-Megi Ndokaj
As a freshly graduated dancer and by already knowing the difficulties of this art, I often imagine the difficult road followed by the Albanian artists to promote and give the ballet the dignity it enjoys today. This is the reason why I think that knowing its traditions and origins, besides the historic aspect, is also part of our pride, especially to provide an impetus to work with the same commitment, passion and inspiration that characterized the dancers during the past decades. Today, there are cases when such a passion and inspiration is missing, reducing art merely as an interest and profit. Art is not merely work, interest and profit. The today’s artists need more passion, commitment, and artistic atmosphere. It is common knowledge that dance is that kind of art that creates and expresses emotions through body movements, in a perfect harmony and plastic agility. The expressive power of ballet is movement of limbs, hands and the entire body, construed in harmony with the musical rhythm; this art does also rely very much upon the expressiveness of gesture, jumping on the air, turns, mimics, which give it a “mouthpiece”, convey ideas, thoughts and messages.
By being an art performed together with artists, dancers and musicians, ballet presents difficulties in its arrangement. This, together with the lack of conditions, backwardness, patriarchal mentality, was the reason why ballet appears late in Albania, namely in the ‘20’s, with the organisation of some concerts and choreographic performances, performing mainly the dance types of that time, such as waltz, tango, rumba, foxtrot, etc. At that time, the centre of traditional dance “Cerkllë Dansi” was well-known in Tirana. On 2nd of December 1946, the group of young dancers and acrobats was set up at the Pioneer House of Tirana, which was directed by Belul Hatibi and Lola Gjoka and which, for the first time, put on stage a choreographic piece with the rhythmic dance of “rumba”, accompanied on piano by Lola Gjoka. Other dances, in waltz and Cossack dance, followed suit. Underpinned by this group of young dancers, the “Small Ballet” (”Baleti i vogël”) was set up in 1947, which was incorporated with the “Popular Theatre” (”Teatri Popullor”), joined also by four lyric singers. At that time, the director of dance group at the House of Pioneers, Panajot Kanaçi, became the founder of Albanian choreography. Organized as an institution, the art of ballet made its first steps towards a professional status only with the establishment of the Albanian Philharmonic Orchestra (”Filarmonia Shqiptare”) in the early ‘50’s. Despite it being a new art without much experience, the art of choreography marked a year-by-year progress spurred by the love of the young artists.
While skimming through the various writings and books on the history of Albanian choreography, I was deeply impressed by the early initiatives. I have tried to imagine that epoch and bring into my mind those artists, full of joy and passion for dance, who laid down the foundations of this art. The first choreographic performances of Albanian ballet drew upon the Albanian folk dances from the various folkloric regions of Albania, such as the Dance of Devolli, the Dance of Kukësi, the Dance of Tirana and, in particular, the Dance of Zerqani, to name but a few. These dances bestowed an original face to the Albanian dance – a tradition that is maintained to the present. Needless to say that using and elaborating the folk dances served only as a beginning, because later Panajot Kanaçi and other choreographs superseded the simple folkloric forms with elaborated ones, such as classical themes borrowed from films as, for example, “The Batusi (Batman)”, “The Dying Swan”, “Cinderella” or “Minuet” by Paderewsky, choreographic pieces from the music of Brahms, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish folk dance typologies. In 1949, another group of dancers within the Popular Theatre created the so-called “Big Ballet”, which served as a predecessor to the cast of the Albanian folk dance ensemble. Our dancers of that epoch had to sustain the heavy burden of mastering the techniques of classical dance, since the experience was very much lacking. This was achieved thanks to the foreign choreography teachers, mainly Russian ones, as well as through the world choreography literature, such as that of Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Brahms, Gliere including such ballets as “Swan Lake”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “The Red Poppy”, “Hungarian Dance”, etc. On the 1st of February 1950, by Decision of the Council of Ministers, the Albanian Philharmonic Orchestra was established. Its cast of artists included also the group of “Small Ballet”. As from this date, they were declared as “professionals”, although they were untrained and with little experience. This was the first cast of professional classic ballet dancers in our country. This was encouraged by government funds that created conditions for their professional training, which included a classical repertoire, mainly the classical ballet and music from the Soviet and European Eastern Countries, but also from the world classical ballet and music. A significant contribution to increasing the professional level of the cast of dancers was given by quite a number of renowned choreographers invited to Albania, but one, in particular, the renowned Russian choreographer Georg Perkun has remained memorable in the first steps made by our ballet.
While thinking on the first steps of Albanian professional ballet after Wold War II, one conjures up images of those young girls who discarded any prejudices towards this art, according to which the ballerina, as a figure and artist, represented a high degree of emancipation owing to the work characteristics itself, by showing her beautiful and partially undressed body. This had, above all, a moral and civilizing character, since their sacrifice, apart from their passion for the art of ballet, was also an emancipating act and stand to a society, which was still backward and with an oppressive patriarchal mentality. For this reason I would like to recall adoringly and with deep emotion and respect those first ballerinas, including Melushe Bebeziqi, Mellani Terca, Ikbal Morina, Flora Kallajxhi, Olimbi Panteqi, Suzana Aliko, Milica Niça, Eftiqi Toroveci, Olimbi Gjoka, Sofika Stathi, Besa Morina, Leonora Dragusha, Qamuran Gorenca, Mimika Sami, Kristina Ligori; as well as other dancers who lived with this art by giving deep artistic gratification to the audience, such as Afroviti Lipe, Lejla Kuçi, Veronika Mano, Suzana Asimi, Donika Miluka, Kristina Ligori, Milika Marsi, Adivie dhe Yllka Sharofim Jenise Xhangu, Irma Laze, Ikbal Morina, Mimika Sami, Lili Këllici, Alma Radovicka. They raised triumphantly above themselves and prejudices, gossips and vilifications coming from people with mouldy opinions, becoming, as such, the pioneers and carries for the progress of art of dance.
The ballerinas of the early decades brought an invaluable and indelible contribution to the process of Albanian ballet. Every year, a number of students was sent to study in the ballet high schools of the various Eastern European countries and their appointment, upon the completion of their studies, to the ballet cast as ballet dancers or choreographs Laurencia”, “Scheherazade”, “Petya and Wolf” (Peter and the Wolf), etc. Of particular importance is also the composition of original national choreographic pieces such as “Halili and Hajria”, “Delina”, “The Fisher’s Sons” (Bijtë e peshkatarit), “Shota and Azem Galica”, “Joniada”, “The Girl of the Mountains” (Cuca e maleve), “Unconquered Land” (Tokë e pamposhtur), etc. These and other works are already part of our nation’s history and artistic and cultural heritage, therefore they should be recalled and referred to from time to time, as I intended to do in this piece of writing. When we, the young generation of ballet dancers, turn our heads back, there is something we can learn from their art. Most importantly, we have the most profound respect for their memorable work.
Megi Ndokaj
Artist – ballerina
brought a new artistic quality. Apart from Panajot Kanaçi, as a founding Ballet Master and with a unique contribution as a director and organizer, other dancers also were affirmed with their art and talent, including Mehmet Myftiu, Agron Aliaj, Skënder Selimi, Zoica Haxho, Ganimet Vendresha, Melushe Bebeziqi, Xhemil Simixhiu, Gëzim Kaceli, Ëngjëll Tërshana, Ylli Bebeziqi, Spiro Theodhosi, Sadik Batku, Fatmir Struga, Fadil Voci, Skënder Gozenza, Vilhem Konjari, Sami Bakalli, Abdulla Cara, Ramazan Bogdani, Petrit Vorpsi, and later Miltiadh Papa, Albert Janku, Liliana Cingu, Nexhat Agolli, Petrit Çeliku, Arian Sukniqi, Luan Shtino, Jashar Jazexhiu, Roberta Mone, Gjergj Prevazi, Kozeta Bakiu, Faruk Koka, Artan Ibërshimi, etc.
The beginnings are always impressive and memorable, packed up with the emotions of growth. They laid down the foundations of the Albanian ballet and should always be remembered adoringly and respectfully. The simple performances made place to the full-length works, which were performed by the cast of ballet, such as the ballet in four acts “The Fountain of Bakhchisaray”, 19th of April 1951, later, on 11th of January 1953 “La Esmeralda”, “Useless Prudence” in 1956, “Romeo Juliet” in 1957, and later on the ballets “Lola”, “
