With the support and sponsorship by the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Embassy of Albania in Brussels and the hosts of the Festival:

Albania will take part with its prominent singer and performer Vikena Kamenica, the ‘Keli Band’ and the well-known folk group ‘Ali Pasha’.

BOZAR - the Center for Fine Arts in the heart of Brussels will host for the tenth time in succession the International Cultural Festival ‘Balkan Trafik’ from 14 to 17 April 2016. For three consecutive days, not only the interior and exterior premises there, but also Grand Place and other squares will echo the best values, songs, dances, music and culture of the Southeastern European and other countries.

Present at this major cultural event will also be the Albanian folk Ensemble  VATRA and some other Albanian bands and musicians from Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and the diaspora in Belgium. Among the most prominent will be ‘Zig Zag’ Band and Dren Abazi from Kosovo and others.

Apart from the official concert on 16 April at BOZAR,  the Albanian artists will be Special Guests and perform at the most characteristic Brussels square Grand Place on 17 April  and in other venues, together with the  dancers of VATRA.

This Festival will be closed on Sunday 17 April, with a large festive cultural rally - Giant Horo starting at 14:00 hrs with the participation of some special selected bands at the presence of various political celebrities from Belgium, Brussels and the EU.  On this occasion, Mrs. Suela JANINA, Ambassador of Albania in Belgium and Head of the Mission to the EU will greet warmly all the participants.

Likewise, in the margins of this Festival, thanks to the support by the Albanian National Tourist Agency and the Embassy, a tourist stand will stay open at BOZAR with a large number of tourist guides and folders on the developments and huge opportunities of tourism in Albania and in Kosovo.

Just as last year, the members of the active student Association VLERA will be there to provide their recognized contribution.

All our fellow citizens are invited together with their foreign friends and well-wishers to become part of this remarkable cultural and artistic manifestation.

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Vikena Kamenica & Keli Band and Ali Pasha will have the following concerts:

Friday, 15 April 2016

At ‘Vino Zirkus’ - Bozar from 20:30 – 21:00 hrs

Saturday, 16 April 2016:

At Hall ‘M’ - Bozar  from 17 :30 – 18 :15 hrs

At ‘Vino Zirkus’  - Bozar  from  22:45 – 23:15 hrs

Sunday, 17 April 2016:

At Grand Place, from 16:30 – 17:00 hrs – Special Guests in the  great festive cultural rally ‘Giant Horo’  to mark the end of the Festival.

For more info on this Festival, the program of concerts/performances and tickets, please click on www.balkantrafik.com  as well as in the official website of the Albanian Embassy in Brussels.

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Mezzosoprano VIKENA KAMENICA is one of the most popular singers and performers of her generation in Albania.  The daughter of two opera singers, Vikena excelled during her undergraduate studies and, in particular, during her graduation at the Tirana Music Academy in 2001.  Between 2004-2006 she continued her studies at the CEE Music - Theater in Vienna.  In 2008, Vikena was awarded the prestigious Sommerakademie Mozarteum Salzburg  grant. In 2009 she won the celebrated ‘Cult’ award, a cultural competition held on an annual basis in Albania.

As of 2001 she has been working as a Soloist at the Albanian National Theatre of Opera and Ballet.  She has performed in a series of famous classic roles, including Fidalma in Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto, Suzuki in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Flora in Verdi’s La Traviatta, Anita in Bernstein’s West Side Story, Frau Pichem in Weill’s The Three-penny Opera, Siebel in Gounod’s Faust, and the Third Dame in Mozart’s Magical Flute.  She has excelled on stage with new productions in Bucharest and Timisoara, Romania, at the Festival de Sedieres, France and in other countries together with Albanian internationally - recognized artists as soprano like Inva Mula, tenor Saimir Pirgu and others. 

She was also brilliant in the New Year’s Gala Performance, accompanied by the New Philharmonic Orchestra, and in a recital ‘When the two of us are together’, together with Kastriot Tusha, the renowned Albanian tenor, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Vikena is also well-known in Albania as a jazz singer and for her performances in musicals, and, as such, she regularly makes guest appearances on various TV stations.  Some of the most special concerts include ‘The Napoletana’ in which she performed with the orchestra of the National Academy of Arts  and ‘Le Temps de Cerises’ together with wonderful actors.  These were followed by performances as a solo singer with Theater International – Musical in a wonderful selection of musical pieces celebrating ‘100 Years of Broadway’, as Esmeralda in ‘Notre Dame de Paris’, Mrs Montague in ‘Romeo and Juliette’, Mama Morton in ‘Chicago’, etc. 

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‘KELI BAND’ is a musical formation set up in 2008 by its leader, the saxophone player, Brikel Gunga. This band is composed by professional musicians, largely Albanians.

Their repertoire is rich with various musical trends, which range from jazz to experimental ones.

They have taken part in different jazz festivals and are incorporated in a number of musical projects in Albania and abroad.

Besides the involvement in musical trends, recently ‘Keli Band’ has succeeded in its experiment, by fitting  Albanian traditional sounds and melodies to the modern alternatives; thus, they have brought a new development and  novelty in the Albanian music and wider.

In the last couple of years, ‘Keli Band’ has produced a musical collection ‘Independent Days’ largely in the Jazz Standard and  the ‘Night Love’ ; they have also included their own creations in both collections.

After its successful presentation in major projects launched by the Ministry of Culture in 2015 (The National Folklore Festival of Gjirokastra and others) ‘Keli Band’ is making preparations for the next projects.

During 2016, ‘Keli Band’ will be present during most of this year through  launching the new musical album ‘RRENJE TE LARGETA’ ( REMOTE ROOTS)  in cooperation with the prominent singer Vikena Kamenica; accordingly, they will add more perfume to their musical career and creativity.

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ALI PASHA Folk Musical Band was set up in 1992 in the small town of Tepelena in Southern Albania, the native town of the Ali Pasha Tepelena, one of the most prominent historical figures of Albanian history during the 18th Century.  This band became first known in the south after attending local events on continual basis in this area and in various national festivals. Its popularity grew up especially when it released the first musical album in the year 2000 and the second in 2002. The first album hit one of the largest sale records in terms of folk and cultivated music.

This band has become famous by virtue of interpreting the folk southern, cultivated, ethno-folk and even ethno-jazz music. The band has in its repertoire nearly 100 musical pieces, with 30 songs as direct creations by its members.

With the passing of time the band has changed, refreshing itself with new artists; nonetheless its nucleus remains the famous duo Alfred Shehu and Ferdi Ibrahimi.

‘Ali Pasha’ Band has taken part in the most notable shows of Albanian most prestigious televisions – ‘The Marathon of Folk Songs’, ‘100 best songs of the Century’, ‘100 Years with Music’ and the ‘Gate of Fate’ by Klan Television; ‘Top Show’ in the Top Channel  TV;  ‘The Folk Music Festivals’ in the Albanian Public Television and other events.

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