Balletto di Roma
The Balletto di Roma was founded in 1960 by the artistic partnership between two icons of Italian dance: Franca Bartolomei, a dancer and choreographer in major opera houses, and étoile Walter Zappolini, for fifteen years director of the Dance School of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. Throughout its 61 years of existence, the Ballet of Rome has seen a succession of prestigious collaborations and multiple creative souls that have contributed to the growth of its production activity, both in terms of quantity and quality of the works staged, with a growing public consensus. It is because of the extraordinariness of the events as well as the remarkable demand that Balletto di Roma presents part of its repertoire every year, enriched by new full-night productions. In the three-year period 2015-2017, under the artistic leadership of Roberto Casarotto, director of contemporary dance festivals and expert curator of international projects, Balletto di Roma has strengthened research projects and collaborations that have allowed it to best combine tradition with innovation and to develop the Company’s presence in Europe and around the world. Over time, the Roman group has built an ensemble of high technical and interpretative level producing a repertoire of high artistic value and welcoming numerous choreographers, including young and emerging ones. Starting in the 2018-2020 triennium, general director Luciano Carratoni brings a significant generational change at the top of the structure by appointing Francesca Magnini, a professor at Sapienza University of Rome, as artistic director. The new artistic figure strengthens schemes and expands internationalization goals by involving entities and institutions, active in an important growth process to combine tradition with innovation and to develop the Compagnia’s presence in Europe and around the world.
Collaborations also include one with the Department of History, Anthropology, Religions, Art and Performance of the University of Rome “La Sapienza,” which is committed to carrying out joint project activities that start from training in the field of dance and theatrical performance and go on to implement the practices of production and live performance. Among the European projects are “CLASH! When classic and contemporary dance collide and new forms emerge” (Creative Europe, 2018-2020), which is based on networking among selected partners in order to share ideas and artists in Europe, co-produce, create strategies on audience development and/or new cultural business models, and ‘UP2Dance_updating professional profiles towards contemporary dance’ (Erasmus+, 2019-2021).
Collaborations also include one with the Department of History, Anthropology, Religions, Art and Performance of the University of Rome “La Sapienza,” which is committed to carrying out joint project activities that start from training in the field of dance and theatrical performance and go on to implement the practices of production and live performance. Among the European projects are “CLASH! When classic and contemporary dance collide and new forms emerge” (Creative Europe, 2018-2020), which is based on networking among selected partners in order to share ideas and artists in Europe, co-produce, create strategies on audience development and/or new cultural business models, and ‘UP2Dance_updating professional profiles towards contemporary dance’ (Erasmus+, 2019-2021).
