Komoco: IMA

The old men hop and jump happily, they look like peasants from the countryside with their vests and suspenders. Their dance is awkward, yet touching in its doll-like exuberance. In Sofia Nappi's piece the contrast between the wrinkled (mask) faces and the amazing acrobatics of their wearers is unsettling. The young choreographer accepts the transience of bodies and finds beauty in the impermanence of our outer shells. Her idiosyncratic style features stark contrasts between virtuoso punch-lines and a minimalist, subliminal dynamism, drawing inspiration in her penchant for the grotesque from both the Gaga nonchalance of Israeli dance and the rustic gnarliness of northern lands. [In Japanese “Ima” denotes “the present moment,” while in Hebrew (from which the Israeli-trained Italian borrows many of her titles) the word means “mother” and is associated with birth and renewal.] Commissioned in 2020 by Marie Chouinard in her role as dance director of the Venice Biennale, this work is now being premiered in its full-length version by the Colours International Dance Festival. Sofia Nappi has already won several awards for her choreographic work, most recently the first prize at the International Competition for Choreographers in Hanover in 2021.

Artistic Direction & Choreography: Sofia Nappi | Dancers: Lara di Nallo, Valentin Durand, Evelien Jansen, Paolo Piancastelli, Gonçalo Reis | Costume design: Luigi Formicola | Lights: Alessandro Caso | Duration: tba

Artistic Direction & Choreography: Sofia Nappi
Dancers: Lara di Nallo, Valentin Durand, Evelien Jansen, Paolo Piancastelli, Gonçalo Reis
Costumes: Luigi Formicola; costumes realised by Silvia Salvaggio e Elisa Varvarito, thanks to the collaboration with Manifatture Digitali Cinema Prato di Fondazione Sistema Toscana
Assistant of the Choreographer: Adriano Popolo Rubbio
Lights: Alessandro Caso
Production: Sosta Palmizi, KOMOCO/ Sofia Nappi
Co-production: La Biennale di Venezia, COLOURS – International Dance Festival, Centro Coreográfico Canal
redency supported by Orsolina 28, Centro di Residenza della Toscana (Fondazione Armunia Castiglioncello – CapoTrave/Kilowatt Sansepolcro), Opus Ballet Firenze, Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Madrid

Selected for Bando Abitante/ Centro Nazionale di Produzione della Danza Virgilio Sieni e Fondazione CR Firenze

Thanks to PARC Performance Arts Research Centre di Firenze