Gentian Doda

Gentian Doda started as a dancer at The National Theater of Opera and Ballet in Albania. After that, he danced many leading roles from the classical repertoire with various international companies.

In 2002 he was asked by Maurice Béjart to dance the leading part in The Firebird at the Béjart Ballet in Lausanne, and in 2003 he joined the Spanish Compañía Nacional de Danza (C.N.D.) under the artistic leadership of Nacho Duato.

At C.N.D. Doda started choreographing. First in workshops, then for C.N.D.2, and finally in 2009 and 2010 he created his first pieces for the ensemble. He started to stand out. 1/2 waltz, which he created in collaboration with Dimo Kirilov, won first prize twice in 2011: both in the choreography competition in Copenhagen and at the International Choreographers' Competition in Hanover. He also won the Scapino Production Prize that year.

After another successful collaboration with Kirilov, Doda went to New York to create a new choreography with The New York City Ballet, and was also invited to Copenhagen and Beijing. In 2013, Gentian Doda joined Scapino Ballet Rotterdam where he first created two solos, A NA and KJAJ, and then the well-received ensemble piece KHA, which stood out for its absurd humour, coherence and strong imagination.

Gentian Doda worked as an assistant to Nacho Duato, was first ballet master at the State Ballet in Berlin from 2014 to 2018, and has also continued to create new productions as a freelance choreographer.