NOTTE MORRICONE
2025-02-19 21:00 - 22:30 (Europe/Rome) | Teatro Guglielmi, Piazza del Teatro 1, Massa, 54100, Italia
The Centro Coreografico Nazionale/Aterballetto pays tribute to Ennio Morricone with a new production by Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau.
The Spanish creator, known for his visionary power and ability to transform musical universes, presents a unique creation intertwining the music of Academy Award winner Ennio Morricone with dance, visual arts, and cinematic inspirations.
Marcos Morau, currently the youngest choreographer to have received the National Dance Award, the highest recognition in Spain, constructs imaginary worlds and landscapes where image, text, movement, music, and space form a unique universe constantly nourished by cinema, photography, and literature. For his first collaboration with CCN/Aterballetto, he proposed turning to iconic compositions from the cinematic landscape of the last seventy years: those of Academy Award-winning composer Ennio Morricone.
The director states: «Classically trained and avant-garde by vocation, Morricone has always been beyond the trends of the moment. His music spans an entire century and has brought many of our great masters to life. For this evening, I want to build a universe based on his sensitivity to confirm that his legacy is more alive than ever and that, as he himself would say, my music has a life of its own, which can live far beyond the films for which it was created.»
Find out more »
Duration 90′

NOTTE MORRICONE
2025-02-22 20:45 - 22:15, 2025-02-23 17:00 - 18:30 | Teatro Morlacchi, Piazza Francesco Morlacchi, 13, Perugia, 06123, Italia
The National Choreographic Center/Aterballetto pays tribute to Ennio Morricone with a new production by Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau.
The Spanish artist, with his visionary power and ability to transform musical universes, presents a unique creation that intertwines the music of Academy Award winner Ennio Morricone with dance, visual arts, and cinematic inspirations.
Marcos Morau, the youngest choreographer to date to receive the National Dance Award, Spain’s highest honor in dance, constructs imaginary worlds and landscapes where image, text, movement, music, and space form a unique universe constantly nurtured by cinema, photography, and literature. Now, for his first collaboration with the CCN/Aterballetto, he has chosen to draw from iconic compositions of the cinematic landscape of the last seventy years: those of Academy Award winner Ennio Morricone.
The director says: “With classical training and an avant-garde vocation, Morricone has always been beyond the trends of his time. His music spans an entire century and has revived the works of many great masters. For this evening, I aim to build a universe based on his sensitivity, confirming that his legacy is more alive than ever, and, as he himself would say, ‘My music has a life of its own, which can live beyond the films for which it was created.'”
Discover more »
Duration 90′

PerAria
2025-02-23 18:00 - 19:00 | Fonderia, via della Costituzione, 39, Reggio Emilia, 42124, Italy
Go outside,
stand like this…
…with your head in the air.
Be silent,
and listen to the wind,
it has all the answers…
Once again this year, the Sosta Palmizi Company returns to Fonderia to make us dream, with a show dedicated to children from 5 years old.
With the freedom of spirit typical of childhood, the lightness and depth of imagination, a small room can become a place for great adventures: with eyes closed and ears wide open, the air and the wind whisper incredible stories to us! They can take us to that strange country, Anarea, the country without winds where everything is still and moving is a fascinating challenge. Or to the Land of Flying Hats, where the gusts of wind are so strong they swap people’s hats and identities! PerAria takes us into a world where adult logic becomes increasingly rarefied, making room for curiosity, wonder, creativity, play, and emotions, inviting the audience to become lighter and to stay (…at least for the duration of the show) a little more with their head perAria!
The idea for the show came from the desire to create a tribute to life, lightness, and carefree living. The authors were inspired by air and wind as vehicles and conduits of experiences and emotions, creating a nested narrative containing other stories born from the illogical, stimulating, and whirlwind curiosity of childhood and creativity.

“We are overwhelmed by the energy of dance, emotions pass through movement, light and delicate, as light as air, or wild and explosive.”
Nella Califano | AltreVelocità

Credits

choreography and stage creation Giorgio Rossi
dramaturgy and original texts Savino Maria Italiano
performers Anna Di Bari, Verdiana Gelao, and Savino Maria Italiano
music Livio Minafra
costumes Roberta Vacchetta
lighting design Roberto Cupertino
scenography Gisella Butera and Matilde Gori / Zaches Scenography Atelier
production Associazione Sosta Palmizi
co-production I Nuovi Scalzi
residential support Centro di Residenza della Toscana (Fondazione Armunia Castiglioncello – CapoTrave/Kilowatt Sansepolcro), HOME Centro Creazione Coreografica (PG), Comune di Barletta, Teatro Fonderia Leopolda Comune di Follonica (GR), Ad Arte Spettacoli, Zaches Teatro and Ass. Amici di Duccio
thanks to Azioni in Danza/Barletta, Olga Mascolo
Duration 50′
Show for children aged 5 and above

SOSTA PALMIZI/GIORGIO ROSSI
Giorgio Rossi is the co-founder in 1984 of the Compagnia Sosta Palmizi and its subsequent Association, of which he is still co-artistic director along with Raffaella Giordano. Giorgio Rossi, as E. Satie would say, “is a dancing mammal.” At the age of 4, after seeing the Swiss clown Dimitri, he realized that theater was his life. He owes his artistic success to having had the opportunity to witness the works of great masters (Kantor, Brook, Bausch, Carlson), and with some of them, he learned the art of the stage, both as a student and as a performer. He collaborates with artists from other fields, such as: P. Fresu, B. Bertolucci, T. Gylliam, S. Benni, P. Turci, L. Poli, D. Riondino, P. Rossi, Banda Osiris, G. Mirabassi, M. Rabbia, M. Baliani, and many others; he participated as a dancing author in the show *Vieni via con me* by R. Saviano and F. Fazio. In 2013, he choreographed all the movements for *Carmen* by Bizet with L’Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio. With over 30 productions, his shows have traveled the world thanks to the universality of the poetic art of movement. In recent years, he has created three performances aimed at younger audiences (*Con il naso all’insù*, *Costellazioni. Pronti, partenza… spazio!*, *Esercizi di fantastica*). In 2019, he curated the formative and creative residency at the École des Sables in Dakar for the exchange project “Italie, Culture, Afrique.” He has collaborated with the company El Grito both as a performer (*Gran Circo Rossini*) and as a choreographer (*Uomo Calamita*). In 2021 and 2022, he worked as an author and performer alongside R. Goretti and M. Bonechi for the production *Gli ultimi giorni di Pompeo* by Andrea Pazienza. In 2022, he began a collaboration with composer and pianist Livio Minafra (winner of the Top Jazz awards in 2005, 2008, and 2011); their encounter gave birth to *Agata*, an improvisation project for dance and piano. In 2023, the partnership with Minafra was confirmed by a new production that expanded the collaboration to Savino Italiano in the creation of *In_vento*, a work on the theme of air dedicated to younger generations, a prequel to the production *perAria*, which will debut in 2024. In 2023, he also directed the staging and choreography movements of *Vertigine della Lista*, a performance by and with F. Albanese, S. Baldini, L. De Simone, and L. Valli, born from the encounter with the essay of the same name by U. Eco. For many years, both in Italy and abroad, he has had a significant involvement in education, where workshops and collaborations with dance, theater, and circus schools contribute to the dissemination of the choreographic arts.
Info&Tickets
TICKETS
6 euros
TICKET PURCHASE

ONLINE: https://www.biglietteriafonderia39.it/home.aspx
Fonderia Box Office: The box office opens one hour before the performance starts (via della Costituzione 39, Reggio Emilia).

Tickets are not numbered.
CONTACTS FOR RESERVATIONS
Cell and WhatsApp 3341023554
Email biglietteria@aterballetto.it

FEMINA
2025-02-25 20:30 - 21:30 | Fonderia, via della Costituzione, 39, Reggio Emilia, 42124, Italy
Compagnia Abbondanza/Bertoni returns to Fonderia with the acclaimed Femina.

«A keen observer of reality, in her new choreography titled Femina, a declared tribute to women (…) Antonella Bertoni once again amazes by shifting from lyrical movement to the most absolute formal rigor, developing a visual and sound loop that generates, nurtures, and accompanies the mechanical, pulsating, and magnetic movement (…) The white stage is striking, as if one were inside a sterile room (..)»
Giuseppe Distefano, DANZA&DANZA, September 2023
«Four dancers with platinum blonde bob wigs, slender figures dancing frontally in a milk-colored space, doll-like like perfectly crafted Barbies, yet in reality fiery and rebellious in the rhythmic accents of individuality, from which an irrepressible, necessary affirmation of personality bursts forth. Excellent musical work as well.»
Francesca Pedroni, IL MANIFESTO, October 2024

Credits
By Michele Abbondanza and Antonella Bertoni
Choreography: Antonella Bertoni
Performers: Sara Cavalieri, Eleonora Chiocchini, Valentina Dal Mas, Ludovica Messina Poerio
Lighting design: Andrea Gentili
Technical direction: Claudio Modugno
Music: Dysnomia – Dawn of Midi
Audio editing: Orlando Cainelli
Organization, strategy, and development: Dalia Macii
Administration and coordination: Francesca Leonelli
Communication and press office: Francesca Venezia
Production: Compagnia Abbondanza/Bertoni
With the support of MiC – Ministry of Culture, Autonomous Province of Trento, Municipality of Rovereto, Cassa di Risparmio di Trento and Rovereto Foundation
Special thanks to: Danio Manfredini, Marco Dalpane, Lucio Diana, Nadezhda Simenova
Duration: 60′
Finalist of the Ubu Award 2023 in the category “Best Dance Performance”
CRITICAL TEXT
Plaudit: captatio benevolentiae or j’accuse?
In the beginning was the beat:
ironic clapping,
hunters flushing out the prey
or beginning of a sabbatical ritual.
The insistent, geometric loop
compresses and compels
sustaining and generating scores
rigorously formal scores,
thus momentarily leaving concealed
of the feminine soul the essence.
In the unfolding of the action
flows a surgical
choreographic self-flagellation
always listening
of a common and shared time.
Simultaneously beat and beat:
‘Beat but listen!’ (Plutarch)
With a posthumous disguise
and minimal movements
the flow takes us
into the game of female identity,
effeminating, malingering, disambiguating the four performers.
Disembodying and incorporating themselves and each other:
two poles,
two physical places
on opposite banks of the same river.
Accomplices of their own appearance, they mirror each other
restoring mirrored movements,
compressed and coated by a sound accompaniment
that magnetises and flows
without any real interruption
nor space for melody
but only for the aridity of rhythm.
‘Femina’ is the space of translation and hallucination
into a scenic framework of possible forms and names
of the feminine and feminine contemporary world.
M.A.
COMPAGNIA ABBONDANZA/BERTONI
Michele Abbondanza and Antonella Bertoni. From their New York experience at the Alwin Nikolais School to their French studies with Dominique Dupuy, through the ‘poetic’ improvisations of Carolyn Carlson, the study and practice of zen, Michele Abbondanza (co-founder of the Sosta Palmizi group and teacher at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano) and Antonella Bertoni founded the Compagnia Abbondanza/Bertoni, recognized as one of the most prolific artistic entities in the Italian scene for their creations, educational and pedagogical activities, and the dissemination of contemporary dance theater.
The Compagnia Abbondanza/Bertoni is in residence at the Teatro alla Cartiera in Rovereto (TN) – Italy and is supported by:
MIC – General Directorate for Live Performance, Municipality of Rovereto – Department of Culture, Autonomous Province of Trento – Cultural Activities Service, Autonomous Region Trentino Alto Adige

Info&Tickets
TICKETS
10 euros
TICKET PURCHASE

ONLINE: https://www.biglietteriafonderia39.it/home.aspx
Fonderia Box Office: the box office opens one hour before the show starts (via della Costituzione 39, Reggio Emilia).

Tickets are not numbered.
CONTACT FOR BOOKINGS
Phone and WhatsApp 3341023554
Email biglietteria@aterballetto.it

STABAT MATER - OPEN REHEARSAL
2025-02-28 18:00 - 19:00 | Fonderia, via della Costituzione, 39, Reggio Emilia, 42124, Italy
The Compagnia Artemis Danza / Monica Casadei offers the audience at the Fonderia something unique, opening the doors to the creative process of its new production Stabat Mater, which will premiere at the Teatro Rossini in Pesaro on March 14.
STABAT MATER
Choreography, direction, sets, lights, and costumes Monica Casadei
Music Gioachino Rossini
Production Compagnia Artemis Danza/Monica Casadei
In collaboration with AMAT and Teatro Rossini di Pesaro
With the contribution of Ministry of Culture, Regione Emilia-Romagna – Department of Culture, Municipality of Parma
The creation, signed by the choreographer from Ferrara Monica Casadei, is dedicated to Gioachino Rossini’s Stabat Mater; a choral tribute to the soul of women, to their universal love, embodied by the mother par excellence. The performance represents the evolution of a multi-year research journey that the choreographer has dedicated to the encounter between dance and religious music.
Stabat Mater is a collective prayer, timeless and universal, for a mater dolorosa, a woman’s heart broken by pain, a mater lacrimosa that crystallizes in the moment of lament the tragedy of losing a child.
The body becomes the medium to tell the emotional experience of those facing the transformation of the primordial bond between mother and child. The performance becomes a cry and a whisper, noise and silence, giving voice to a love that transcends loss and never ceases to illuminate, even in the darkest moments.
Stabat Mater offers a profound and moving fresco of maternity, in a deep and lyrical tension between pain and hope, making the mother’s suffering a universal symbol of empathy and resilience.
The power of Rossini’s composition plays a crucial role in conveying the emotional intensity of the text, while the dynamic music elevates the narrative from lament to a song of hope.
MONICA CASADEI
Originally from Ferrara and holding a degree in Philosophy with honors with a thesis on Plato and dance, Monica Casadei, after a competitive career in rhythmic gymnastics, dedicated herself to the study of classical and modern dance, first in Italy, then in London, and finally in Paris where she met choreographers Pierre Doussaint and Isabelle Doubouloz, as well as the master André Cognard Hanshi So shihan, with whom she still practices the martial art of Aikido. In 1994, she founded the company Artemis Danza in France, and in 1997, she moved to Italy, where she began an intense production activity that, to this day, counts over fifty original creations. From 1998 to 2007, the company was in residence at the Fondazione Teatro Due in Parma, while from 2014 to 2018, it was in artistic residence at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna. Fundamental to Monica Casadei’s artistic research were her encounters with Federico Fellini, her investigation into the great lyrical tradition with performances such as Il Barbiere di Siviglia and the series of works dedicated to the heroines of opera reinterpreted in a contemporary key (such as Traviata, Tosca X, Carmen K, Butterfly – Colori Proibiti, Private Callas, Puccini’s Opera.Voci di Donne). The productions of Artemis Danza are characterized by their fusion with different artistic, cultural, and geographical realms, as well as the exploration of urban spaces that become the stage for performative actions. Alongside its production activity, Artemis supports, produces, and promotes young authors and carries out numerous activities to educate the public.
Info&Tickets
TICKETS
3 euros
Free for children under 6
TICKET PURCHASE

ONLINE: https://www.biglietteriafonderia39.it/home.aspx
Box office at Fonderia: The box office opens half an hour before the show starts (via della Costituzione 39, Reggio Emilia).

Tickets are not numbered.
CONTACTS FOR RESERVATIONS
Cell and WhatsApp: 3341023554
Email biglietteria@aterballetto.it

NOTTE MORRICONE
2025-03-04 20:30 - 22:00, 2025-03-05 20:30 - 22:00 | Teatro Municipale Valli, Piazza Martiri del 7 luglio, Reggio Emilia, 42121, Italia

NOTTE MORRICONE
2025-03-07 20:30 - 22:00 | Teatro Fraschini, Corso Strada Nuova, 136, Pavia, Italia

NOTTE MORRICONE
2025-03-11 20:30 - 22:00 | Teatro Ponchielli, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 52, Cremona, 26100, Italia

Impromptus
2025-03-13 21:00 - 22:00 | Artificerie Almagià, via dell’Almagià, 50, Ravenna, Italy
IMPROMPTUS
Arias, Dances, and Improvisations
The Centro Coreografico Nazionale / Aterballetto and Fondazione Ravenna Manifestazioni collaborate once again to create a new project, where dance and music meet, intertwine, and transform into unique performances. The aim is to create a creative space where choreographers and musicians work side by side, shaping works born from improvisation and mutual inspiration.
The goal of the project is to explore new ways of interaction between movement and sound, fostering a fluid and spontaneous relationship between the two disciplines. Through artistic experimentation, dancers and musicians push beyond the traditional boundaries of composition, creating short performances (from 15 to 20 minutes) that express the intensity of this encounter.
Thursday, March 13, 9:00 PM
Artificerie Almagià, Ravenna
Daniele Di Bonaventura bandoneon
Alfredo Laviano percussion
Roberto Tedesco and Gador Lago Benito dancers
Tuesday, April 15, 9:00 PM
Artificerie Almagià, Ravenna
Cellos of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini
Leonardo Farina and Arianna Ganassi dancers

Impromptus
2025-03-14 20:30 - 21:30 | Fonderia, via della Costituzione, 39, Reggio Emilia, 42124, Italy
IMPROMPTUS
Arias, Dances, and Improvisations
The Centro Coreografico Nazionale / Aterballetto and Fondazione Ravenna Manifestazioni collaborate once again to create a new project, where dance and music meet, intertwine, and transform into unique performances. The aim is to create a creative space where choreographers and musicians work side by side, shaping works born from improvisation and mutual inspiration.
The goal of the project is to explore new ways of interaction between movement and sound, fostering a fluid and spontaneous relationship between the two disciplines. Through artistic experimentation, dancers and musicians push beyond the traditional boundaries of composition, creating short performances (from 15 to 20 minutes) that express the intensity of this encounter.
Friday, March 14, 8:30 PM
Fonderia, Reggio Emilia
Daniele Di Bonaventura bandoneon
Alfredo Laviano percussion
Roberto Tedesco and Gador Lago Benito dancers
Wednesday, April 17, 9:00 PM
Fonderia, Reggio Emilia
Francesco Angelico, Christian Barraco Cellos of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini
Leonardo Farina and Arianna Ganassi dancers
Info & Tickets
TICKETS
10 euros
TICKET PURCHASE

ONLINE: https://www.biglietteriafonderia39.it/home.aspx
Fonderia Box Office: the box office opens one hour before the show starts (via della Costituzione 39, Reggio Emilia).

Tickets are not numbered.
CONTACT FOR RESERVATIONS
Phone and WhatsApp 3341023554
Email biglietteria@aterballetto.it

Solo Echo / Reconciliatio / Glory Hall
2025-03-15 20:30 - 22:00 | Teatro Regio, Strada Giuseppe Garibaldi, 16/a, Parma, 43121, Italia
CCN/Aterballetto dances at the Teatro Regio di Parma with a brand new triptych, destined to add new and unexpected nuances to the already eclectic repertoire of the company.
The dancers of CCN/Aterballetto are the protagonists of a production by the multi-award-winning Crystal Pite, a Canadian choreographer now in the pantheon of dance. Solo Echo is inspired by two sonatas for cello and piano by Johannes Brahms and the poem “Lines for Winter” by Mark Strand. As in Strand’s poem, Solo Echo invokes winter, music, and the moving body to express something essential about acceptance and loss.
An echo, a wave by Philippe Kratz, a former Aterballetto dancer and now a choreographer sought after by the most important companies, is a duet inspired by the hypnotic view of the sea and the concept of eternity that inspires us: two people dancing always go through different states of mind, contrasting emotions, closeness, and distance.
The last choreography, Glory Hall, is the new production by Diego Tortelli, which gives the company and the audience a fresco of sensuality and overwhelming vitality.
CREDITS
Solo Echo
Choreography Crystal Pite
Music Johannes Brahms (Sonata for Cello and Piano in E Minor, Op. 38: I. Allegro non troppo; Sonata for Cello and Piano in F Major, Op. 99: II. Adagio Affettuoso)
Production and restaging Fondazione Nazionale della Danza/Aterballetto
Coproduction Teatro Comunale di Bologna
An Echo, a Wave
Choreography Philippe Kratz
Sound designer Tommaso Michelini
Production Fondazione Nazionale della Danza/Aterballetto
Glory Hall
Choreography Diego Tortelli
Music Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Production Fondazione Nazionale della Danza/Aterballetto
Coproduction Teatro Comunale di Bologna
New creation

Screenshot

Solo Echo / Rhapsody in Blue / Glory Hall
2025-03-18 20:30 - 22:00 | Espace Jean Legendre, Place Briet Daubigny - rue du Général Koenig, Compiègne, 60200, Francia
The CCN/Aterballetto dances in Compiègne, France, the triptych composed of Solo Echo by Crystal Pite, Rhapsody in Blue by Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich, and Shoot me by Diego Tortelli.
SOLO ECHO – Crystal Pite
Love, loss, and acceptance are at the heart of Solo Echo by the Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite, inspired by two cello and piano sonatas by Johannes Brahms and the poem “Lines for Winter” by Mark Strand. As in Strand’s poem, Solo Echo evokes winter, music, and the moving body to express something essential about acceptance and loss.

RHAPSODY IN BLUE – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich
«Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin has several attractive points for us. It is a splendid piece of music, well-known but not so frequently listened to by the younger generations. Introducing this work to young people is a good objective, and this piece can be a way to present a less distant and less “American” vision of Gershwin, going beyond the cultural context in which the rhapsody was created. The rhapsody will inevitably dictate the choreographic work, and the lively, sparkling changes with which to play are fantastic. » – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich

GLORY HALL – Diego Tortelli
Glory Hall by Diego Tortelli is a sensorial and rebellious journey in an in-between space, suspended between light and darkness. In a black but never truly dark space, the choreography unfolds as an ecstatic rite where sensuality and profane spirituality intertwine, creating a continuous interplay of pleasure, virtuosity, and the pursuit of a personal version of glory.

Solo Echo / Rhapsody in Blue / Glory Hall
2025-03-20 20:00 - 21:30 | Le Manège, Rue de la Croix - CS 10105, Maubeuge, 59602, Francia
The CCN/Aterballetto dances in Maubeuge, France, the triptych composed of Rhapsody in Blue by Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich, Solo Echo by Crystal Pite, and Glory Hall by Diego Tortelli.
SOLO ECHO – Crystal Pite
Love, loss, and acceptance are at the heart of Solo Echo by the Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite, inspired by two cello and piano sonatas by Johannes Brahms and the poem “Lines for Winter” by Mark Strand. As in Strand’s poem, Solo Echo evokes winter, music, and the moving body to express something essential about acceptance and loss.

RHAPSODY IN BLUE – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich
«Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin has several attractive points for us. It is a splendid piece of music, well-known but not so frequently listened to by the younger generations. Introducing this work to young people is a good objective, and this piece can be a way to present a less distant and less “American” vision of Gershwin, going beyond the cultural context in which the rhapsody was created. The rhapsody will inevitably dictate the choreographic work, and the lively, sparkling changes with which to play are fantastic. » – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich

GLORY HALL – Diego Tortelli
Glory Hall by Diego Tortelli is a sensorial and rebellious journey in an in-between space, suspended between light and darkness. In a black but never truly dark space, the choreography unfolds as an ecstatic rite where sensuality and profane spirituality intertwine, creating a continuous interplay of pleasure, virtuosity, and the pursuit of a personal version of glory.

Solo Echo / Rhapsody in Blue / Glory Hall
2025-03-25 20:30 - 22:00 | Théâtre Saint-Louis, Rue Jean Vilar, Cholet, 49300, Francia
The CCN/Aterballetto dances in Cholet, France, the triptych composed of Rhapsody in Blue by Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich, Solo Echo by Crystal Pite, and Shoot me by Diego Tortelli.
SOLO ECHO – Crystal Pite
Love, loss, and acceptance are at the heart of Solo Echo by the Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite, inspired by two cello and piano sonatas by Johannes Brahms and the poem “Lines for Winter” by Mark Strand. As in Strand’s poem, Solo Echo evokes winter, music, and the moving body to express something essential about acceptance and loss.

RHAPSODY IN BLUE – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich
«Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin has several attractive points for us. It is a splendid piece of music, well-known but not so frequently listened to by the younger generations. Introducing this work to young people is a good objective, and this piece can be a way to present a less distant and less “American” vision of Gershwin, going beyond the cultural context in which the rhapsody was created. The rhapsody will inevitably dictate the choreographic work, and the lively, sparkling changes with which to play are fantastic. » – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich

GLORY HALL – Diego Tortelli
Glory Hall by Diego Tortelli is a sensorial and rebellious journey in an in-between space, suspended between light and darkness. In a black but never truly dark space, the choreography unfolds as an ecstatic rite where sensuality and profane spirituality intertwine, creating a continuous interplay of pleasure, virtuosity, and the pursuit of a personal version of glory.

Solo Echo / Rhapsody in Blue / Glory Hall
2025-03-28 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-03-29 19:00 - 20:30 | Teatro Arriaga Antzokia, Arriaga Plaza, 1, Bilbao, 48005, Spagna
The CCN/Aterballetto dances in Bilbao, Spain, the triptych composed of Rhapsody in Blue by Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich, Solo Echo by Crystal Pite, and Shoot me by Diego Tortelli.
SOLO ECHO – Crystal Pite
Love, loss, and acceptance are at the heart of Solo Echo by the Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite, inspired by two cello and piano sonatas by Johannes Brahms and the poem “Lines for Winter” by Mark Strand. As in Strand’s poem, Solo Echo evokes winter, music, and the moving body to express something essential about acceptance and loss.

RHAPSODY IN BLUE – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich
«Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin has several attractive points for us. It is a splendid piece of music, well-known but not so frequently listened to by the younger generations. Introducing this work to young people is a good objective, and this piece can be a way to present a less distant and less “American” vision of Gershwin, going beyond the cultural context in which the rhapsody was created. The rhapsody will inevitably dictate the choreographic work, and the lively, sparkling changes with which to play are fantastic. » – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich

GLORY HALL – Diego Tortelli
Glory Hall by Diego Tortelli is a sensorial and rebellious journey in an in-between space, suspended between light and darkness. In a black but never truly dark space, the choreography unfolds as an ecstatic rite where sensuality and profane spirituality intertwine, creating a continuous interplay of pleasure, virtuosity, and the pursuit of a personal version of glory.

The performances in Bilbao are in partnership with Italian Institute of Culture in Madrid and Directorate-General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Made in Italy 34.0
2025-03-29 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-03-29 21:00 - 22:15 | Fonderia, via della Costituzione, 39, Reggio Emilia, 42124, Italy
Double performance:
Saturday, March 29 – 6:30 PM
Saturday, March 29 – 9:00 PM
The protagonists of the evening are the dancers of Agora Coaching Project, a high-level training project promoted and supported by MM Contemporary Dance Company and A.S.D Progetto Danza of Reggio Emilia, with artistic direction by Michele Merola and Enrico Morelli. Launched in 2010, the course is gaining full recognition in the European dance world and boasts collaborations with internationally renowned teachers and choreographers.

INSOMNIA
Choreography: Sergei Vanaev
Music: Jim Croce, Hildur Guonadottir and Johann Johannsson, G. F. Händel, Murcof, Becky G x Luisa Sonza x Papatinho
Costumes: Nuvia Valestri
Choreography Assistant: Stefano Neri
Duration: 25 min.
The world of dreams cannot be fully understood by the human mind.
The images and spirits we encounter in our dreams are fragments of our uncontrolled imagination.
Very often, we come across people or creatures unknown to us. We find ourselves in uncomfortable situations, evoking emotions that range from terror and fear to joy and euphoria.
Visiting the dream world is inevitable for us, as it is linked to our physical need for sleep. However, sometimes, due to the complexities of daily life, we experience the unpleasant condition of INSOMNIA, caused by troubling thoughts. Desperately, we try to relax and transition into the seemingly peaceful state of the dream world…
But what would be better: a nightmare or INSOMNIA?

SHARE_Prima Nazionale
Choreography: Massimo Gerardi
Music: Frank Bretschneider, CoH, Kanding Ray
Lighting Design: Massimo Gerardi
Costumes: Nuvia Valestri
Duration: 25 min.
SHARE represents a moment of interaction between the dancers on stage and the audience, going beyond mere aesthetic or athletic gestures.
This event focuses on the expression of personal thoughts and individual identity, encouraging each participant to step forward and support others in their goals. The dancers embody the idea of the *Homo Empathicus*, a figure often overlooked in our era but essential for fostering genuine relationships, free from technological interference: the body and voice thus become the instruments of this shared experience.
Descartes’ famous motto “I think, therefore I am” almost transforms into “I participate, therefore I am.”

AGORA COACHING PROJECT
Agora Coaching Project is an annual dance training project aimed at dancers aged 18 to 22, based in Reggio Emilia. Founded in 2010, it is directed by Michele Merola and Enrico Morelli and is promoted and supported by the MM Contemporary Dance Company and the Centro Permanente Danza of Reggio Emilia. The project aims to train artists who are ready to approach the variety of the international dance market with flexibility, artists capable of responding to different technical and stylistic demands that come from this very market. The project aims to offer a wide range of stimuli, both technical and cultural, and fosters exchange between students and choreographers, each coming from different and interesting backgrounds in the international scene. Agora offers the students the opportunity to meet renowned choreographers with different stylistic orientations, and over the years, many illustrious names have participated. Various qualified teachers, each with proven experience in the field, collaborate with Michele Merola and Enrico Morelli to bring the project to life.

INFO AND TICKETS
TICKETS
Full price: 10 euros
Reduced under 30, dance schools, Liceo Coreutico Matilde di Canossa, over 65, CRAL members of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia: 6 euros
Reduced under 8: 3 euros
TICKET PURCHASE
Tickets can be purchased online at www.biglietteriafonderia39.it
The box office opens one hour before the start of the performance
Tickets are not numbered
CONTACTS
Cell and WhatsApp: 3341023554
Email biglietteria@aterballetto.it

Solo Echo / Rhapsody in Blue / Glory Hall
2025-04-01 20:30 - 22:00 | Le Pin Galant, 34 Avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, Mérignac, BP 30 244 / 33698, Francia
The CCN/Aterballetto dances in Merignac, France, the triptych composed of Rhapsody in Blue by Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich, Solo Echo by Crystal Pite, and Glory Hall by Diego Tortelli.
SOLO ECHO – Crystal Pite
Love, loss, and acceptance are at the heart of Solo Echo by the Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite, inspired by two cello and piano sonatas by Johannes Brahms and the poem “Lines for Winter” by Mark Strand. As in Strand’s poem, Solo Echo evokes winter, music, and the moving body to express something essential about acceptance and loss.

RHAPSODY IN BLUE – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich
«Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin has several attractive points for us. It is a splendid piece of music, well-known but not so frequently listened to by the younger generations. Introducing this work to young people is a good objective, and this piece can be a way to present a less distant and less “American” vision of Gershwin, going beyond the cultural context in which the rhapsody was created. The rhapsody will inevitably dictate the choreographic work, and the lively, sparkling changes with which to play are fantastic. » – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich

GLORY HALL – Diego Tortelli
Glory Hall by Diego Tortelli is a sensorial and rebellious journey in an in-between space, suspended between light and darkness. In a black but never truly dark space, the choreography unfolds as an ecstatic rite where sensuality and profane spirituality intertwine, creating a continuous interplay of pleasure, virtuosity, and the pursuit of a personal version of glory.

Solo Echo / Rhapsody in Blue / Glory Hall
2025-04-03 20:45 - 22:00 | Cité des Congrès, 5 Rue de Valmy, Nantes, Francia
The CCN/Aterballetto dances in Nantes, France, the triptych composed of Rhapsody in Blue by Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich, Solo Echo by Crystal Pite, and Glory Hall by Diego Tortelli.
The show is in partnership with Directorate-General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Italian Institute of Culture in Paris

SOLO ECHO – Crystal Pite
Love, loss, and acceptance are at the heart of Solo Echo by the Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite, inspired by two cello and piano sonatas by Johannes Brahms and the poem “Lines for Winter” by Mark Strand. As in Strand’s poem, Solo Echo evokes winter, music, and the moving body to express something essential about acceptance and loss.

RHAPSODY IN BLUE – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich
«Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin has several attractive points for us. It is a splendid piece of music, well-known but not so frequently listened to by the younger generations. Introducing this work to young people is a good objective, and this piece can be a way to present a less distant and less “American” vision of Gershwin, going beyond the cultural context in which the rhapsody was created. The rhapsody will inevitably dictate the choreographic work, and the lively, sparkling changes with which to play are fantastic. » – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich

GLORY HALL – Diego Tortelli
Glory Hall by Diego Tortelli is a sensorial and rebellious journey in an in-between space, suspended between light and darkness. In a black but never truly dark space, the choreography unfolds as an ecstatic rite where sensuality and profane spirituality intertwine, creating a continuous interplay of pleasure, virtuosity, and the pursuit of a personal version of glory.

THE FRIDAS - PREVIEW
2025-04-04 21:00 - 21:45 | Fonderia, via della Costituzione, 39, Reggio Emilia, 42124, Italy
Danza in Fonderia, the CCN/Aterballetto series, hosts an exclusive preview of Sofia Nappi’s latest creation.

The Fridas is inspired by Frida Kahlo’s painting The Two Fridas and explores the complex theme of human identity through a relationship of complicity and contrast, going beyond simple dualism. Through gestures that reveal intimacy and vulnerability, challenging the conventions of masculinity, the two dancers on stage navigate emotional states and become an expressive vehicle for the countless facets contained within each individual.
After the performance, a talk with choreographer Sofia Nappi.

Credits
Choreography Sofia Nappi
in collaboration with dancers Paolo Piancastelli, Adriano Popolo Rubbio
Choreography assistant Glenda Gheller
Costume design Adriano Popolo Rubbio
Costume production Adriano Popolo Rubbio, Adelaide D’Ago
Lighting design Alessandro Caso
Music various artists
Production Komoco
Co-production Festival Danza in Rete – Teatro Comunale Città di Vicenza
With the support of Oriente/Occidente, Centro Coreografico Nazionale/Aterballetto
Project residency at the Centro di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale per la Danza Scenario Pubblico/CZD
Duration: approximately 25 minutes
Read more
The Fridas is a duet inspired by the painting The Two Fridas by Frida Kahlo. It explores the complex theme of human identity through a relationship of complicity and contrast between two dancers. Mirrored and divergent movements embody inner conflicts and harmonies, while physical expressiveness and the use of space (in the Komoco language, considered a living element capable of both uniting and dividing) represent two complementary and essential aspects of the research.

However, the relationship between the two characters on stage goes beyond simple dualism. Through gestures that reveal intimacy and vulnerability, challenging conventions of masculinity, the dancers navigate emotional states and become an expressive vehicle for the countless facets contained within each individual. The painting “explodes,” and the duet thus reflects the ambiguity and multiple personalities that also characterized Kahlo herself:
“Within me, multiple identities are hidden; I am a mélange. A mix between a Mexican and an Indigenous person, but also a Mexican and a European. I am a painter and a wife. I love both women and men […]. In my painting, I want to represent precisely this: all my ambiguity—no, not ambiguity, my many personalities, my complexity.” (From *The Secret Lover of Frida Kahlo* by Caroline Bernard).

Designed for both theatrical and unconventional or museum spaces, The Fridas can be observed from different perspectives, adding nuances to the exploration of human essence and celebrating its complexity. However, the ending invites an ironic acceptance of life’s chaos: through parodic movements, the dancers find in humor the balm to keep facing the challenges of existence.
SOFIA NAPPI
Sofia Nappi is a choreographer and the artistic director of KOMOCO, a contemporary dance company based in Italy and active internationally, which she co-founded together with her first muses, Adriano Popolo Rubbio and Paolo Piancastelli. From the very beginning, Sofia’s early creations with KOMOCO won prestigious awards: the Partner Introdans Award (Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition 2021), and the 1st Prize, the Critics’ Prize, and the Production Prize at the 35th International Choreography Competition Hannover, awarded by the Tanja Liedtke Foundation and Marco Goecke (2021).
Currently, KOMOCO’s works choreographed by Sofia are presented in Italy and on international tours across Europe, as well as in Mexico, Canada, and Serbia, hosted by renowned institutions and international festivals. As an independent choreographer, Sofia also creates new works for internationally recognized dance companies and theaters, including Nederlands Dans Theater 2, Leipzig Ballet, Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Ballet BC, Göteborg Opera, National Theatre Mannheim, Staatsoper Hannover, and Scottish Dance Theatre.
In parallel, Sofia Nappi’s work extends to research and professional training at an international level, in close collaboration with the dancers of KOMOCO. Since 2022, she has been organizing the biannual company workshop “Komoco Intensive” in Florence, welcoming professional dancers from all over the world. Sofia graduated from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York; her training has also been significantly influenced by her close connection with the Hofesh Shechter Dance Company and her study of Gaga, the movement language developed by renowned choreographer Ohad Naharin.
Info&Tickets
TICKETS
3 euros
PURCHASING TICKETS

ONLINE: https://www.biglietteriafonderia39.it/home.aspx
Fonderia Box Office: the box office opens one hour before the start of the performance (Via della Costituzione 39, Reggio Emilia).

Tickets are unnumbered.
CONTACTS FOR RESERVATIONS
Phone & WhatsApp: 3341023554
Email biglietteria@aterballetto.it

Solo Echo / Rhapsody in Blue / Glory Hall
2025-04-05 20:30 - 22:00 | L’Archipel, 1 rue des Îles, Fouesnant-les Glénan, 29170, Francia
The CCN/Aterballetto dances in Fousnant, France, the triptych composed of Rhapsody in Blue by Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich, Solo Echo by Crystal Pite, and Glory Hall by Diego Tortelli.
SOLO ECHO – Crystal Pite
Love, loss, and acceptance are at the heart of Solo Echo by the Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite, inspired by two cello and piano sonatas by Johannes Brahms and the poem “Lines for Winter” by Mark Strand. As in Strand’s poem, Solo Echo evokes winter, music, and the moving body to express something essential about acceptance and loss.

RHAPSODY IN BLUE – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich
«Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin has several attractive points for us. It is a splendid piece of music, well-known but not so frequently listened to by the younger generations. Introducing this work to young people is a good objective, and this piece can be a way to present a less distant and less “American” vision of Gershwin, going beyond the cultural context in which the rhapsody was created. The rhapsody will inevitably dictate the choreographic work, and the lively, sparkling changes with which to play are fantastic. » – Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich

GLORY HALL – Diego Tortelli
Glory Hall by Diego Tortelli is a sensorial and rebellious journey in an in-between space, suspended between light and darkness. In a black but never truly dark space, the choreography unfolds as an ecstatic rite where sensuality and profane spirituality intertwine, creating a continuous interplay of pleasure, virtuosity, and the pursuit of a personal version of glory.

FELLINIANA – Omaggio a Fellini
2025-04-08 21:00 - 22:15 | Fonderia, via della Costituzione, 39, Reggio Emilia, 42124, Italy
FELLINIANA – Tribute to Fellini is a performance that evokes the universe of the great Maestro and his most famous films through the choreography of Monica Casadei.
The bodies of the Artemis Danza Company move between dance and contemporary circus, dream and reality, accompanied by the unforgettable music composed by Nino Rota for Federico Fellini. Euphoric and sparkling choreography, virtuosity, and an irresistible humanity animate this performance, making it a poetic and sensitive manifesto that celebrates the history of Italian cinema and music.
Watch the video on YouTube
CREDITS
Choreography, direction, sets, and lighting Monica Casadei
Music Nino Rota
Costumes Daniela Usai
Production Compagnia Artemis Danza
In collaboration with Teatro Municipale di Piacenza, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Istituti Italiani di Cultura in Chicago, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Prague, Tunis, Zurich
Project selected for Parma 2020+21 Italian Capital of Culture
With the contribution of Ministry of Culture, Emilia Romagna Region – Department of Culture
READ MORE
Felliniana revolves around the marvelous celebration of 8 ½ and lives through the joys and hopes of the clowns, the confessions of Gradisca, the voices and dialogues taken from the films, the scent of La Dolce Vita, the thousand colors of the circus, and the poetic power of Nino Rota.
A Fellinian breath enveloped the conception of the creation, which begins with a rarefied, intimate, philosophical start, moves into the surreal realism of the Romagna of Amarcord, and then warmly slides into the magical, crazy, and extreme world of the circus. A dancing people, a great theater of human illusion, poetic and ironic.
An idea of a world where diversity is wealth, where poetry is nourishment, and where all human beings, with their fragilities and divergences, can feel free and welcomed, for each one of them has a place on the merry-go-round of life designed by the great Maestro.
Monica Casadei
MONICA CASADEI
Of Ferrara origin and with a degree in Philosophy with honors, with a thesis on Plato and dance, Monica Casadei, after an athletic career in rhythmic gymnastics, devoted herself to the study of classical and modern dance, first in Italy, then in London, and finally in Paris, where she met choreographers Pierre Doussaint and Isabelle Doubouloz, and master André Cognard Hanshi So shihan, with whom she still practices the martial art of Aikido. In 1994, she founded the company Artemis Danza in France, and in 1997, she moved to Italy, where she began an intense production activity that now counts over fifty original creations. From 1998 to 2007, the company was in residence at the Fondazione Teatro Due in Parma, while from 2014 to 2018, it was in artistic residence at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna. Essential to Monica Casadei’s artistic research were her encounters with Federico Fellini, the investigative journey linked to the great lyrical tradition with performances such as Il Barbiere di Siviglia and the series of creations dedicated to opera heroines reinterpreted in a contemporary key (examples include Traviata, Tosca X, Carmen K, Butterfly – Colori Proibiti, Private Callas, Puccini’s Opera.Voci di Donne). Artemis Danza’s productions are characterized by contamination with different artistic, cultural, and geographical areas, as well as the exploration of urban places and spaces that become the stage for performative actions. In addition to its production activities, Artemis supports, produces, and promotes young authors and carries out many activities for audience development.
Info&Tickets
TICKETS
Full price: 10 euros
Discounted under 30, dance schools, Liceo Coreutico Matilde di Canossa, over 65, members of CRAL Comune di Reggio Emilia: 6 euros
Discounted under 8: 3 euros
TICKET PURCHASE

ONLINE: https://www.biglietteriafonderia39.it/home.aspx
Fonderia Box Office: the box office opens half an hour before the performance starts (via della Costituzione 39, Reggio Emilia).

Tickets are not numbered.
CONTACTS FOR RESERVATIONS
Phone and WhatsApp: 3341023554
Email biglietteria@aterballetto.it

NOTTE MORRICONE
2025-04-10 20:30 - 22:00, 2025-04-11 20:30 - 22:00, 2025-04-12 20:30 - 22:00, 2025-04-13 15:30 - 17:00 | Teatro Sociale, Via Felice Cavallotti, 20, Brescia

Viaggio nel repertorio del balletto. Accademia Danza alla Scala
2025-04-12 18:00 - 19:15 | Fonderia, via della Costituzione, 39, Reggio Emilia, 42124, Italy
Accademia Teatro alla Scala. Cenerentola. ©Rosa Arcelloni.
First event of the project Viaggio nel repertorio del balletto, curated and led by dance journalist and critic Francesca Pedroni, in collaboration with the Accademia Teatro alla Scala.
The project Viaggio nel repertorio del balletto (A Journey Through the Ballet Repertoire), promoted by Centro Coreografico Nazionale Aterballetto and curated by dance journalist and critic Francesca Pedroni, embarks on a series of performance-talks. Hosted at the Fonderia in Reggio Emilia, the events feature guest artists—dancers and maîtres from Italy’s leading ballet companies—and aim to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation of exemplary works from the great ballet seasons. A prologue to the project is today’s event with the Accademia Teatro alla Scala, which—together with Ballet School teacher Walter Madau and several upper-year students—explores the value of repertoire as a fundamental training ground.
Each event explores ballet repertoire and the technique of classical-academic dance, highlighting its connections with costume design, set design, and music—from the first rehearsals to the actual performance.
The first event features the Accademia Teatro alla Scala, presenting:
VARIAZIONE DI CENERENTOLAFrom CENERENTOLA by Frédéric OlivieriMusic by Sergei ProkofievStudent: Maria Vittoria Bandini
NEW SLEEP (DUET) by William ForsytheMusic by Thom WillemsStudents: Sienna Bingham e Michele Forghieri
PASSO A DUE DI MATTO E GELSOMINAFrom LA STRADA by Mario PistoniMusic by Nino RotaStudents: Francesco Della Valle, Laura Farina
VARIAZIONE DI GELSOMINAFrom LA STRADA by Mario PistoniMusic by Nino RotaStudent: Laura Farina
Accademia Teatro alla Scala. Grand Tour AFAM. Lucca, gennaio 2025. ©Munari.
CENERENTOLA
From CENERENTOLA by Frédéric Olivieri, set to music by Sergei Prokof’ev
Variation – Maria Vittoria Bandini
A great fairytale of ballet and the collective imagination, Cenerentola has always told the story of a dream becoming reality—thanks to the triumph of good over evil and the victory of values like kindness and generosity over envy, hypocrisy, and deceit. A beautiful lesson for the students of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala’s Ballet School, encouraging not only technical and interpretive growth on a professional level, but also a meaningful, human reflection on values central to their development as young artists.
Sergei Prokofiev, composer of the ballet’s lyrical score—which premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1945—wrote:
“What I wanted to express above all in my music was the poetic love between Cinderella and the Prince: the birth and blossoming of this love, the obstacles in its path, and the fulfillment of the dream.”He also added:“I was eager to create a ballet that was as ‘danceable’ as possible, with a variety of dances woven into the story and offering the dancers plenty of opportunity to showcase their art.”
Commissioned by the Bracco Foundation, Frédéric Olivieri, Director of the Ballet School, created a new version of Cenerentola that fully responds to Prokofiev’s intentions—an ambitious two-act production tailored to the talent and training of the School’s young dancers. A dreamlike staging of which the School is justifiably proud, the production features hand-painted sets by Angelo Sala, specially designed costumes by Chiara Donato, and the collaboration of current and former students from the Academy’s costume-making program, together with the renowned Sartoria Brancato.
This collective work brings more than one hundred students to the stage in choreography rich with both virtuosic and expressive roles. Around the central characters of Cinderella and the Prince, the contrast between good and evil is drawn—without relying on the traditional aesthetic opposition between beauty and ugliness. The Stepmother and Stepsisters are not performed en travesti nor grotesquely made-up; it is left entirely to the dance to reveal the true nature of each character.
Francesca Pedroni
NEW SLEEP (DUET)
NEW SLEEP (DUET)

Choreography by William ForsytheMusic by Thom WillemsPerformed by: Sienna Bingham e Michele Forghieri
New Sleep (Duet) by William Forsythe: the joyful mechanics of partnering
New Sleep (Duet) is a brilliant example of William Forsythe’s post-classical dynamism. A master of the ever-evolving language of ballet, Forsythe has transformed classical academic vocabulary into something incandescent and radically contemporary. His is a dizzying creativity in which dancers’ virtuosity is both celebrated and expanded to its fullest potential. When we met Forsythe last year in Milan for the premiere of Blake Works V at Teatro alla Scala, he offered an insight that also perfectly applies to approaching the duet New Sleep:
“People often confuse the academy—which is the set of rules, the grammar—with choreography, which is the exception. The academy clearly prescribes the steps, how they are learned one after the other, in relation to tradition and history. We, as choreographers, must find a way to show what the academy gives to dancers, helping them understand what can be done with it, and where the difference lies between the rules of the School and the exceptions of choreography.”— William Forsythe, in Francesca Pedroni, William Forsythe – Il balletto: una gioia tra regole e formidabili eccezioni, Danza&Danza, n. 310, May–June 2023.
A beautiful challenge for such young dancers.
The duet is built around Thom Willems’ striking score—a long-time collaborator of Forsythe—filled with harsh, urban sounds that evoke a dance darting through the whir of metal machinery. The duet is a game of trust between the partners—she en pointe—a push, a hold, a release, full of off-balance movement.
The work has been restaged for the students by Forsythe dancer Noah Gelber and Kathryn Bennetts, with the support of the school’s resident teachers. Bennetts, a close collaborator of Forsythe since the late 1980s during his tenure at the Frankfurt Ballet, has long been responsible for reviving his repertoire internationally.New Sleep (Duet) is the third Forsythe work to enter the repertoire of the Accademia’s Ballet School, following The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude—unforgettable with its sharp, acid-yellow tutus—and, in 2019, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, also revived by Bennetts.
“New Sleep was originally created in 1987 for the San Francisco Ballet,” explains Bennetts. “It’s a piece I adore, which I’ve revived over the years in Zurich, Antwerp, Monte Carlo. It’s a wild, surreal, strange, and fun work. As often happens with Bill (short for William), there are many elaborations and later variations. The version of the duet restaged for the School was created for a gala in 2011, specifically choreographed on Katherina Markowskaja of the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich, partnered with Noah Gelber. It’s based on a duet from the original but features many modifications. It has its own distinct atmosphere—it’s fresh, current, and perfectly suited for the School. It develops a beautiful partnering technique, almost like in rock & roll. And when young dancers are intelligent and talented, they’re willing to take the risk and ride the speed—there’s a constant challenge in the space.”
“Returning to the Accademia’s Ballet School is always a joy for me,” Bennetts adds. “When I came for In the Middle, I worked with Linda Giubelli, Giorgia Pasini, Daniele Bonelli—and now I see them in major companies: at La Scala, the San Carlo in Naples, in Düsseldorf. Frédéric Olivieri has shaped the School as a true preparation for professional life, giving students the habit of approaching choreography from a very young age. It’s rare—and it pays off.”
Francesca Pedroni
LA STRADA
From LA STRADA (SUITE) by Mario Pistoni, set to music by Nino RotaVariazione di Gelsomina – Laura Farina
Passo a due del Matto e Gelsomina – Francesco Della Valle, Laura Farina
“La strada” by Mario Pistoni. Between Fellini and dance, Gelsomina lives again in a suite of excerpts
In 1966, La strada by Mario Pistoni premiered at Teatro alla Scala. A masterpiece imbued with a poignant sense of nostalgia and fleeting, fragile moments in which happiness seems possible—yet proves to be an illusion. The music is by Nino Rota. The story is inspired by Federico Fellini’s film of the same name, with an unforgettable Giulietta Masina in the role of Gelsomina. She travels the world with Zampanò, portrayed in the film by a brutish Anthony Quinn—a rough street performer who earns his living breaking chains with the strength of his chest. The Fool, a pure and childlike soul, plays the violin and shares Gelsomina’s sensitivity. On stage in 1966, the Fool was Mario Pistoni himself, and Gelsomina was danced by Carla Fracci. In later years, the role would be interpreted by Oriella Dorella, Alessandra Ferri, and Gilda Gelati. A principal dancer at Teatro alla Scala since 1951, Pistoni danced Romeo alongside Carla Fracci’s debut as Juliet in John Cranko’s historic 1958 production. Two years later, he made his debut as a choreographer.
La strada is a narrative ballet, cinematic not only in its inspiration but also in its three-dimensional staging, with simultaneous planes of action. It tells a story of everyday poverty and shattered hopes, set in a world dear to Fellini’s imagination—the circus—and blends classical technique with modern styles ranging from tango to jazz. A richly populated ballet, it offers young students the opportunity to explore emotion and storytelling through dance.
For the Ballet School, it was decided to restage a suite of selected scenes from La strada. This task was entrusted to Guido Pistoni, Mario’s nephew, a dancer trained at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma who has previously performed in the ballet and now oversees his uncle’s repertoire.Guido Pistoni explains: “For the Ballet School, we chose to omit the more dramatic scenes from the original ballet, such as the Fool’s death. In agreement with Maestro Olivieri, I focused on the more danced sections and the circus characters, ending the ballet with the dreamlike scene of the three Pierrots alongside Gelsomina.”
The suite begins with a group scene involving numerous student couples, including some of the youngest pupils, and of course, Zampanò (guest artist and former Scala principal dancer Mick Zeni) and Gelsomina. It opens with a festive tango. Gelsomina enters with her small drum slung around her neck, tousled short hair, and that smiling, heart-tugging expression. The suite continues with Zampanò’s act, the shooting gallery, the wedding, and a jazz dance. Zampanò’s affair with a street woman saddens Gelsomina. Her variation is one of the most moving moments in the ballet. Gelsomina then encounters many characters: musicians, the Fool—with whom she dances a poignant pas de deux that reveals the personalities of both characters—soldiers, sandwich girls, ballerinas, and the Pierrots.
“Fellini and Giulietta Masina were very fond of the ballet,” recalls Guido Pistoni. “Whenever she could, she came to see La strada. I remember one time in Rome when my uncle called her on stage at the end of the performance and asked the orchestra’s first trumpet to play Gelsomina’s theme for her. Such pathos! The students worked very well, fully focused on both the technical and interpretive aspects. During the rehearsal weeks, with the help of their teachers, I saw them grow artistically. I’m glad this Italian work has been brought back to life.”
Francesca Pedroni
ACCADEMIA TEATRO ALLA SCALA
FONDAZIONE ACCADEMIA TEATRO ALLA SCALA
Established as a Foundation in 2001, the Accademia Teatro alla Scala boasts over two centuries of history, thanks to the Teatro alla Scala’s long-standing commitment to education and training—dating back to 1813, the year the Ballet School was founded. Still today, it is considered one of the most prestigious institutions for the teaching of dance.
With a faculty composed of artists and professionals from Teatro alla Scala, alongside leading experts from the performing arts sector, the Academy now covers virtually all professions in the live performance industry. It offers a broad catalogue of courses organized into four departments: Music, Dance, Stagecraft, and Management. This includes training programs, advanced specialization courses, first- and second-level academic diplomas equivalent to university degrees, as well as first-level master’s programs, workshops, and summer intensives.

DANCE DEPARTMENT
The Dance Department, directed since 2003 by Frédéric Olivieri—who has also recently returned to lead the Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company—offers courses for all age groups and educational needs in the field of dance. In addition to the Ballet School, the Department includes a five-year introductory dance program designed for children aged 6 to 10, which introduces them to dance through playful and expressive activities; an advanced training course in classical and contemporary dance for dancers wishing to refine their skills across different styles and choreographic methods; and first- and second-level academic programs aimed at training highly qualified classical dance teachers.
At the heart of the Department lies the Ballet School. Founded in 1813 by Francesco Benedetto Ricci, it has been led over the years by renowned ballerinas and distinguished masters, and has trained dancers of the highest calibre. Just a few names: Carla Fracci, Liliana Cosi, Luciana Savignano, Oriella Dorella, Roberto Bolle, Nicoletta Manni. Structured as an eight-year program, the School awards a diploma with a dual specialization in classical-academic dance and modern-contemporary dance—responding to the needs of international companies that now demand dancers proficient in an increasingly broad and diverse repertoire.
During their training, students take part in various productions of the Teatro alla Scala season and perform on important stages in Italy and abroad. A key element in their artistic development is the opportunity to interpret iconic choreographies by past and present masters such as Marius Petipa, August Bournonville, George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, Anton Dolin, Mario Pistoni, Mauro Bigonzetti, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, José Limón, Roland Petit, Angelin Preljocaj, and Demis Volpi.Additionally, works have been created specifically for the Ballet School by choreographers such as Davide Bombana, Shantala Shivalingappa, Matteo Levaggi, Emanuela Tagliavia, and Valentino Zucchetti.Also worth noting are the new choreographic versions of major repertoire titles signed by Frédéric Olivieri, including Lo schiaccianoci, Cenerentola (commissioned by the Bracco Foundation), and La fille mal gardée.
FRANCESCA PEDRONI
Dance critic for the newspaper Il manifesto and the magazine Danza&Danza. For the television channel Classica HD (formerly Sky Classica, channel 124), she worked as writer and director of the series Danza in Scena, producing over 70 documentaries dedicated to artists such as William Forsythe, Pina Bausch, and Alessandra Ferri. For cinema, she wrote and directed the docufilm Roberto Bolle. L’arte della Danza, produced by Classica and Artedanza srl. She curated the DVD collection I capolavori della danza, published by Classica HD in collaboration with Corriere della Sera. Since 2000, she has taught Dance History at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala and leads ballet talks for the Teatro alla Scala’s Under30/35 subscription program.
Info&TICKETS
TICKETS
6 euros
PURCHASING TICKETS

ONLINE: https://www.biglietteriafonderia39.it/home.aspx
Fonderia Box Office: the box office opens 30 minutes before the start of the performance (Via della Costituzione 39, Reggio Emilia).

Tickets are unnumbered.
CONTACTS FOR RESERVATIONS
Phone & WhatsApp: 3341023554
Email biglietteria@aterballetto.it
