Ašhen Ataljanc’s career, which began at the age of 16 as a professional, is a path of the most talented and exceptional dancers. Even at the Ballet School “Lujo Davičo,” Ašhen stood out with her slender figure, striking face, excellent physical attributes, confident classical dancing, competition awards, dedication, and rare insight. At 16, she entered the adult world of dance and performed with the National Theater. A year later, she became the youngest soloist in the history of the company. Her career began with her debut in Don Quixote. She also performed in La Bayadère, and by the age of twenty, she had become the most beautiful “white” and “black” swan on the domestic ballet scene. In Ašhen Ataljanc’s interpretation, the swans were truly expressive, technically skilled, and of rare beauty. For her roles in Swan Lake, she received a special award marking the 120th anniversary of the National Theater. Major roles followed in Giselle, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, The lady of the Camellias, Samson and Delilah, and more. Critics described her performance as sensual and convincing, with her dance sculpted into “crystal forms of neoclassical” art, wonderfully and technically perfect. Many dream of seeing the partnering duo with Konstantin Kostjukov once more, “just to throw flowers on the stage again!” They were a charismatic dance couple, with whom our ballet could proudly be presented anywhere in the world. In Osaka, Japan, at the 1991 World Couple Competition, Ašhen and Konstantin won first place. Success followed success, and the next year, at 21, Ašhen rightfully became a prima ballerina at the National Theater. That same year, she performed in a specially created piece for her at Bitef, titled Isadora Duncan, choreographed by Jelena Šantić. Afterward, she became a guest artist with the Israeli Ballet in Tel Aviv, where she performed ballets of renowed choreographer George Balanchine. Although she increasingly felt the need to enrich her dance language and explore contemporary choreography, Ašhen achieved unparalleled success in classical ballet. For her outstanding role as Kitri in Don Quixote, she received three awards: the October Award (1992) alongside our great writer Milorad Pavić, the Secretary of Culture Award in Belgrade (1991), and the Annual Award of the National Theater (1992). In 1992, she was also awarded the Golden Dragon Award, given to a woman who marked the previous year with her personality (elegance and style). And then the spotlight shone brightly…
From 1996 to 1999, Ashen achieved a notable career as a ballet soloist at the renowned Staatsoper in Berlin, Germany. Particularly noteworthy are some of the most famous ballet works in which Ashen performed as a soloist during this period, including “Swan Lake,” “The Sleeping Beauty,” “Verdiana,” and “La Sylphide”, and many more…
After her time in Berlin, Ašhen moved to Italy. Fate led her to a company that was on tour in Belgrade when she was 14 years old. At that time, she watched their performance featuring Mauro Bigonzetti, the then artistic director of Aterballetto. Who could have imagined that one day she would perform with this company? The story of Ašhen Ataljanc’s career at Aterballetto deserves a dedicated space. It marked her artistic and personal rebirth, one that only the greatest artists deserve. Aterballetto is located in the small town of Reggio Emilia, near Bologna, Italy. From there, dance company goes on tours around the world. On average, about 130 performances are staged each year. During her six years with Aterballetto, she traveled the globe multiple times and worked with the best choreographers and dancers in the world. She performed in Mauro Bigonzetti’s choreographies: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Divine Comedy,” “Petrouchka,” “Cantata 1 and 2,” “Canzoni,” “Les Noces,” “Kazimir’s Colors,” “Jimmy Jimmy,” “Furia Corporis,” “Vespro,” “Sarada,” “Who gets this one,” “Rossini Cards,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Pression,” “WAM,” and “Chameleon” (Itzik Gallili). She also collaborated with choreographers Fabrizio Monteverde and Walter Matteini and others…
Ašhen’s popularity in Italy is undoubtedly linked to her dancing and success on the ballet stage, as well as her innate charisma, curiosity, and sociability that transcend the boundaries and clichés of a ballet career. Thus, she also ventured into the fashion world, working as a model for renowned fashion houses such as Max Mara and Marella. Additionally, as a guest artist she accompanied Tiziano Ferro on her “Nessuno e Solo” tour.
In 2007, when she decided to become a freelance artist, doors opened for her at the Accademie Danza in Milan, where she began working as a dancer and pedagogue. With a suitcase full of experience and new knowledge, a global artist’s address, memories from countless tours across Europe, America, Africa, and Asia, and a baggage full of glowing reviews and critiques, Ašhen arrived in Belgrade in 2007 to celebrate twenty years of her ballet career. For her and her anniversary, Italian choreographer Michele Merola created the performance La Capinera, which after its premiere continued to evoke an exciting and celebratory tone of admiration: Ašhen is beautiful, charismatic, and her movement is perfect… After La Capinera, Ašhen returned to Milan. The performance titled La forma dell’incompiuto was a true artistic delight. Choreographed by Susanna Beltrami, alongside the remarkable Giorgio Albertazzi and Luciana Savignano, their performance was sensual and imbued with artistic spirit, leaving a deep impression on the audience in 2008, Ašhen had several premieres in Belgrade. These included the ballets Divine Comedy, If We All Stayed Quiet for a While, and Sonets, in collaboration with the Bitef Dance Company and choreographers Edward Clug, Leo Mujić, and Snježana Abramović. At the National Theater, the premiere of the ballet Songs was performed, choreographed by the renowned Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti.
Ašhen was a jury member in many international dance competitions and a guest teacher on various dance stages around the world. She also collaborated with renowned dance companies as a ballet mistress, such as: Serbian National Theatre, Novi Sad; Random Dance, London; Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Montreal…
On her life journey, Ašhen encountered NLP (Neuro-Lingustic Programming), various healing techniques such as Reiki, Karuna Reiki, Shamanic healing, Sacred geometry and many other forms of spiritual self-realization techniques, which defined her holistic approach to pedagogy and relationship with her students. The Ašhen Ataljanc Dance School was founded in 2011, and her students are now attending the top ballet schools in Europe and performing as soloists in major theaters. Artistic dance is an art that cannot be learned from books and scripts. It is an art that is passed down through generations and this is the only way to create new top-level dancers. There is no other way. Therefore, it is incredibly important and the only way for young, future talents to be educated in the highest art of dance is under the guidance of the best and most experienced teachers!
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Fluent in Serbian, English, Italian
Basic level Russian
AWARDS
- Lifetime Achievement Award rewarded by Association of Ballet Dancers of Serbia (2018)
- Zlatni beočug Award winner for 2018
- 2nd International Mediterranean Theatre Festival ” Purgatories ” winning the price for the interpretation of rhe principal role in the ballet “La Capinera” (2007)
- The ‘Braca Karic Foundation’ for Career Achievements (2006)
- Special annual prize DRAGON, the woman of the year, for the most prominent achievements in Belgrade (1992)
- ‘The October Price of the City of Belgrade’ for the Best achievement in the domain of musical and performing arts for the role Kitri in Don Quixote (1992)
- Annual Price of The National Theatre, Belgrade –for the role Kitri in Don Quixote (1991/92)
- First Prize in World Ballet Couples Competition in Osaka, Japan (1991)
- Jubilee award regarding 120 anniversary of The National Theatre, Belgrade for the roles of Odile and Odette in Swan Lake (1990)
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AWARDS
2023
- Monza Danza, Gold medal in Children category, classical ballet groups, Monza (Italy)
- Monza Danza, Gold medal in Children category, contemporary dance groups, Monza (Italy)
2022
- 5678 Budapest Open, Gold medal in Children category, classical ballet groups, Budapest (Hungary)
- 5678 Budapest Open, Gold medal in Children category, contemporary dance groups, Budapest (Hungary)
- 5678 Budapest Open, Gold medal in Children category, classical ballet solo, Budapest (Hungary)
- 5678 Budapest Open, Gold medal in Junior category, contemporary dance duo, Budapest (Hungary)
2016
- “1st Hellas Ballet Competition”, Gold medal in Junior category, contemporary groups, Athens (Greece)
- “1st Hellas Ballet Competition”, Silver medal in Junior category, Athens (Greece)
- “1st Hellas Ballet Competition”, Silver medal in Senior category, Athens (Greece)
- Ballet festival, Gold medal in Junior category, contemporary groups, Serbia
- International Ballet Competition “Mia Corak Slavenska”, Silver medal in Junior category, Zagreb (Croatia)
