Panajot Kanaçi, a choreographer and People’s Artist, was born in Delvina. From 1950 to 1956, he worked as a choreographer at the State Philharmonic, where he performed lead roles in the ballets “Shatërvani i Bahçisarajt” (“Fountain of Bahçisaraj”) (1951) and “Esmeralda” (1953). He completed his higher studies as a director-ballet master at the State Institute of Theater Art (GITIS) in Moscow from 1956 to 1960. In 1960, Kanaçi showcased some of his famous dances, including “Vallëzimi i shqipeve” (“Dance of Albanians”) and “Vallëzimi i gështenjave” (“Dance of Chestnuts”). As the artistic director and ballet master of the ballet troupe at the Opera and Ballet Theatre, he created the choreography for several well-known works in the world repertoire. Notably, with the choreography for the first Albanian ballet, “Halili and Hajrija” (1963, music by Tish Daija), he became a founder of national choreographic art. With the State Ensemble of Folk Songs and Dances in Tirana, he performed approximately 200 dances from all regions of the country, among which the most popular were “Festë të madhe ka Shqipëria” (“Albania Has a Big Party”), which won the “Golden Necklace” at the International Festival of Dijon in France in 1970. Panajot Kanaçi was also a lecturer in the Department of Choreography at the High Institute of Arts, contributing to the theoretical thought of national choreographic art. He received the Republic Award of the First Degree and passed away in 1996. (In the photo: Panajot Kanaçi)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1104-1105.
Photo: © Albanian Telegraphic Agency
Graphic processing: AHCF
