In 2006 the National Theater was accepting new dancers and Ekaterina thought she would try her luck here and she has no regrets.
- I finished ballet school in Krasnodar, where I danced for ten years. After graduating I left for Sarajevo, where I gained the trust of officials who gave me solo parts. Now I pass on my knowledge to children, Ekaterina relates in fluent Bosnian!
Numerous friends and family
She remembers that when she first arrived, buildings still bore traces of the last war and even ordinary fireworks on the Day of the City were quite a traumatic experience.
- I understood Bosnian because we have many similar words, but I didn't speak until I had learned it well. When I first came, I heard many stories about the war and I am glad the city has come along well over the past decade, which even my grandmother notices when she visits every other year.
She has started a family in Sarajevo and tries to spend every free moment with her husband and son.
- My son enjoys watching my ballets. He was peeking in on rehearsals for Omer and Merima, a lovely story, which reminds one of Romeo and Juliet. I play my part in it and the music compels one to dance.
She shares that she has made many friends and she spends time with Ljudmila Valjevac, another Russian lady, who runs a beauty salon.
She loves to read Ivo Andrić’s books and listen to Đorđe Balašević’s music, which calms her and makes her think.
She says that guests should visit the mountains around town and take a walk to Dariva, Vrelo Bosne and along Wilson’s Promenade, which is fairy tale-like in autumn.
- The loveliest view of Sarajevo is the one from the old train station in Bistrik, where my husband and I had our photo taken after our wedding. You are in the city and you can see Baščaršija, with its must-sees, Vijećnica and Sebilj.
Bosnian cuisine
Her favorite Bosnian foods are sitni ćevap, Bosnian pot and other cooked dishes, but she has zeljanica and sirnica at Oklagija and Bosna.
- I love the aščinicas, ASDŽ and Hadžibajrić, which always serve fresh food; I go to Mrkva or Hodžić for ćevapi and I enjoy the interior at Steak House in Baščaršija. I like the fact that Sarajevo serves quality foods that everyone can afford.
Her favorite sweets are tufahija and šapa from Ramis and she likes to sit at Vatra, Torte i to and Four Seasons during the summer, and when the weather turns bad she goes to Zaplet or Aroma Bar in East Sarajevo.
- I like to crochet, knit and give my crafts to people I care about because there’s nothing nicer than making something and giving it from the heart. I think belenzuks and copper items from Kazandžiluk make the loveliest Sarajevo souvenirs.
Ekaterina lives with her family outside the city center, near Vraca, in a house that is surrounded by flowers and she always brings new bags of seeds from Russia.
She describes Sarajevo, her new home, with the following:
- This is a city worth visiting, a city of sociable people and a contact between cultures that is not to be found elsewhere in such a small place!
