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Ballet in Kosovo was first formed in 1972 along with its troupe. Ballet dancers from this generation were educated in the Secondary School of Ballet in Skopje, under the leadership of director Tatjana Petkovska. Twenty-five dancers from Kosovo – nineteen males and six females – graduated from this particular school. After the successful completion of their schooling, most of the dancers returned to the capital city, Pristina. The Kosovo Ballet was formed within the National Theater of Kosovo.
Contents
- First Generation
- First Generation Troupe
- First Generation Shows
- New generation
- Notable Dancers
- Shows
- Shows 2002 2012
- Cooperation with Festivals
- References
Through the cultural history of Kosovo, two successful ballet troupes were formed: the first generation troupe and the new generation troupe, which is also the current generation.
First Generation
The first generation made a valuable contribution to the establishment of the arts scene in Kosovo. Besides Kosovo, the ballet troupe performed on all of the stages in former Yugoslavia. They also participated multiple times in the International Festival "Ballet Biennale" in Ljubljana and the "Summer Games” in Dubrovnik. The ballet was gradually becoming an inseparable part of the culture in Kosovo. However, in 1991 the dancers of the Kosovo Ballet were disbanded by force from the theater due to conflict and ethnic cleansing. At that point, the ballet unwillingly ceased all of their activities for a decade.
First Generation Troupe
Some of the first members of the ballet troupe were: Ahmet Brahimaj, Rustem Selca, Asma Mulla, Selajdin Kice, Gani Loshi, Jonuz Beqiraj etc. At that time, the well-known dancer and choreographer Abdurrahman Nokshiqi was named director.
Due to the lack of female ballet dancers, five female ballet dancers from Skopje joined the troupe (Nexhmije Meha Selca, Sabrije Spahiu Shkreli), as well as two ballet dancers Kosovo (Enver Elshani and Jashar Berisha). The Kosovo Ballet enjoyed many guest artists from around the world, such as England: Vanda Ibra, Suzan Lejk and Xhoana Xhenkins; Poland: Joana Andziak, Lidija Tomashevska and Ana Stavnjak; Romania: Lilana Benudau; Belgrade: Vjollca Curri and also from Philippines: Marja Bertlan.
First Generation Shows
The first generation staged many large productions, including:
New generation
In 2001, as the dust of conflict settled in Kosovo, one of the first generation dancers, Ahmet Brahimaj, decided to rebuild the ballet. He opened the first High School of Ballet as a part of the Secondary Musical School “Prenk Jakova" and began to recruit young people at a Pristina high school specializing in music. Five years later, the first class of Ahmet Brahimaj from the High School of Ballet, graduated.
Today, these dancers make up the core of the Kosovo Ballet. As a new troupe and also one of the youngest in the Balkans.
Notable Dancers
The Kosovo Ballet troupe includes graduated dancers. The names of which are listed below:
Shows
The Kosovo Ballet owns a very active troupe. The ballet has performed many shows, both modern and classical.
Shows 2002-2012
After the ballet was reestablished, the troupe worked very closely with the Albanian choreographer Gjergj Prevazi. Together they managed to stage his modern dance works entitled "Tranzicioni II" (Transition II), “S'po dëgjohet gongu" (Can't hear the gong), "Kontrast" (Contrast) and "Performance".
"Ballet Collage", choreographed by Elton Cefa, was another successful show which included excerpts from "Don Quixote", "Giselle", "Le Corsaire", and "Swan Lake".
The ballet also established an outstanding relationship with Bulgarian prima-ballerina Sylvia Tomov. With Ms. Tomov’s choreography, the ballet performed "An evening of Classical Ballet", including music from famous composers, such as P.I. Tchaikovsky, Adolphe Adam and more. This show displayed that the Kosovo Ballet has well-prepared and well-trained dancers. Cooperation with Sylvia Tomova continued when she returned to Kosovo to stage "Sleeping Beauty". With the music of P.I Tchaikovsky, the tireless work of the company (starting from the choreographer, ballet dancers, director, and others), this show was a turning point for the ballet of Kosovo. It achieved record ticket sales, a larger audience and proved that the Kosovo Ballet is a truly professional troupe.
After working with Ms. Tomova, the ballet had many opportunities to work with other great choreographers such as:
Russian-Bulgarian choreographer Sergey Sergeev who staged "Carmen", with music from Bizet, Schedrin and Ravel. Russian choreographer Konstantin Uralsky, the choreographer of "More than two to Tango", with music of Astor Piazzolas. Choreographer Artan Ibërshimi from Albania, staged two shows, "The Paganini Rhapsody ", a show with great music composed by Sergey Rachmaninoff, and the show "Ping Pong Spectrum".
Cooperation through this period of time, also includes Dutch choreographer named Arthur Kuggeleyn, who premiered the show "Oh my God," a remake of "Dios Mio” (specially recreated for the Kosovo Ballet). With the music of Christian Meyer, the show left a big impression on the public, the art critics, and has continued to show the quality of the Kosovo Ballet. This performance later garnered an invitation from the “Zurich Theatre Spectacle”, an arts festival in Switzerland.
In the 2010/2011 season, the Kosovo Ballet premiered a new classical performance, with the Turkish choreographer Mehmet Balkan and his assistant Larissa Barth entitled “Relationships”. Ilir Kerni, an Albanian choreographer currently a part of the Zagreb Ballet, staged two shows for the troupe: “Love that Kills” and “Graduation Ball”.
The ballet also had the opportunity to work with American choreographer Alexander Tressor, who premiered an original ballet entitled “Dancing with the Moon”.
Cooperation with Festivals
In addition to working with many choreographers, Kosovo Ballet, has had the opportunity to work with various dance troupes from around the world, such as: Switzerland, America, the Netherlands, Sweden etc. Among them, the Kosovo Ballet worked with American experimental theater La Mama to perform the musical "Diana".
The Kosovo Ballet has participated in many international festivals such as: