In a city curiously sparse in dance offerings – aside from McGregor’s Biennale –VeneziainDanza stands out, now in its sixteenth edition. From November 17 to 30, the prestigious stage of the Teatro Malibran hosts a variety of highly anticipated dance performances.
Michela Barasciutti, dancer, Venetian choreographer, and founder of the Tocnadanza company in 1991, as well as the artistic director of the festival, appears emotional as she presents its program. She highlights three main features: the broad overview of various artistic languages, ranging from classical to contemporary; the exclusivity of the performances, not featured in other Italian festivals; and the focus on Italian talents working abroad.
The festival opens with Soirée featuring the soloists of the Gaertnerplatztheater in Munich, directed for the past decade by Karl Alfred Schreiner, a familiar name to many Venetians from the Biennales of 2008 to 2011, where he collaborated with Ismael Ivo. The evening showcases three pieces, each by a different choreographer: Minutemade by Portuguese Marco da Silva Ferreira, blending urban dance with Portuguese folk traditions; Troia by Greek choreographer Andonis Foniadakis, centered on extreme dancer virtuosity; and Peer Gynt by Schreiner himself, offering a unique reinterpretation of Ibsen’s text, set to Grieg’s pulsating score.
On November 23, Tocnadanza presents the world premiere of Stabat Passio. “Everyone will immediately think of Stabat Mater, whether as prayer, music – be it Scarlatti, Vivaldi, or Pergolesi or as visual art. But I want to speak about us, about our contemporary world, and how passion can transform into compassion, understanding, and empathy. It’s as if Jacopone’s poetry invites us to ask, ‘Where are you? Become yourself so I can see you,’” explains Michela Barasciutti. She adds, “This journey has been developing within me for at least two years – first in solitude, then in the search for the right music, and finally through my body. Only months later did I begin working with my dancers. I think it will always remain a work in progress,” the choreographer concludes.
On November 30, the MM Contemporary Dance Company presents two works. The first is Bolero, choreographed by Michele Merola, one of the great names on the Italian scene. The anxieties, fears, and desires of existence are expressed through varied musical rhythms, with Ravel’s Bolero (1928) serving as the prototype. The second piece, Ballade by Mauro Bigonzetti, is a danced tribute to iconic music from the 1980s, from Prince to Frank Zappa, dedicated to Pier Vittorio Tondelli, whose works epitomized that era.
Let us pay tribute to this art and passion: Venetians, young and old, take advantage of special prices and head to the Malibran!
