Angelin Preljocaj

Angelin Preljoçaj was born in 1957 in Sucy-en-Brie near Paris to parents of Albanian origin.

He began studying ballet as a child, first expressionistic ballet and later also modern dance at the Schola Cantorum in Paris with Karin Waehner, and was also a sports hobbyist. In 1980, he moved to New York, where he trained with Zena Rommett and Merce Cunningham. Upon his return to France, he joined Quentin Rouillier’s company in Cannes and later the National Center of Contemporary Dance (CNDC) in Angers. In 1982, he joined Dominique Bagouet’s company in Montpellier.
In 1984, Preljoçaj created his first choreography, the duet Aventures coloniales (Colonial Adventures) (1984), staged at the Montpellier Festival. At the end of that year, he left Bagouet’s company to establish the Ballet Preljoçaj in Champigny-sur-Marne. His first choreography for his company, Marché noir (Black Market) (1984), which won him the prestigious Bagnolet Award.
In 1987, Preljoçaj won the Villa Medici Award and left for Japan to study Noh. Upon returning he created Hallali Romée for the Festival d’Avignon. Ever since then, he has been choreographing regularly for his company. His creations include: Romeo and Juliet (1990), Tribute to the Ballet Russes (1993), The Rite of Spring (2001), Le Songe de Médée (Medea’s Dream) (2004), Blanche neige (Snow White) (2008), and Empty Moves (Parts I, II & III) (2014).

In addition to his work with his company, Preljoçaj is commissioned to choreograph for numerous troupes worldwide. He has created for the Lyon Opera Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Munich Ballet, Helsinki Ballet, Tuscany Ballet, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Municipal Ballet of Rio de Janeiro, Ballet Gulbenkian of Lisbon, Finnish National Ballet, La Scala, the Austrian ABC Dance Company, and the Los Angeles Opera. In 1992, he arrived in Israel to teach Batsheva the choreography Noces, originally created for his company.
Preljoçaj received numerous awards and citations during his career, including the Grand Prix National de la Danse (1992), Benois de la Danse award (1995), Bessie Award (1997), and Globe de Cristal (2009). He is an Officier des Arts et des Lettres and a Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur and he was appointed an Officier de l’ordre du Mérite in May 2006. In 2014 he received the Samuel H. Scripps/ American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement.