Dance master classes in the theatre’s ballroom with international celebrities from the historic Nervi Festival, flash mobs, photo shoots and filming in the Nervi Parks with local students in dialogue with historical images, Mario Porcile Award at the Teatro della Gioventù for the review of dance schools in homage to the founder, viewing of historical films of the festival open to the public.
The Memorial of the International Ballet Festival ‘Il sogno di Nervi’, dedicated to the memory of Mario Porcile, to the historic event and to its Stars, features not only the great artists who took part in it but also the young men and women of today’s dance, who are offered scholarships in international academies and opportunities for fun confrontation with historical memory.
Produced by the Cultural Association D’Angel – Angeli della Danza e dello Spettacolo under the artistic direction of Simona Griggio in collaboration with Nervi Music Ballet Festival 2024, Fondo Mario Porcile – Cro.me Cronaca e memoria dello Spettacolo supported by the Ministry of Culture, and under the patronage of Uisp Regionale Liguria, the Memorial was created with the intention of transmitting the memory of the Festival to the new generations by linking it to the present.
The programme, spread over three days of events, begins on 14 June in the ballroom of the Teatro Carlo Felice with master classes by three international artists who are testimonials of the Festival:
Paola Cantalupo, from Genoa, étoile of the Ballets de Monte Carlo now at the helm of the Pôle national supérieur de danse Rosella Hightower in Cannes and the Centre international de danse in Marseille,
Loredana Furno, former prima ballerina at the Teatro Regio in Turin and then founder of the Balletto Teatro di Torino and the Festival Danza alla Fortezza del Priamar in Savona and Acqui in Palcoscenico, has just been made a Cavaliere della Repubblica.
Pompea Santoro, for 25 years prima ballerina in the Swedish Culberg Ballet company directed by choreographer Matt Ek, was the celebrated star of many of his creations, including the memorable ‘Giselle’ and ‘Carmen’. In 2012, she founded ‘Pompea Santoro EkoDance Project’ in Turin, an advanced training project with the company of the same name recognised by Mic and Regione Piemonte.
Simone Maier, choreographer and dancer with a diploma from La Scala in Milan, director of the Mechanical Monkeys company, is the voice of the contemporary scene in the area.
On the day of the master class, a moment will be devoted to Furno, Santoro and Cantalupo’s account of their experience of the Festival to the young people.
On 15 June, the Memorial moves to Genoa’s Teatro della Gioventù for an evening of entertainment, organised by the D’Angel association, dedicated to Ligurian schools. The ‘Homage to Mario Porcile’ review is enriched by the Mario Porcile Prize established by the D’Angel association, with Luciana Savignano as godmother. On the committee, to award prizes to the best choreography and to some young talents and scholarships will be, with Luciana, Loredana Furno and Maurizio Tamellini, former dancer at the Teatro alla Scala and soloist of the Ballet National de Marseille Roland Petit, Ballet Classique de Paris, Teatro Comunale di Firenze, Arena di Verona.
The evening will be preceded by a meeting open to the public entitled “All’ombra della luna” (In the Shadow of the Moon), featuring historical images of the Festival, some still unpublished, taken from the Mario Porcile Fund, with Luciana Savignano on stage to comment and reminisce.
The Mario Porcile Award is supported by DellaLò, a leading company in the handcrafted production of dancewear founded by Lorella Ferraro, a former La Scala dancer, who explains: “Our membership is the fruit of the sartorial art handed down from generations of women to a child fascinated by the world of dance. DellaLò’s affinity with the exhibition in homage to Mario Porcile can be summed up in a vision of dance that does not forget the past but looks to the future.”
On 16 June, the final day of the Memorial will take place at the Nervi Parks with a morning of photo shoots and filming of the youngsters, realised by director Alessandro Zunino, in the wake of the historic shots of Lido and Lidova from the Festival’s golden days, which were transferred to the Mario Porcile Fund after the maestro’s death, and with an afternoon of flash mobs inspired by ‘West Side Story’, the musical that Porcile brought to Nervi in 1981. The choreography and coordination are by Angela Galli, teacher and director of the dance school founded by Maestro Porcile in Via Luccoli 23.
With the reconstruction of the historical and living memory of the Nervi Festival and its transmission to the new generations, ‘The Dream of Nervi’ is the passing on of Mario Porcile’s dream to the new generations.
PROGRAM
FRIDAY 14 JUNE
A day of master classes at the ballroom of the Carlo Felice Theatre
– 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. / 12:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Loredana Furno (master class children ages 9-12).
– 2:30-4 p.m. Paola Cantalupo (classic boys 13 and up, with a moment focused on the choreography of Bournonville’s “Infiorata in Genzano”).
– 4:15-6 p.m. Pompea Santoro (ballet technique imprinted with new choreographic languages, with a moment devoted to choreography of Mats Ek’s “Giselle,” kids 13 and up).
– 6.00 p.m.-6.30 p.m. the stars tell the children about their experiences at the historic festival
• – 6.30 p.m. / 8.00 p.m. Simone Maier (floor work children).
SATURDAY 15 JUNE
– 17:30-18:30 Free meeting open to the public with viewing of historical images and films from the Fondo Mario Porcile with Luciana Savignano: ‘All’ombra della luna’.
– 8.30 p.m. (free admission subject to availability).
Review of Ligurian schools ‘Homage to Mario Porcile’ and Mario Porcile Award
SUNDAY 16 JUNE
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Nervi Parks
Shooting and filming, in the rose garden area, of Ligurian dance students inspired by the Festival’s historical memory.
3.30 p.m. and 4 p.m.: flash mob of the dance students inspired by the musical “West Side Story, in the lawns adjacent to the entrance from the station.
