A triptych of new choreographies by three young Italian choreographers exploring three areas of research suggested by three early 20th century musical compositions which, although now part of the mainstream repertoire, once played a fundamental role in the development of a revolutionary way to create dance. Each of the three acts of the performance presents an independent choreography focusing on a subject suggested by the music to which it set and hence the extraordinary period of innovation and artistic ferment which accompanied the success of the Ballets Russes in Europe.

Although much has been written about the sea change brought about by the advent of new approaches to arts throughout Europe at the turn of the 20th century, little has been said about the role played by female figures – suffice to mention, Ida Rubinstein, dancer and patron of the arts who, having left the Ballets Russes, in 1928 commissioned Maurice Ravel to compose his famous Boléro and herself choreographed and interpreted the ballet of the same name – in the development of European dance.
With this new production, Balletto di Roma offers three young Italian choreographers, all active on the international contemporary dance scene, the opportunity to present their interpretations of three of the most iconic musical compositions of the early 20th century.
Giorgia Nardin, freelance performer and choreographer, reinterprets Debussy’s Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un Faune, a symphonic poem inspired by a text by Stéphane Mallarmé and now recognized as one of the precursors of musical impressionism, in the extremely physical and provocative style, which characterizes her work.
Chiara Frigo also focuses on the music of Debussy, choosing his Suite Bergamasque, a solo piano suite whose third movement is the world famous Clair de lune, a composition inspired by the poetry of Paul Verlaine, to explore the issue of migration. In a weave of literary and mythological references, Frigo creates a Daedalean labyrinth inspired by the contrasting concepts of the blind alley of migration and the liberating (albeit fatal) flight of Icarus.
Choreographer and founder of CollettivO CineticO, Francesca Pennini chooses the music of Ravel’s Boléro as the point of departure for her choreography. De- and re-constructing the French composer’s work in such a way as to create a complex, ironic, “cinetic” ballet, the insistent rhythm of the original score most impedes her thematic, musical and choreographic decomposition.
Besides the choreographers’ choices of music, the core focus of all three choreographies is the body and dance: humanity in movement, the desire to be loved and to love, seduction and its contagious impact on human beings.