Anja Verderber, MA in Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, BA in Art History, is a junior researcher at the Institute of Ethnomusicology ZRC SAZU and a doctoral student at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. She graduated in 2016 with the theses Plesišče na razkolu: valček kot primer polarizacije med konzervativnim in liberalnim and Poenae damnatorum ali Muke pogubljenih: analiza grafik tretjega dela Valvasorjevega Prizorišča človeške smrti v treh delih. In 2020, she obtained her Master’s degree with the thesis Tango – uspeh in pohujšanje sezone: diskurz o tangu v slovenskem časopisju med letoma 1911 in 1940, which was awarded the Dean’s Award of the Faculty of Arts.

In her doctoral dissertation Polka v Sloveniji med politizacijo, popularizacijo in prakso, she examines the polka in Slovenia within the context of politicization, popularization, and practice. Her research focuses on dance culture and ethnochoreology, with particular attention to the polka, veselica's (fete), folk-pop music, stage representations of dance, etc.

She is a former artistic director of the Folk Ensemble ŽKUD Tine Rožanc and remains active as a choreographer of various folk ensembles, lecturer at JSKD seminars, and evaluator at folk ensamble competitions. She is a member of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD), the Slovene Ethnological Society (SED), and several expert committees of the Public Fund for Cultural Activities of the Republic of Slovenia (JSKD).

Research interests:

• ethnochoreology,
• traditional dance,
• folkdance groups,
• anthropology of dance.