Sanja Tropp Frühwald studied contemporary dance at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD). In 2007 she founded the VRUM Performing Arts Collective in Zagreb and in 2016 in Vienna. Since then, she has realised over 20 productions as artistic director, choreographer and director, such as Tiger Lilien, Über uns nur der Himmel (EU project Living realities, changing perspectives), Söhne, The Milky Way, Lover's disco(urse), Nachts, Hey, Alter! (for Staatstheater Kassel) and many more, all of which were performed internationally.
In 2005 Sanja was Croatian representative at the Biennale of Young Artists of Europe and Mediterranean in Naples. In 2007 she was ImPulsTanz / danceWEB scholarship holder, in 2009/10 she was resident artist in the EU project Choreoroam Europe and in 2012/14 resident artist in the EU project New Artistic Identities of the network Fresh Tracks Europe. This experience has strongly influenced her further personal and artistic development.
Sanja's artistic work is characterised by a genuine interest in intergenerational collaboration that has an impact on wider communities and is recognised as innovative, interactive, inclusive and politically aware. Over the years, she has articulated her work in performing arts for young audiences and in opening dialogues between different social groups with a focus on non-violent communication and opening new perspectives.
Since 2009, she has been the artistic director of the Kliker Festival Dance for Young Audiences, which takes place annually in Varaždin, Croatia. Likewise, she is the initiator and co-founder of KLIKER – first Croatian network for the development of contemporary dance for young audiences, founded in 2013, and has coordinated the European collaboration platform GENERATOR since 2018.
Sanja is a board member of Young Dance Network (global model for exchange in the field of dance for young audience) since 2019 and ASSITEJ Austria in 2019-2022.
She has been nominated and awarded several times for her artistic work. Some of the most recent awards were the STELLA*22 for the performance Nachts, the ASSITEJ 2022 Croatian National Award for Von der Mücke zum Elefanten, as well as the nomination for the Croatian National Theatre Award and the UPUH Award for the outstanding contribution to the development of the Croatian dance scene.
In addition to her artistic and social engagements, Sanja regularly teaches at various theatres, schools and festivals throughout Europe.
05.04.2023
