For travelers to Eastern Europe this month, and particularly those with a passion for dance, the 6th annual Albania Dance Meeting may be your cup of tea. This International Festival of Modern & Contemporary Dance starts September 10th thru 18th when Durres, the oldest city in Albania, invites the world to dance.
The Albanian Dance Theater Company - Directed by Gjergj Prevazi
Organized by DanceAlbFest, and with support from the Albanian Ministry of Tourism Culture Youth & Sports, the Dance Meeting is intended to introduce modern and contemporary dance to Albanians, but the festival is a lot more than a primer on today’s dance. Dancers from all over the continent participate in performances, workshops, and community activities, not to mention their exchange of ideas and art. For young dance enthusiasts and performers, just the workshops offer superb experience and value.
We spoke with the festival’s Artistic Director, Gjergj Prevazi (Albanian Dance Theater Company – above), about the upcoming dance extravaganza. As it turns out, like many such artistic events across Europe, Dance Meeting Albania has been postponed until September due to drastic budgetary constraints within Albania’s Ministry of Tourism. We just covered a similar situation where an event in Ukraine has to be postponed, and there are others.
From Katarina's website
Prevazi, an award winning choreographer in his own right, talked with us about the potential of this year’s event. According to Prevazi, this year’s event in Durres promises to be the best ever, some world renown artists and choreographers having already been slated to operate workshops, present their art, or even perform. One such performer, Katharina Maschenka Horn (above), is emerging as a rising star with her contributions to modern dance, is scheduled to take part this year.
Ambra Senatore - Courtesy 123 People Italy
Regardless of worldwide economic crises though, wonderful artists like Gjergj Prevazi forge forward, planning, organizing, building the programs. The list of this year’s performers and participants has yet to be released, but past participating companies have included; Kolben Dance Company from Israel, EnKnap Group from Slovenia, Compagnie Linga of Switzerland (see video performance), and the wonderful Ambra Senatore (above) from Italy, among the many, many others.
Byzantine tower near the beach in Durres - courtesy Predrag_Bubalo
For more information about this wonderful festival of dance, please contact the official website. For information about the dance companies mentioned, please follow the provided links, or enjoy the video below of Compagnie Linga’s Kiss Me Good Night. Also be sure and check out the official tourism site for Albania to find out about other fantastic things to do and see during your dance excursion. Otherwise, check back at Argo as the festival draws nearer, we will be doing an exclusive about European dance later on in the Summer.
