Pupo
concept, choreography: Sofia Nappi and dancers
choreographer’s assistant: Adriano Popolo Rubbio
music: Dead Combo, Jean du Voyage, Irfan, Frédéric Chopin
costume design: Judith Adam
lighting design: Alessandro Caso
sound design: Ed Mars, Sofia Nappi
performers: Arthur Bouilliol, Leonardo de Santis, Gregorio Dragoni, Glenda Gheller, India Guanzini, Paolo Piancastelli, Julie Vivès
duration: 55’
premiere: Schauspiel Köln, 2024
co-production: Burghof Lörrach (DE), Danse Danse Festival Montreal (CA), Escher Theater (LU), MART Foundation (US), Roxy Ulm (DE), Tollhaus Karlsruhe (DE), Shauspiel Koln (DE), Sosta Palmizi (IT), Theater Winterthur (CH)
tour management: ecotopia dance production | with the support of: ResiDance – action of Network Anticorpi XL / Centro di Residenza della Toscana (Armunia – Capotrave/Kilowatt), Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Colonia e del MiC-Direzione Generale Spettacolo, nell’ambito del programma di residenze internazionali della NID Platform
Sofia Nappi's new piece is inspired by Pinocchio and the theme of metamorphosis of the carved wooden puppet is at the center of the piece: how does this slow transformation from one state to another happen? How does the naive child grow up and no longer allow himself to be manipulated by others? In images reminiscent of commedia dell'arte, the Italian choreographer asks herself whether the fantastic fairy tale about lies that are punished, a tale which we like to read to our children, may not in fact be a story for adults - it rather frightened her when she was a child. With minimal gestures and flashing leitmotifs, embedded in the often mirrored, unbridled desire to move of a young person, the choreographer refers to personal growth and gaining of awareness: how the innocent, curious child awakens in the world, how it meets people and plays with them, testing its limits. How then the character encounters the first temptations such as greed, how he is gullibly deceived, comes to terms with himself and finally embraces the power of forgiveness.
Italian choreographer and dancer Sofia Nappi graduated from the New York’s Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and deepened her studies internationally. The close contact with the Hofesh Shechter Dance Company and her studies of Naharin’s Gaga movement played a fundamental role in her training. Nappi is Artistic Director and co-founder of her company Komoco, in which she was supported by the contemporary dance collective Sosta Palmizi and her first muses Adriano Popolo Rubbio and Paolo Piancastelli. Already with her first short works for Komoco, Nappi won different important awards. Later, company made guest appearances in Germany, USA, Mexico, Netherlands, Israel, France, Spain, Belgium, Hungary, as well as at numerous Italian festivals and dance platforms, including the Venice Biennale. In 2022 Nappi premiered with her first full evening production created for Komoco, the quintet “Ima”, currently touring worldwide. She is also pursuing her path as a freelance choreographer with international ballet and dance companies: in 2021, she staged "Holelah", which was previously created for the Venice Biennale, with the Ballet of the State Theater Mannheim. In 2023, she premiered “Tagadà” for the State Ballet Hannover under the direction of Marco Goecke, “Moving Cloud” for the Scottish Dance Theater, and the inclusive project “Kemet” with Introdans. In 2024, the Nederlands Dans Theater 2 has commissioned a new work from her. At the same time, Nappi works on an international level in research and professional training at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, at the Micadanses Dance Research Center at Le Carreau du Temple in Paris, at the Henny Jurriëns Studio in Amsterdam, at Elephant in the Black Box and at Danza180 in Madrid, at Tanzpunkt Hannover, at the D.A.F. Dance Arts Faculty in Rome, at Balletto di Toscana or at Opus Ballet in Florence, always in close collaboration with the dancers of her company.
