24.02.2017.
Officers Ball Tradition in Novi Sad Reinstated
An officers’ ball organised by the Army Command, 1st Army Brigade and the River Flotilla was held at the Serbian Armed Forces Club in Novi Sad whereby the officers’ ball tradition was reinstated in that city.
The Officers’ Ball was attended by the Army Commander Lieutenant General Milosav Simović with his associates, 1st Army Brigade Commander Brigadier General Željko Petrović, River Flotilla Commander Captain (N) Andrija Andrić, members of the 1st Army Brigade, River Flotilla, and of the units belonging to the Novi Sad Garrison, as well as representatives of the local government and veterans associations from Novi Sad, and other guests.
According to the words of Army Commander Lieutenant General Milosav Simović, ethnic and cultural diversity is a resource shared by all the citizens of Novi Sad and Vojvodina, and by 1st Army Brigade and the River Flotilla personnel as well.
- Long may understanding, tolerance and mutual respect continue to be the qualities that the people of Novi Sad are known for in Serbia and beyond – in Europe and worldwide. Novi Sad always was and still is a city of galleries, libraries, cultural and sports events, and of officers’ balls as well. Tonight, after a series of decades, we wish to reinstate the broken officers’ ball tradition at the Serbian Armed Forces Club here, in Novi Sad, otherwise known as the Serbian Athens – said General Simović.
While the sounds of traditional Serbian dances (Kolo Dances) – King’s Kolo, Queen Draga’s Kolo, Serbian noble dance Dorćolka, Pupin’s Kolo, Serbian Sisters’ Kolo, Serbian noble dances Bojarka and Srpkinja danced in the past at royal court and dance parties throughout Serbia - rendered by Stanislav Binički Artistic Ensemble of the Serbian MoD, reverberated through the ballroom, dancers of Vranje Garrison Dance Troupe Tamo daleko gracefully danced to each of the said traditional songs in the presence of the audience thrilled by their performance.
The officers’ ball tradition in Serbia was extinguished at the beginning of the Second World War to be revived by members of 4th Army Brigade in 2008.
