary dance creativity.
Part of the premises of Ljubljana’s old power station (Stara elektrarna – Elektro Ljubljana), works as a performing arts venue hosting various contemporary dance and theatre productions, performances, concerts and festivals, while the other aprtt of the building still works as a Power Station; a third of the city’s electricity is still produced there. It is a genuine example of the fusion of electric and artistic energy on one hand, and Ljubljana’s unique example of a long and well-established international tradition in transforming attractive industrial structures into cultural centres.
The Španski borci cultural centre is dedicated to promoting contemporary art practices. It hosts a programme of theatre, music, fine art, audio-visual and humanities-related events. It is home to the EnKnapGroup international contemporary dance troupe, led by the renowned Slovenian dancer and choreographer Iztok Kovač.
