Spellbound

Reading the words of Augusto Benemeglio on the life of Rossini, on that “organized madness”, was for me, profoundly and absolutely illuminating.
I was sincerely seduced in continuous, repeated listening to the music by such unbridled genius… In this performance, I imagined a large wall, the wall of Rossini’s memories behind which he was hiding… the house where he hosted his great friends and fellow composers, but also the everyday people he loved to joke with, play with and share all aspects of his life with. I envisioned this “wall” as a projection of his mind, full of windows, shelves, hiding places – a wall which separated one world from another. In this space roamed an occupant, an anthropomorphic gure, black, a stain which took on human similitudes, which communicated with him, which crept into his dreams, crawled into his bed and then disappeared, but which was always there as if to mark the short time, but also the lengthy time… This dark gure was the fear of death, his illness, but also perhaps his advisor, paradoxically at times the only constant.In his long nights, with increasing insomnia, Rossini came to live in two worlds which at times drew closer, almost touching, and only his in nite ability to create, his passion for pleasure, were able to momentarily anesthetize what was happening in his body and his mind. His music was extreme, the mark of a greater force and energy, and I purposely tried to create choreography loaded with energy, vitality, encounters, seduction, suggestions… I spent a lot of time thinking about how to translate his compositional genius into movement. I didn’t feel it was a case of working on abstraction; I sought out and “felt” for how to convey the vibration of his music: I literally let myself be carried away, and it was an entirely unique experience… “Organized madness”… intensity, chaos, dismay, schizoid escape…but by escaping, he created something that never could be repeated after him.
Mauro Astolfi

After a long residency in America, Mauro Astolfi established his Spellbound in Rome, in 1994, company which he runs together with Valentina Marini. Today, the company acts as an inspiration for many young and emerging choreographers and is currently well presented at the international scene having combined Astolfi’s personal portfolio with the technical excellence of his dancers and the quality of productions. Beside his work for Spellbound, Asolfi has created original works for numerous other companies such as BalletX, Szeged Ballet, Balletto di Roma, Ballet Leipzig, Israel Ballet, National Ballet of Colombia… He also teaches extensively all around Italy, as well as in Zurich, London Amsterdam, Tokyo and New York. Since 2016, he is appointed guest teacher for contemporary dance at the Ballet Academy in Rome.