Kledi Kadiu (born 7 April 1974) is an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

-born, naturalized Italian dancer, coreographer, dance teacher, and television personality. He is a regular dancer on the popular

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

''Amici di Maria De Filippi'' (Friends of Maria De Filippi), which is presented by

Maria De Filippi Maria De Filippi (born 5 December 1961) is an Italian television host and the owner of the television production company ''Fascino PGT''. She is one of the most popular presenters. Biography De Filippi was born in Milan, Lombardy, but grew up in ...

Mediaset Mediaset Italia S.p.A., also known as Mediaset, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE - MediaForEurope. Founded in 1987 by former ...

Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...

. He starred in his first film ''Passa a Due'' in 2005. He is the founder of the ''Kledi Dance school'' in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 2008, Kadiu became an Italian citizen.

Career

Kledi Kadiu was born in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, the son of Fisnik Kadiu, an engineer, and Lindita Kadiu, a pharmacist. He grew up in an apartment in the centre of Tirana, along with his parents, sister Ada, and grandparents Xhavit and Kimete. Kadiu attended the , where he graduated in 1992. He soon began working as a

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

in the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet, where he became the principal dancer, performing in ballets such as ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'', ''

The Nutcracker Suite ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'', ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'' and ''

Daphnis et Chloé ''Daphnis et Chloé'' is a 1912 ''symphonie chorégraphique'', or choreographic symphony, for orchestra and wordless chorus by Maurice Ravel. It is in three main sections, or ''parties'', and a dozen scenes, most of them dances, and lasts just u ...

''. In 1993, at the age of nineteen, he moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Three years later, he made his television debut as a dancer on the Canale 5 programme ''Quizzone''. From 1997 to 2003, Kadiu was a regular dancer on the ''Buona Domenica'' variety show. This was followed by work on two popular programmes hosted by Maria De Filippi on Canale 5, ''C'e Posta Per Te'' and the ''Fame''-based talent show ''Amici di Maria De Filippi''. Kadiu posed for the 2003 Calendar of the men's magazine ''Max''. In 2004, Kadiu founded the ''Kledi Dance school'' in Rome. The following year, he starred in his first film ''Passo a Due'', a semi-biographical movie directed by Andrea Barzini, where Kadiu portrays ''Beni'', a young Albanian who arrives in Italy seeking fame and fortune as a dancer. He starred in another cinematographic film, ''La cura del gorilla'', as well as a television mini-series which was broadcast by

Rai Uno Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...

in 2007. That same year, he performed in the ballet ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', which was produced by the dance company ''Balletto di Roma''. Kadiu has won two awards. In 2004, he received the ''Premio Gino Tani'' Award for ''Best Artist of the Year'', and in 2006, he received the ''Ginestra d'Oro'' Award for ''Best Dancer of the Year''. In January 2009, Kadiu returned to ''Amici di Maria De Filippi'' where he is one of the regular dancers on the programme. On 27 January 2009, Kadiu's autobiography, ''Meglio di una Favola'' (Better Than a Fairy-Tale), published by

Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...

, went on sale in Italy. On 2 September 2022, it was announced that Kadiu, will be the judge on the eighth season of the albanian version of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'' on

Top Channel Top Channel is a national commercial television network based in Tirana, Albania, founded by Dritan Hoxha in 2001. In January 2008, Top Channel was awarded national frequency coverage by making it the third such channel in Albania. In 2009, it ...

Personal life

In 2005, Kadiu began dating Desy Luccini, who was elected Miss Deborah Toscana 2005, and also a finalist in the 2005 edition of the

Miss Italy Miss Italia is a beauty pageant awarding prizes every year to young, female contestants from Italy. Since the first edition of the contest in 1939 many of the contestants have gone on to notable careers in television and film. History The foreru ...

Beauty Pageant. The relationship ended in 2007. In May 2008, Kadiu was physically assaulted and verbally-abused by a group of three men in a

xenophobic Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

attack which took place inside his dance school in the Appio district of Rome. Although Kadiu was not seriously hurt, the attack was condemned by the city's mayor

Gianni Alemanno Giovanni "Gianni" Alemanno (born 3 March 1958) is an Italian politician who from April 2008 until June 2013 was Mayor of Rome for the centre-right People of Freedom. He was the Secretary of the National Movement for Sovereignty from 2017 to 201 ...

.La Repubblica.it Cronaca 28 May 2008, retrieved on 19 January 2009. At an official ceremony in the

Palazzo del Quirinale The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzian ...

presided over by Italian president

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...

, Kadiu became an Italian citizen in November 2008. However, he remains proud of his Albanian origins, is a prominent member of the Albanian community in Italy, and was chosen as the face of the "Italian-Albanian Friendship Day" organized by the Italian Foreign Ministry in Tirana, Albania.

Filmography

As an actor

As himself

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kadiu, Kledi 1974 births Living people Naturalised citizens of Italy People from Tirana 21st-century Albanian male actors Italian male television actors Italian male film actors Italian television personalities Italian male ballet dancers Albanian emigrants to Italy University of Arts (Albania) alumni Albanian male film actors Albanian male television actors Albanian male ballet dancers Italian autobiographers 21st-century Italian writers 21st-century Albanian writers Italian people of Albanian descent