Lidija Sotlar

Lidija Sotlar (; 12 June 1929 – 16 October 2018) was a Serbian-born Slovenian ballerina and teacher who was a member and a soloist of the Ljubljana Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet between 1948 and 1972, performing the role of 80 characters from a wide variety of ballet repertoire. She led the Lidija Sotlar Ballet Group which she established at the Central Ballet School in Ljubljana and passed on her knowledge of ballet to several generations of Slovenian dancers and established the Yugoslav Ballet Artists in 1977 that she led artistically and organisationally until 1983. Sotlar was a 2001 recipient of the Honorary Badge of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia.

Biography Born Lidija Lipovž in the Serbian town of Kruševac on 12 June 1929, she is the daughter of a train driver who was moved to the town by the authorities. She was raised in the town and finished four grades of primary school and was taught Slovenian. Sotlar's family fled to Slovenia when the Second World War broke out and she continued her education in Ljubljana. She was initially educated at the gymnasium and then at the Secondary School of Economics. In 1944, she was one three successful applicants to join the ,

Between 1975 and 1983, she was the leader of the Lidija Sotlar Ballet Group which she established at the Central Ballet School in Ljubljana and passed on her knowledge of ballet to several generations of Slovenian dancers, some of whom went on to have solo stage careers. Sotlar established the Meeting of Yugoslav Ballet Artists in 1977 and was its artistic and organisational leader until 1983 as she organised multiple several ballet concerts in Slovenia and abroad.

Personal life She was married to the actor Bert Sotlar from 1955 to his death in 1992. Sotlar died on 16 October 2018, and was buried at Žale.

Awards In 1997, she was named the inaugural recipient of the Society of Ballet Artists of Slovenia Lidija Wisiak Award. She received a plaque from the capital city of Ljubljana in 2001 "for her artistic work, mentoring and teaching work. with young people and organizational work in ballet art in Ljubljana." She was nominated for the Prešeren Award on multiple occasions.