ŻfinMalta (Malta)

ONES, In the shade of Sandcastles

In a distant tomorrow, where form is all that remains, the quest for meaning resurfaces, challenged by the absence of any references to nature and culture. 'ONES, in the shade of sandcastles' is the journey of two individuals seeking sense amidst form's echoes. By rediscovering our submerged past, nostalgic childhood memories are excavated to replenish our inner resources, shaping new surroundings.

As if adorning a child's bedroom ceiling, let's unearth personal fossils and lay them upon ourselves as enlightening answers, building new bridges of coherence. Artistic Director of ZfinMalta: Paolo Mangiola Choreography: Simon Riccardi-Zani Performers: Lotte La Haye, Amber Van Veen

Music: Dalida, Romantica; Mina, Il cielo in una stanza Choreographer Simon Riccardi-Zani was born in 1998 in Nice, France. He started classical dance aged eight and furthered his studies with programmes at Rosella-Hightower Dance School (Cannes), Princess Grace Academy (Monaco), and Lyon National Conservatoire. Simon began professional classical training at the Opera Ballet School of Paris and later trained in contemporary dance at the Paris National Conservatoire (CNSMDP). He has danced repertoire including Kurt Jooss, Olivier Dubois, Rainer Behr and Pina Baush. Workshops have included Anne Teresa De Keersmaker processes, Gaga techniques, and repertoire by Akram Khan, Angelin Preljocaj, and William Forsythe. Simon joined ŻfinMalta in 2019.

Dancer Lotte La Haye was born in 2000 in The Netherlands. Since 2009 her dance education at The Royal Conservatoire of The Hague has included both the School for Young Talent and the HBO Bachelor Program. From 2014-2018 she was part of the Netherlands Dance Theatre’s (NDT) Young Talent Project, a collaboration between NDT and The Royal Conservatory of The Hague. Here she danced in works from Jiří Kylián, Johan Inger and Ohad Naharin. Lotte became an apprentice with Scapino Ballet Rotterdam in 2018 under the direction of Ed Wubbe. She joined ŻfinMalta in 2021.

Dancer Amber Van Veen was born in 1999 in Amsterdam. She began her training at the Dutch National Ballet Academy and completed her education at the Royal Ballet school of Antwerp. After her graduation in 2018, she enrolled as a trainee with Ballet Flanders, where she had the opportunity to work with choreographers including Akram Khan, Jean-Christophe Maillot and Alexander Ekman, under the artistic direction of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. She was also an apprentice at the International Danstheater in Amsterdam, touring for a year in the Netherlands and Belgium. Amber joined ŻfinMalta in 2019 and has since enjoyed a varied repertoire under the artistic direction of Paolo Mangiola.

Giovanni Insaudo Company (Italy)

I have Seen That Face Before

Insights into the processing of the "end", or "non-end". The moment between the end of a performance, the reunion of the dancers and the meeting with the audience. Is it really a conclusion or are the bows themselves a performance in themselves , an integral part of the performance? Does the performer have the ability to detach from the performance or is the act of being observed an extension of it?

Choreography: Giovanni Insaudo Performers: Sandra Salietti Aguilera, Helias Dorvault

Music: Seen That Face Before, Minus Sixty One - WOODKID 

Giovanni Insaudo Giovanni Insaudo is a freelance choreographer. With his works he has won awards and participated in countless choreographic competitions and has had the opportunity to take his works to various festivals in Spain, Italy, Poland, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland,Taiwan, Israel etc. Giovanni has created new works for: ATERBALLETTO, Roxy Theater Ulm. ZHDK Zurich, Konzert und Theater St.Gallen, Theater Trier, EkoDanceProject, D.a.f, Tanz Luzerner Theater, Gärtnerplatz Theater, Balletto dell'Esperia, Dantzaz, Hung Dance Taiwan. Sandra Salietti Aguilera

Sandra Salietti Aguilera graduates from the dance conservatory in Barcelona. She will dance for prestigious European companies such as: young ballet of Cannes, National Opera of Marseille, Gärtnerplatz Theater, Luzerner Theater and Aterballetto. Sandra has danced works by choreographers such as: Forsythe, Goecke, Morau, Inger, Ekman, Naharin etc.

Helias Dorvault

Helias Dorvault graduated from the Hamburgo Conservatory of Dance. He has danced for top international dance companies including: Hamburg Ballet, NDT2, Riekja Ballet and Aterballetto. Has danced works by choreographers such as: Kylian, Lightfoot/Leon, Naharin, Eyal, Van Mannen, Inger etc.

Supported by the Italian Embassy - Italian Cultural Institute (Valletta) (Istituto Italiano di Cultura La Valletta)

Maciej Kužmiński Company (Poland) Resistance Movement / Рух Oпору

In Resistance Movement, Maciej Kuźmiński works closely with a refugee dancer from Ukraine Daria Koval, documenting her experience of war in voice and movement. “For me this work is very important, because I wanted to tell about the war from my own perspective and share my personal story”, says Daria Koval. Her intention coincided with the one of Maciej Kuzminski, who felt that he should make “a direct statement from a concrete person, because war is not virtual, but affects real individuals”. Choreography: Maciej Kužmiński in collaboration with Daria Koval Performer: Daria Koval Dramaturgy, lighting design: Maciej Kuźmiński Costume design, testimony and voice testimony: Daria Koval

Music: "Europe, After the Rain", Max Richter,

Remixed and edited: Maciej Kuźmiński

La Chachi (Spain)

Taranto Aleatorio

Two women eat pips in a park, or at the door of a house, or in a courtyard. They share a common everyday space, a conversation, the intimacy of silence. Suddenly, the singing and dancing broke the ordinary world and introduced magic. In a suspended, enigmatic time, the choreography is born as a delicate whirl until it becomes a whirlwind. A heel tapping that complains and laughs in a loop. A song that doesn’t stop, that rises upwards and surrounds the space. The Taranto comes from the mining area of Almería. Originally it is a primitive, simple, dry cante (singing), without a guitar.

From silence, without instrumentation, we start a conversation between the voice and the body, letting the random take part. The call to dance explores the quejíos (whining) of the taranto so that the choreographies are transformed by contagion, incorporating everything that arises from dancing and singing. Direction, Creation & Choreography: Maria del Mar suárez Performers: Maria del Mar suárez & Lola Dolores Lighting: Azael FerrerWardrobe: Eva Hurtado Graphic Design: Carmen Moreno Production: May Mora

Music: Lola Dolores

Supported by The Spanish Embassy

Q & R WITH DR KATHRINA FARRUGIA KRIEL

DATES: 25-28 JULY 2024

EVENT: CONVERSATION WITH ALL ARTISTS ATTENDING Q&R.

Author and scholar Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel has taught extensively over the past twenty years on research in dance, approaches for writing dance and performance histories, as well as pedagogy in choreography and ballet. Her books include Princess Poutiatine and the Art of Ballet in Malta (2020) The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Ballet (with Jill Nunes Jensen, 2021), and a new anthology on ballet pedagogy (with Adesola Akinleye). She has also published chapters, essays, and articles on ballet, pedagogy, and choreographic/performance studies, and has authored three webinar series: ‘Pioneers of the Royal Academy of Dance’ (2020), ‘Ballet in the 20th Century’ (2021-22) and ‘Ballet in the 21st Century’ (2022-23). As Head of Research at the Royal Academy of Dance (London), she has curated the Guest Lecture Series. With a global reach, Kathrina has organised conferences in Europe, the USA, and Australia.

Sponsored by APS Bank & Finaro