Bashkim Braho
Early age - Bashkim Braho was born in Tirana, Albania on March 20th 1948. At a very young age, his talent caught the eye of those surrounding him. His sister would play the daire (similar to a tambourine) while Bashkim would dance in front of his relatives, this way setting his first steps toward a very successful career. He completed “Kosova” grade school and continued to dance as a member of an amateur group. He later continued on to complete the lycée artistic “Jordan Misja”.
Award ceremony with Albanian ambassador, Aleksander Sallabanda
Dancing career - Choreographer Bashkim Braho began his dancing career in 1962 as a student at the School of Music and Dance in Tirana, Albania. While at School he was a student of the premier Albanian dance instructor, Gezim Kaceli, who trained in Moscow for five years. Braho danced professionally in the Theater of Opera and Ballet in Tirana for twenty-six years. His extensive and successful artistic career includes international tours in sixteen countries in Europe, Africa and Asia:
| 1970 | Dijon Festival, France. EFDS was awarded the “Gold medal”. |
| 1971 | Dance tour in Kosova, where for the first time he dances as a first soloist. |
| 1974 | Dance tour in China and Korea. |
| 1976 | Dance tour in Sweded and Norway. |
| 1977 | Dance tour in Greece. |
| 1978 | Dance tour in Greece. |
| 1979 | Dance tour in Turkey. |
| 1980 | Dance tour in France. |
| 1981 | Dance tour in Greece. |
| 1982 | Dance tour in Switzerland. |
| 1983 | Dance tour in Germany. |
| 1985 | Dance tour in Italy |
| 1986 | Dance tour in Italy |
| 1987 | Dance tour in Italy |
| 1988 | Dance tour in Italy |
| 1989 | Dance tour in Italy |
Choreographing - In 1989 he established and directed the 'Krahu i Shqiponjes' (The Eagle’s Wing) folk ensemble which achieved great success in Albania and also abroad. This dance group conducted many performances displaying the ancient Albanian folklore, in Croatia (1993), Turkey (1995) and Spain (1996), where they were awarded the “Honor Medal” by Spain’s Art Council regarding their performance.
Across the Atlantic - Moving to Boston, Massachusetts in 1995, not only did it not end his artistic career, on the contrary, it marked the establishment of the “Bashkimi” dance group, which under his leadership and administration continues to perform dances from various regions of Albania. Because of his leadership and the dancer’s dedication, the dance group is able to perform the best dances of Albanian folklore with dignity and at a high performance standard. The “Bashkimi” Dance group has performed in honor of former President Bill Clinton, on June 9th, 2003. It has also attended, always under the supervision of Bashkim Braho, the annual Balkan Festival in Natick, MA; the annual Albanian Festival in NY. Braho is one of the well-known names that has contributed to the Albanian art in America.
