At the Planet Sarajevo, one extraordinary artifact captures the elegance, discipline, and emotional power of ballet—the pointe shoes worn by renowned artist Edina Papo during her preparation for the 1981 production of Swan Lake at the National Theater Sarajevo.
For Papo, pointe shoes represent far more than performance equipment. ‘What I lived through as a ballerina—putting on those shoes, rising onto the tips of my toes, and dancing in them—are moments I will never forget. Each one was, for me, the most beautiful thing in the world. That’s why I donated them to Planet Sarajevo—to remain as a memory.’ Her words reveal the emotional depth behind ballet as an art form—one built on years of dedication and artistic expression.
They’re also a symbol of classical ballet—a global art that demands tremendous knowledge, academic rigor, and skill.’ Papo stepped onto the National Theater stage at just 16, and on that stage performed works such as Swan Lake, Giselle, Don Quixote, and The Sleeping Beauty. She also recalls a time when Sarajevo was an important ballet center in the former Yugoslavia: ‘In the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, we had an incredible opportunity to learn from the best. Our wonderful principals and soloists came from modest ballet schools, but behind them stood brilliant pedagogues—students of great Russian ballerinas and dancers.’
We had a society that invested in culture, that wanted to create a sense of well-being and beauty, and to make elite art accessible to everyone.’ As Director of the Ballet at the National Theater Sarajevo, Papo founded Ballet Fest Sarajevo—a festival that still connects ballet dancers from around the world and creates opportunities to exchange knowledge and artistic skills. When you step into Planet Sarajevo and see those pointe shoes, you’re not just looking at an artifact—you’re looking at a ticket into a moment in time, a stage, and an artistic heart that placed Sarajevo on the world map of ballet.
Planet Sarajevo is realized with the support of BH Telecom, Sarajevska Pivara, NLB Bank, and Kömmerling, and the Federal Ministry of Tourism and Environment and the City of Sarajevo.