Florence Dance Festival’s Summer Evening Magic

 

Until July 24, 2025: FLORENCE DANCE FESTIVAL. Major Cloister of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella 18. 9:30 pm. Tickets from €25.   

This summer, the Florence Dance Company will showcase over a dozen artistic performances in a multitude of styles, from ballet to contemporary to Flamenco. The month-long festival showcases dance companies from all over the world, its dazzling events performed by both well-known and up-and-coming dancers. The full summer programme can be found at https://www.florencedancefestival.org/spettacoli/. 

Tickets can be purchased online or an hour and a half before each show, at the entrance to the Basilica. For further information, consult the festival’s website. It is also possible to call Florence Dance Company at +39 055.289276, and to email either festival@florencedance.org or info@florencedance.org. 

2025 is the first year that the Florence Dance Performing Arts Festival has no overall theme. Instead, as Keith Ferrone, co-founder and artistic director of the Festival, explains, the idea is to “concentrate only on the idea that the Festival is at the wonderful courtyard of Santa Maria Novella.”

The Basilica, a “marvellous Renaissance jewel of Florence” is thus brought to life “through a new renaissance: the arts, culture, and dance.” The Basilica’s magnificent Major Cloister is home to a unique 14-metre, circular stage. The audience is then seated up “in a bleacher kind of setting” and can therefore spectate performances from a height. 

Aside from this year’s sold-out performance of the Antonio Gades company’s Carmen (June 28), a well-loved Flamenco adaptation of the 19th century French opera, I asked Keith: which of the events does he recommend? 

“I would say that someone who, for the first time or doesn’t know much about dance, can feel free about choosing any evening because there’ll be something that’s going to be worthwhile,” he said.

Fans of contemporary dance will particularly enjoy Ripple and The Fracture of Lights (July 1), performed by the Yue Yin Dance Company (USA). Ripple’s “movement represents the spectrum between order and chaos” (florencedancefestival.org), while The Fracture of Light’s dynamic performance showcases choreographer and artistic director Yin Yue’s original FoCo Technique, a contemporary form of dance rooted in Chinese classical and folk dance. 

One performance to an eye out for is Isacco, Il Figlio Imperfetto (July 3) retells the Biblical story of Abraham and the almost-sacrifice of his son Isaac. 

An experienced choreographer himself, Keith worked on this adaptation with composer Andrea Portera. But “the more that I worked on it, the more I felt that I was Isaac and Isaac was me”.

The co-founder of the Festival thus portrayed Isaac himself, dying his hair grey for the part. As he worked on the performance, Keith’s connection to the character and to the re-interpretation of the Biblical story deepened.

The piece’s composer and star wished to reimagine the story. “Everybody knows that Isaac was called to the mountain because God said, Abraham will sacrifice your son. But was it really that or was there other things involved? Why did it happen? What were the consequences?

“We worked on that, literally and also in a contemporary sense… Isaac was reborn through our eyes with a whole new interpretation”: in this performance, there are multiple hands intervening to stop Abraham sacrificing his son, rather than simply that of God. These hands connect in harmony, creating a lasting impression of peace as a universal symbol that can always be found.

“That’s why I feel like I’m a privileged artist, because I can discuss themes and work through philosophy, social, cultural aspects… it’s a privilege, but it also has its responsibility”.

Dance is more than just an art form: it is a universal language, able to artistically depict significant contemporary matters and universal themes. 

Since its foundation in 1990, the Florence Dance Performing Arts Festival has emphasised the importance of granting young people, including “upcoming choreographers, composers, and dancers,” the possibility to “express their artistic interests” in dances showcased to the audience. 

Twilight in the Round is the perfect example of this. This is the fourth year of the programme, the “product of a call for artists” sent out in January. 

“People from young companies from all around the world send their videos for evaluation”, Keith explained. Dancers “share their artistry, they share their work, they share their opinions, discuss dance, see each other on stage, and live here in Florence for some days all together… there’s a really big life of community involvement.” Those chosen, around a third of auditionees, then perform in the festival on July 20. 

Other highlights of the festival include Lewis Major Project’s Cartography of Light (July 22) a “technically intricate” performance exploring the intangible power that connects us. The show promises to be “a poetic exploration of distance and desire, light and loss” (https://www.florencedancefestival.org/event/lewis_major_project-triple_bill/) 

Ballet lovers should be sure to book tickets for the Balletto di Venezia’s Stelle di Domani (July 23), directed by Alessio Carbone. The magical performance is brought to life by young talent from Italy, France, the USA, Turkey, Argentina, Japan, and Sweden, trained at the best European dance schools.

The Florence Dance festival offers the perfect opportunity to celebrate summer and the magic of dance.  (Keziah McCann)