Choreographer
Photo: Šimen Zupančič
Edward Clug (Beius, 1973) decided to enroll at the dance academy to escape the repressive communist regime of Ceauşescu. In 1991 Clug completed his ballet studies at the National ballet school in Cluj-Napoca (Romania). The same year he was engaged as a soloist at the Slovene National Theatre (SNG) in Maribor where he made his first choreography.
In 2003 Clug became artistic director of the ballet, leading the company towards new and distinctive directions.
As a choreographer he received internatiol acclaim with Radio & Juliet (2005). Clug succeeded in putting the Maribor Ballet ensemble on the international dancing map by participating in the largest theatre festivals, such as Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (USA), The Stars of the White Nights festival in the Mariinski Theatre St.Petersburg, Arts Festival in Singapore and Seoul International Dance Festival in Korea.
Besides Maribor Ballet Clug was repeatedly invited to create new works for Stuttgart Ballet, Zurich Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders and other companies around the world. He won several awards, including a “Special Award for Best Choreography” for his creation Roses for Anne Teresa / Football Stories at the International Theatre Festival MESS in Sarajevo (2011). Clug received international awards for his choreographies at dance competitions and festivals in Moscow, Belgrade and Sarajevo and he was nominated for the Golden Mask award in Moscow (2010). He received the highest Slovene prices in culture for his work, the Award of the Prešern Foundation in 2005 and the Glazer Charter in 2008. In 2014 the magazine Tanz acknowledged him as one of future’s hope in the field of choreography.