Faun*
world premiere for the Belgrade Dance Festival
music: Alva Noto, Ryuichi Sakamoto
choreography: Mauro de Candia, with the dancers
dramaturgy: Patricia Stöckemann
costume design: Majatai Project
lights: Simona Gallo
photos: Arturo Calvanese
dancers: Lisa Mariani, Flavio Ferruzzi, Nadja Güsewell, Luca Tomasoni
duration: 60'
premiere: Belgrade Dance Festival, 2023.
production: Balletto Teatro di Torino
co-production: Belgrade Dance Festival, Fondazione Piemonte dal Vivo, Teatro Pubblico Pugliese - Regional Consortium for Arts and Culture, City of Barletta
The state of limbo between the real and the imaginary, erotic fantasies and sober reality, as described by Mallarmé in his poem “L’apres-midi d’un faune”, inspired Vaslav Nijinsky to create his groundbreaking choreography of the same title. Since then, the theme has been adapted artistically again and again. The fascination it exerts also inspired the Italian choreographer Mauro de Candia to explore this half-animal-half-human figure on the dance stage. In his FAUN*, he cautiously approaches the mysterious essence of this sensual creature of nature that covets reality in order to track down and release its dynamic power. It is the various bodily states and moods of the faun, its metamorphoses, that interest de Candia and which he explores.
Born in 1981, Mauro de Candia began his dance studies at the age of nine his hometown in South of Italy, Barletta. After completing his professional training at the Académie de danse classique Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo with Marika Besobrasova, in 2001 he moved to Germany, where he joined the Staatsballett Hanover under the direction of Stephan Thoss. During his career as a dancer, de Candia had the opportunity to dance in works by Balanchine, Béjart, Thoss, Forsythe, Kylián, Ek, Naharin, Goecke… De Candia was attracted to choreography from a very young age. After his first trials in Monte Carlo and several creations in Hanover, he did concentrate full-time on that since 2008, choreographing for Introdans, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Washington Ballet, Maggio Danza di Firenze, Staatsballett Berlin, among others. He also has been commissioned and produced by international festivals such as Venice Dance Biennale, Dance Open in St. Petersburg, Biarritz’s Le Temps d’Aimer, Bolzano Danza, or the Maracaibo Dance Festival in Venezuela. From 2012 until 2021, he was the artistic director and main choreographer of the Dance Company Theater Osnabrück in Germany. After nine successful seasons, he decided to leave the direction, to be able to devote himself to new artistic challenges. Although he has lived abroad for years, de Candia has always kept a strong connection to his homeland. In Barletta, in 1997, he founded Arte&BallettO, a non-profit organization that initiated the projects such as ApuliArteFestival, International Award ApuliArte, the educational dance program FormAzioneTersicore and his own company Pneuma Dance Theater.
Founded by Loredana Furno in 1979, Balletto Teatro di Torino has marked more than 40 years of ongoing activity of dance, research, experimentation, relationships, collaborations... Since 2016, the company has been directed by Viola Scaglione and currently consists of dancers and performers with a background of important international experiences. Aside from its activities in Italy, specifically Turin, Balletto Teatro di Torino has carried out numerous tours in Europe, USA, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Turkey, Taiwan, China, South Korea… The company is supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Piemonte Region and the City of Turin.
