Week 3 of the Florence Dance Festival at Santa Maria Novella
The Florence Dance Festival (FDF) continues into its final two weeks with an exciting line-up of choregraphies. The series began June 22 and will continue through July 24 at Santa Maria Novella’s Great Cloister (Chiostro Grande della Basilica di Santa Maria Novella). Festival organizer Keith Ferrone looks forward to the festival celebrating dance as a form of “universal expression” and its positive impacts, stating: “it can heal, it can inspire, it can make you appreciate your own life better.”
A standout performance this week is:
July 14 – “Suite Escape” by Dynamic Balance (Equilibrio Dinamico)
Dynamic Balance (Equilibrio Dinamico) is an up-and-coming dance company who also performed at last year’s festival. This year, their show features the work of award-winning choreographer Riccardo Buscarini with live music by Benedetto Boccuzzi. Buscarini is an artist committed to continually changing his creative approach to choreography and is particularly interested in dance’s possible interactions with other forms of art.
The show combines recognizable classical music with a contemporary approach, featuring “intricate and complex partner work, in which new balances and forces redefine the relationship between the dancers on stage.”
To further strengthen the bond between the dancers and the audience, festival organizers are also offering a special opportunity for people to purchase group tickets which would include the ability to meet the dancers before the show. In this way, they hope to emphasize the “human aspect” of both the dancers and the audience. Groups of five or more dance-enthusiasts can take part in this program and become a “Wear Art Group.” “Wear Art” is the festival’s theme, an encouragement to audiences to embrace live performances once more. (ann webb)
