Altin Kaftira
Encyclopedia
Altin Kaftira is a former danseur with the Dutch National Ballet
in Amsterdam
, Netherlands
. He danced with the Ballet from 1995 on, and from 2000 to 2007 was the Ballet's principal dancer (working with choreographers such as Hans van Manen
, Rudi van Dantzig
, Jerome Robbins
, and Ted Brandsen), and has danced, for instance, in almost a dozen George Balanchine
ballets. In 2007, he left to pursue a career as a filmmaker
. One of his first film assignments was the production and direction of the 75th anniversary gala for Hans van Manen.
In 2002 the then-President of Albania, Rexhep Meidani
, awarded Kaftira with the title of Ambassador of the Nation. In an interview with Kaftira just before his retirement, Dutch critic and writer Herman Stevens, in an article in the Dutch magazine HP/De Tijd
, called him an audience favorite, a star possessing the most charisma of any dancer at the National Ballet.
Dutch National Ballet
Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdams Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company has been directed by Sonia Gaskell , Rudi van Dantzig , Wayne Eagling and is currently directed by Ted Brandsen. It is the largest dance company in the Netherlands and attracts many...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He danced with the Ballet from 1995 on, and from 2000 to 2007 was the Ballet's principal dancer (working with choreographers such as Hans van Manen
Hans van Manen
Hans van Manen is a Dutch ballet dancer, choreographer and photographer.He is a son of a German housemaid. He studied under Sonia Gaskell, Françoise Adret and Nora Kiss. Van Manen wrote many ballets. He worked for the Dutch National Ballet from 1973 to 1985. He was awarded the Erasmus Prize in...
, Rudi van Dantzig
Rudi van Dantzig
Rudi van Dantzig , is a Dutch choreographer, ballet dancer and writer. Since 1965 he has been co-artistic leader of Het Nationale Ballet . After Sonia Gaskell and his other colleague left in 1971, he was the only artistic leader until 1991...
, Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
, and Ted Brandsen), and has danced, for instance, in almost a dozen George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
ballets. In 2007, he left to pursue a career as a filmmaker
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. One of his first film assignments was the production and direction of the 75th anniversary gala for Hans van Manen.
In 2002 the then-President of Albania, Rexhep Meidani
Rexhep Meidani
is an Albanian politician. He graduated from the University of Tirana , Faculty of Natural Sciences, Branch Physics, as well as successfully accomplished the postgraduate studies in the University of Caen...
, awarded Kaftira with the title of Ambassador of the Nation. In an interview with Kaftira just before his retirement, Dutch critic and writer Herman Stevens, in an article in the Dutch magazine HP/De Tijd
HP/De Tijd
HP/De Tijd is a Dutch weekly magazine, published by Audax Publishing. HP/De Tijd was founded in 1990, after a merger of the Haagse Post and De Tijd. It is conventionally considered to be one of the four most influential written media in its sector, along with De Groene Amsterdammer, Vrij Nederland...
, called him an audience favorite, a star possessing the most charisma of any dancer at the National Ballet.
Kaftira as principal dancer, Dutch National Ballet
- February - March 2000: ApolloApolloApollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
in Apollon musagète (Igor StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
), MuziektheaterStoperaThe Stopera is a building complex in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, housing both the city hall of Amsterdam and the Muziektheater, the principal opera house in Amsterdam and the home of De Nederlandse Opera, Het Nationale Ballet, and the Holland Symfonia....
, Amsterdam - May 2001: Twilight (music by John CageJohn CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
), Sadler's Wells TheatreSadler's Wells TheatreSadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - December 2004: Petrushka in PetrushkaPetrushkaPetrouchka or Petrushka is a ballet with music by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, composed in 1910–11 and revised in 1947....
(Sergei DiaghilevSergei DiaghilevSergei Pavlovich Diaghilev , usually referred to outside of Russia as Serge, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.-Early life and career:...
), Muziektheater, Amsterdam - 2005: Don Giovanni in Don GiovanniDon GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
(music by MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, choreography by Krzysztof Pastor), Muziektheater, Amsterdam - August 2005: the husband in The ConcertThe Concert (ballet)The Concert is a ballet made by Jerome Robbins, subsequently New York City Ballet's balletmaster, to Chopin's: *Tanaquil LeClercq*Todd Bolender*Yvonne Mounsey*Robert Barnett*Wilma Curley*John Mandia*Shaun O'Brien...
(music by Frédéric ChopinFrédéric ChopinFrédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
, choreography by Jerome RobbinsJerome RobbinsJerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
), Edinburgh International FestivalEdinburgh International FestivalThe Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts that takes place in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music , theatre, opera...
, Edinburgh PlayhouseEdinburgh PlayhouseThe Edinburgh Playhouse is a former cinema in Edinburgh, Scotland which now hosts touring musicals and music concerts. Its capacity is 3,059, making it the UK's largest working theatre in terms of audience capacity.... - November 2006, Vier Letzte Lieder (music by Richard StraussRichard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, choreography by Rudi van DantzigRudi van DantzigRudi van Dantzig , is a Dutch choreographer, ballet dancer and writer. Since 1965 he has been co-artistic leader of Het Nationale Ballet . After Sonia Gaskell and his other colleague left in 1971, he was the only artistic leader until 1991...
), Sadler's Wells Theatre, London - August 2006: Into the Agape (choreography by Altin Naska), Atheneaum Theatre, ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
- 2006: Romeo in Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)Romeo and Juliet is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It is one of the most enduringly popular ballets...
(music by Sergei ProkofievSergei ProkofievSergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, choreography by Rudi van Dantzig), Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...