Edward Clug (Beius, 1973) decided to enroll at the dance academy to escape the repressive communist regime of Ceausescu. 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, he became artistic director of the ballet, leading the company towards new and distinctive directions.
Clug succeeded in putting the Maribor Ballet ensemble on the international dance map by participating in large festivals, such as Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (USA), The Stars of the White Nights Festival at the Mariinski Theatre St.Petersburg, the Arts Festival in Singapore and Seoul International Dance Festival in Korea.
Clug was repeatedly invited to create new works for Nederland Dans Theater, Stuttgart Ballet, Zurich Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders and other companies around the world.
Clug was repeatedly invited to create new works for Nederland Dans Theater, Stuttgart Ballet, Zurich Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders and other companies around the world. He has received international awards for his choreographies at dance competitions and festivals in Moscow, Belgrade and Sarajevo. 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 and a “Special Award for Best Choreography” for his creation Roses for Anne Teresa / Footbal Stories at the International Theatre Festival MESS in Sarajevo (2011). In 2014, the magazine Tanz acknowledged him as one of future's hope in the field of choreography.
He presented his piece Stabat MATER in Montreal in 2017, at the invitation of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. His next creation for the company, Carmina Burana, premiered in October 2019.
