Davorin Dinic

My name is Davorin Dinić, born in Niš in 1981.

I completed high school at “Bora Stanković” in Niš and graduated in 2008 from the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts “Krastyo Sarafov” (NATFIZ) in Sofia, Bulgaria, in the puppet department under Professor Bojana Lungova.

I finished secondary music school “Dr. Vojislav Vučković” in Niš. I have been a member of the Puppet Theatre in Niš since 2000 and have performed in about 50 premieres. I currently perform in nearly all productions of the Niš Puppet Theatre.

I am the winner of the Award for Artistic Achievement in 2012, which is awarded by the Niš Puppet Theater.

Personal Awards:

  • Award from the Children’s Jury for Best Male Role in the play “Ugly Duckling,” for the role of the Ugly Duckling, at the Meeting of Professional Puppet Theatres of Serbia, Niš, 2003.
  • Award from the Official Jury for Best Male Role in the play “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” for the role of Jovan, at the Meeting of Professional Puppet Theatres of Serbia, Zemun, 2005.
  • Award for Best Animation in the play “The Frog King,” for the role of the Frog, International Festival of Professional Puppet Theatres for Children “Lut Fest,” East Sarajevo, 2007.
  • Award for Best Male Role in the play “Mozart,” for the role of Mozart, at the Meeting of Professional Puppet Theatres of Serbia, Novi Sad, 2007.
  • “Janko Vrbnjak” Award for Animation in the play “Mozart,” for the animation of Mozart’s birth, at the Meeting of Professional Puppet Theatres of Serbia, Novi Sad, 2007.
  • Award for Best Animation in the play “Little Princess” for Shakespeare’s Dance, International Festival of Professional Puppet Theatres for Children “Lut Fest,” East Sarajevo, 2019.
  • Award for Best Animation in the play “The Wolf Who Fell Out of the Book” for the role of the Cat, International Festival of Professional Puppet Theatres for Children “Lut Fest,” East Sarajevo, 2020.
  • Award for Acting Achievement for the role of the Madman in the play “The Princess and the Pea,” at the Meeting of Professional Puppet Theatres of Serbia, Novi Sad, 2021.
  • Award for Acting Mastery for the role of the Madman in the play “The Princess and the Pea,” International Puppet Festival, Podgorica, Montenegro, 2022.
  • Award for Acting Mastery for the role of the Wolf in the play “The Wolf and the Seven Kids,” International Puppet Festival, Podgorica, Montenegro, 2023.

Film:

  • I appeared in the film “Pictures in the Night,” which I filmed for Bulgarian National Television in 2003.
  • I appeared in the film “Escape,” 2017.

Music is my second great love. I play several instruments (guitar, bass guitar, piano, fujara, drums) but I am primarily involved in composition. I mainly compose music for theatre as it fulfills me the most, though I have also created many independent compositions. So far, I have worked with the Niš Puppet Theatre, the Student Cultural Centre from Niš, and the Serbian Cultural Centre from Toronto. I also designed sound for a first-year exam performance at the Sofia NATFIZ Academy, Puppet Department.

As a composer, I have worked on six productions:

  • “Flower Fairy” performance, Niš Puppet Theatre
  • “Dandelion and Retard,” SKC Niš
  • “Our Children,” Toronto, Canada, SKUD Oplenac, 2005.
  • “Santa Claus’s Helpers,” Niš Puppet Theatre, 2006.
  • “Santa Claus from Oz,” Niš Puppet Theatre, 2008.
  • “Ice Fairy Tale,” Niš Puppet Theatre, 2009.

At the “Sonja Marinković” Festival of Academic Theatres in Novi Sad in 2004, I received the award for Best Music for the play “Dandelion and Retard” from the Student Cultural Centre Niš.

Photography is also an activity I engage in during my free time, and I am the author of a photography collection titled “Shadows of Old Niš,” with which I have held several solo exhibitions:

  • May 16, 2015, in Niš as part of the “Museums of Serbia, Ten Days from 10 to 10” organization.
  • August 11, 2015, in Niš as part of the international jazz festival “Nišville.”
  • 2015 in Belgorod, Russia as part of the “Days of Niš and Serbian Culture” event.

The project attracted significant attention from the local public and was featured in several foreign media outlets. The video project “Niš Time-Lapse Video” earned me a monthly award at the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Festival – HIIDA Festival. The film was also selected for the “Lookout Wild Film Festival” in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA.

I have been involved in graphic design for many years and have provided graphic solutions for the covers of many books, mostly in foreign productions, primarily in the United Kingdom.

I am also engaged in web administration and design and am the author of the old Niš Puppet Theatre website.

Improvisation

Since January 2020, I have been a permanent member of the theatre.