Albania’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs hailed Preljocaj’s appointment as a moment of great pride for Albania and the national culture.

A special ceremony took place under the magnificent and historic dome of the Institut de France.

In his remarks, Angjelin Preljocaj paid tribute to all dancers who, over more than 40 years, have contributed passionately and made the history of his company. He went on mentioning a large number of collaborators and expressed gratitude for their support during his long career.

French-born of Albanian parents, choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, was born on January 19, 1957 and began studying classical ballet before turning to contemporary dance, which he studied with Karin Waehner, Zena Rommett, Merce Cunningham, and later Viola Farber and Quentin Rouillier. He then joined Dominique Bagouet before founding his own company in December 1984.

Since his beginnings, he has created 61 choreographic works, ranging from solo to larger formations including Romeo & Juliet, Snow White, Swan Lake …. He likes to alternate large narrative ballets with more abstract pieces like Empty moves, Still Life, Deleuze / Hendrix

Angelin Preljocaj collaborates regularly with other artists in various fields such as music, visual arts design, fashion, drawing and literature, and animation movies.

He has received various awards and has directed several short films and films featuring his choreography.  His choreographic work is steeped in his writing of the history of classical ballet, but is resolutely contemporary. He is considered one of the most important choreographers of dance today. The Ballet Preljocaj now has 30 permanent dancers and performs an average of 120 dates a year throughout the world.

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