Altin Kaftira

Who is Altin Kaftira?

Altin Kaftira is a former danseur with the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He danced with the Ballet from 1995 on, and from 2000 to 2007 was the Ballet's principal dancer, and has danced in almost a dozen George Balanchine ballets. In 2007, he left to pursue a career as a filmmaker. One of his first film assignments was the production and direction of the 75th anniversary gala for Hans van Manen.

In 2002 the then-president of Albania, Rexhep Meidani, awarded Kaftira with the title of Art's Ambassador of the Nation. In an interview with Kaftira just before his retirement, Dutch critic and writer Herman Stevens, in an article in the Dutch magazine HP/De Tijd, called him an audience favorite, a star possessing the most charisma of any dancer at the National Ballet.