The International Contemporary Dance Festival is a project founded by Tim Newman (D18 Paris) and Ajola Xoxa (Harabel Contemporary) that aims to gather various international dance companies to perform in Tirana and put Albania on the map as a contemporary dance destination.
The festival comes with the artistic direction of the internationally renowned choreographer of Albanian origin, Angelin Preljocaj accompanied by Nicole Saïd, director of Ballet Preljocaj, a company they direct together since 1984. ICDFT’s goal is not only to showcase performances of contemporary dance from companies of international reputation, but promote young and promising new performers as well, with a main focus on Albanian choreographers.
This first edition featured choreographies created by Angelin Preljocaj (the Ballet Preljocaj), Eno Peçi (based in Vienna, Austria), Blenard Azizaj (based in Berlin, Germany), Gentian Doda (based in Berlin, Germany) and Emelie Lalande (1Promptu).
The first edition of the festival ran from the 28th of October to the 4th of November 2022 and consisted of 8 shows that took place at the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet and at the Experimental Theatre ArTurbina.
During October 28-29, 2022, 12 dancers of the Preljocaj ballet troupe performed the show “Winterreise” at the Theater of Opera and Ballet.
During October 31 and November 1, 8 dancers of Blenard Azizaj’s ballet troupe performed the show “The Great Migration” at the Theater of Opera and Ballet.
On November 1, the ballet troupe of (1)Promptu consisting of 6 dancers performed the show “Peter and the Wolf” on the stage of the Experimental Theater (Arturbina), for the children of the city of Tirana.
During the evenings of November 3 and 4, four different performances took place in the Theater of Opera and Ballet:
“Zeitraum” choreographed by Eno Peçi, performed by the Vienna Ballet troupe consisting of 6 dancers;
“Winds and Waltzes” choreographed and performed by Gentian Doda and Dimo Milev;
“Ghost” choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj and performed by the troupe of the Theater of Opera and Ballet;
“Opus 25” with choreography by Eno Peçi and performance by Eno Peçi with Marina Rutzler.
The public had a unique opportunity to enjoy a series of exceptional performances reflecting the latest trends, schools and movements in contemporary dance, thus building bridges between Albania and the international choreographic production. This project is organized by Harabel Contemporary in collaboration with D18 Paris.
