Silvia Gribaudi: GRAND JETÉ

In light of the “grand jeté” or otherwise the big split in the air, one of the most impressive and virtuosic steps in ballet’s artistry, Silvia Gribaudi’s current choreographic project explores endings as a source for new beginnings.

In GRAND JETÉ Silvia Gribaudi carries out choreographic research into the relationship between performer and audience, starting with the transmission of certain classical dance steps and their meaning.

Pliè, jeté, tour en l’air... words that are often linked to known steps but that can open up other, deeper imaginaries and that in GRAND JETÉ are experienced together with the performers. Silvia Gribaudi, as in the previous shows, develops a choreographic research by choosing to be on stage and dialoguing in the present time with both dancers and audience.

As an attempt to escape from gravity, a “grand jeté” is a transitioning step of a momentary suspension and a “throwing” of one’s self in the air. Exploring the metaphoric meaning of this virtuosic step in everyday life, GRAND JETÉ becomes an opportunity to challenge and revolt against the irreversibility of any end. How much effort does this take-off towards the unknown require and what kind of adventures a landing may bring? Considering this explosive leap, how do we confront failure and take-off anew? Are you ready to make your own ‘ grand jeté’?

Silvia Gribaudi is an Italian choreographer who also specialises in performing arts in general. Since 2004 she has focused her research on the social impact of bodies, having set at the centre of her choreographic language the comic element and the relationship between audience and performers.

MM Contemporary Dance Company, led by choreographer Michele Merola, is one of the top organizations in Italian dance. Founded in 1999 in Reggio Emilia, its repertoire is rich and varied, thanks to the works of its director as well as of European and Italian choreographers.

Born into a family of musicians, Matteo Franceschini began his composition studies with his father later graduating from the « Giuseppe Verdi » Conservatoire in Milan under the guidance of Alessandro Solbiati. Franceschini focuses his research on the theatricality of musical gestures, and on the need to combine different languages together, following the rules of contrast and fusion.