Animal Science
by Sayoko Onishi
Site-specific Butoh performance by worldwide known choreographer and performer Sayoko Onishi, music by Tony Lloyd.
Mesh
The work of Matteo Levaggi combines the double influence of Balanchine and Cunningham and adds an astute topical touch to this solid theoretical/esthetic base. Like his contemporaries Benjamin Millepied, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne MacGregor, and before them Angelin Preljocaj, he bears the legacy of these masters in his genes. Mesh, a show specially created for the Centro Pecci of Prato, captures both movement, film projections, sound effects, and scenic elements. The choreography creates a link between the dancing body and nature, which is represented here by objects/junk, creating an atmospheric, visionary landscape. With these emotionally-charged elements, we meet again on stage the “artistic couple” Matteo Levaggi and Elisabetta Guttuso, who made their debut at the 21st Milan Triennale at the Pirelli Hangar Bicocca in the piece Yvonne, with the Ensemble Sentieri Selvaggi.
role. head of programming - theatre and dance
sector. performing arts workshop and performance
date. 2017
venue. Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art, Prato (Italy)
I'm an independent Curator, Programmer and Producer with fifteen years of experience in international projects. After the Master in Arts Management from the University of Bologna and Greenwich University, I started my career in London in the field of visual arts, but I very soon discovered my love and passion for performing arts devoting then my professional path to new media, performing arts (music, dance, theatre) and interdisciplinary art practices. Over the years, I curated projects for cultural institutions including theatre venues, international festivals, museums and planning agencies (among others Quartier21 (Austria), Kunst-Stoffe (Germany), Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art (Latvia), Helsinki City Art Museum (Finland), Italian Embassy in Singapore (Singapore), Fondazione Sistema Toscana (Florence, Italy), Florence Dance Festival (Florence, Italy), the Euro-Mediterranean Festival (Syracuse, Italy), Uffizi Gallery (Florence, Italy), Ravello Festival (Ravello, Italy), Daniele Cipriani Entertainment (Rome, Italy), Teatro Cantiere Florida (Florence, Italy), Rome Opera Theatre (Rome, Italy), Florence Opera Theatre (Florence, Italy), Madre Museum (Naples, Italy).
In 2016 I was appointed Head of Programming for Theatre and Dance at Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato (one of the most important contemporary art museums in central Italy). Moreover, from 2017 onward I developed the multimedia project L'Ultima dei Medici promoted by UNESCO. After spending nearly a decade working in Italy I moved to Singapore in 2018 and started a new chapter of my career devoted to international projects and collaborations between Europe and Asia. Since then I worked in conjunction with local institutions such as the Singapore Design Week, T.H.E. Dance Company, M1 CONTACT Festival, the Embassy of Italy in Singapore and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). From 2019 I have been invited as Guest Programmer at CROSS Festival (Verbania, Italy) to curate the Asian section of the festival and to coordinate projects and collaborations with Asian artists and entities. In 2020, despite the worldwide pandemic, I have been working as producer of CRISOL-East Asia Path, a participatory workshop that gathers together performing artists from Italy, Singapore, Macao, Hong Kong, China and India.
I am also a guest lecturer at Lasalle College of the Arts (Singapore) and University of Bologna (Italy). Over the years I collaborated with countless international artists from all art sectors, among others:
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Ryoji Ikeda, Choy Ka Fai, Rianto, Surjit Nongmeikapam, Tien Hsiao-tzu, Kim Jae-duk (Cross Festival, 2020)
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Anindita Gosh, Noel Pong, Er Gao, Albert Garcia, Jereh Leung (Crisol Project 2020)
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T.H.E Dance Company (International Projects, 2019)
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Ryoichi Kurokawa, Kenji Yanobe, Andrei Kuzkin (Unesco project, 2018/2019)
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Gianni Pettena, Franco Raggi, Francesca Molteni (Singapore Design Week, 2019)
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Jerome Bell (Pecci Center for Contemporary Arts, 2017)
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Lee Yanor (Madre Museum, 2017)
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Michael Nyman, Jirí Kylián, Frank Andersen, Compagnie Marie Chouinard (Positano Premia la Danza, 2017)
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Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten, Pippo del Bono, Dewey Dell (Pecci Center for Contemporary Arts, 2016)
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Ido Tadmor, Zawirowania Dance Theatre, Aura Dance Theatre (Cantiere Florida Theatre, 2015)
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Trisha Brown (Palazzo Strozzi Museum, 2015)
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Ana Laguna, Christopher Wheeldon (Positano Premia la Danza, 2014)
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New York City Ballet (Bargello Museum, 2014 and Pizza della Signoria, 2013)
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Opéra de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, Hamburg Ballet (Greek Theatre of Siracusa, 2014)
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Danilo Rea (Salone dei Cinquecento, 2014)
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Creatmosphere (Arno river, 2014)
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Martha Graham Dance Company (Greek Theatre of Siracusa, 2012)
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Alicia Alonso, Saburo Teshigawara Company, Christopher Wheeldon (Positano Premia la Danza, 2012)
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Doris Humphrey, Alvin Ailey (Rome Opera Theatre, 2012)
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La Masquerade, Zsuzsanna Ardò, D-fuse (Creativity Festival, 2009)

Timeline
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October 2019 – Today . FONDAZIONE FABBRICA EUROPA
International co-production project
Project Manager of Crisol-East Asia Path project
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January 2022 – September 2022 . ITALIAN EMBASSY IN SINGAPORE
Cultural Office, Singapore
Curator and Producer​ of SUBSTANCE exhibition
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September 2018 – September 2022 . T.H.E. DANCE COMPANY
Contemporary Dance Company, Singapore
International Projects Coordinator
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June 2019 – November 2021 . CROSS FESTIVAL
Performing Arts Festival, Verbania (Italy)
Guest Programmer, Asian Focus
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July 2017 – September 2021 . UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Producer and Curator, video project L'Ultima de' Medici
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October 2019 . LASALLE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS
Post-secondary arts institution, Singapore
Guest Lecturer​
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July 2018 – March 2019 . ITALIAN EMBASSY IN SINGAPORE
Cultural Office, Singapore
Curator and Producer​ of Italian Radical Design project
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July 2017 – April 2018 . RAVELLO FESTIVAL
Dance Festival, Naples (Italy)
Vice Art Director for dance
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July – December 2017 . COREOGRAFO ELETTRONICO
VideoDance Prize, Naples (Italy)
Managing Director and Jury member
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January 2016 – December 2017 . CENTRO PER L'ARTE CONTEMPORANEA LUIGI PECCI
Contemporary art museum, Prato (Italy)
Head of Programming, Theatre and Dance
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July – October 2017, 2014, 2012 . POSITANO PREMIA LA DANZA
International Dance Event, Naples (Italy)
Managing Director
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January 2013 – July 2017 . VERSILIADANZA | TEATRO CANTIERE FLORIDA
Contemporary Dance Company | Performing Arts Venue, Florence (Italy)
Managing Director and Senior Programmer​
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March 2013 – December 2015 . FONDAZIONE SISTEMA TOSCANA
Regional government agency for cultural projects, Florence (Italy)
Curator and Managing Director, Milan EXPO 2015 - Universal Exposition
​Curator and Producer, Internet Festival 2014 and 2013 editions
​Curator, opening of cultural center ZAP
​Curator, Festival d’Europa 2013 edition​
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April – July 2014 . FESTIVAL EURO-MEDITERRANEO
Festival held at the Greek Theatre, Siracusa (Italy)
Guest Curator
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February – April 2014 . NOTTE BIANCA
Free overnight arts presented by Municipality of Florence (Italy)
Senior Programmer and Producer
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May 2013 – July 2015 . FLORENCE DANCE FESTIVAL
Dance Festival, Florence (Italy)
Senior Programmer and Producer
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December 2011 – May 2013 . DANIELE CIPRIANI ENTERTAINMENT
Dance agency and producer, Rome (Italy)
Managing Director
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May – December 2011 . TEATRO DEL MAGGIO MUSICALE FIORENTINO
Opera Theatre, Florence
Assistant Fund Raising Manager​
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January – May 2011 . FFW
Communication agency, Florence
Senior Project Manager​
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August 2008 – October 2009 . FONDAZIONE SISTEMA TOSCANA
Regional government agency for cultural projects, Florence
Curator and Producer, Festival della Creatività 2009 edition
Producer, Voglio Vivere Così Tuscan Region promotional campaign event, Berlin
​Junior Programmer, art center Casa della Creatività
​Artistic Director assistant, Festival della Creatività 2008 edition​
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March – August 2008 . FABBRICA EUROPA FESTIVAL
Performing arts festival, Florence (Italy)
Artistic Director assistant, 2008 edition​
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January – March 2008 . INIVA Insitute of International Visual Arts
Cultural Institution, London (UK)
Education and Learning Manager assistant
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January – March 2008 . FA PROJECT GALLERY
Art Gallery, London (UK)
Art Gallery assistant
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