Gianfranco Paoluzi
EditGIANFRANCO PAOLUZI ARCHITECT-DANCER-CHOREOGRAPHER. HE IS A GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY ” LA SAPIENZA ” IN ROMA WHERE HE RECEIVED A DOCTORATE IN ARCHITECTURE WITH A THESIS ON THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE-DANCE AND MUSIC. HIS FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH THE THEATER,,TOOK PLACE WHEN HE PLAYED THE ROLE OF NINETTO IN ” UCCELLACCI E UCCELLINI” BY PIER PAOLO PASOLINI ,WITH TEATRO UNIVERSITARIO DI PARMA ,DIRECTED BY BOGDAN JERKOVIC- ( WROCLAW POLAND AND THE BIENNALE THEATER FESTIVAL IN VENICE ),HE WORKED WITH THE COMPOSER GIORGIO GASLINI IN HIS OPERA ” UN QUARTO DI VITA ” STAGED BY LUCIANO DAMIANI,( TEATRO REGIO-PARMA).
GIANFRANCO PAOLUZI STUDIED CLASSICAL BALLET WITH ALEXANDER MINZ, EUGENIJ POLIAKOV ,WLADIMIR LUPOV, GEORGINA PARKINSON AND STANLEY WILLIAMS. IN ITALY STARTED HIS CAREER WORKING WITH THE GHOREOGRAPHER SUSANNA EGRI . SHE CREATED FOR HIM THE BALLET “HANYSTOK”(mus.B.BARtock) AND “NOBILISSIMA VISIONE ” (mus.P.HINDEMITH) . OTHER EGRI’S BALLETS INCLUDED “THE PRODIGAL SON “(ethnic music from Israel) ” METEMORFOSI “(mus.B.BRITTEN) “SONARTA A TRE” (mus:A: VIVALDI) “ANIMISMO”(mus. Percussions)
IN ITALY HE WORKED ALSO WITH THE CHOREOGRAPHER AUREL M. MILLOSS WHO INVITED HIM TO DANCE THE ROLE OF THE MANDARIN IN HIS MASTERPIECE BALLET ” THE MIRACULOUS MANDARIN” (mus.B.BARTOK). THE AMERICAN CHOREOGRAPHER MARCIA PLEVIN CREATED FOR HIM THE BALLET “OVUNQUE “(mus.A:CURRAN),ON THE OCCASION OF THE FIRST ’ DANCE MARATHON ’ AT THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL 1977.
MR.PAOLUZI WORKED WITH SOME OF THE MOST PRESTIGEOUS EUROPEAN BALLET COMPANIES SUCH AS THE SWEDISH COMPANY CULLBERG BALLET ( ARTISTIC DIREDTOR BIRGIT CULLBERG) WHERE HE DANCED THE ROLE OF MERCUTIO IN ” ROMEO AND JULIET “(mus.S.PROKOVIEV) AND ” THE SCHOOL OF WIFES “(mus.G. ROSSINI) BOTH BY BIRGIT CULLBERG – “POEM TO JOY”( mus.J.S.BACH) BY THE AMERICAN CHOREOGRAPHER LAR LUBOVITCH,”THE OFFICER’S SERVANT” BY MATZ EK AND IN “THE FIREBIRD “( mus. I: STRAVINSKY) BY MAURICE BEJART.( FOR HIS EXPIRIENCE WITH THE CULLBERG BALLET HE RECEIVED THE POSITANO AWARD 1978).
HE MOVED THEN TO HOLLAND WHERE HE DANCED WITH THE DUTCH NATIONAL BALLET – ( ARTISTIC DIRECTOR RUDY VAN DANTZIG ) HE DANCED IN ” THE PRODIGAL SON ” BY G. BALANCHINE (mus;S. PROKOVIEV).
IN ENGLAND MR. PAOLUZI DANCED WITH THE BALLET RAMBERT ( ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JOHN CHESWORTH) , WHERE THE AMERICAN CHOREOGRAPHER GLEN TETLEY CREATED FOR HIM THE ROLE OF ARIEL IN HIS FULLENGHT BALLET “THE TEMPEST “(mus.A. NORDHEIM) . THE CHOREOGRAPHER CHRISTOPHER BRUCE CREATED FOR HIM THE ROLE OF ARLECCHINO IN THE BALLET ” NIGTH WITH WAINING MOON” (mus.G:CRUMB) AND ” SIDE WALK”; (mus.C.LAMBERRT). WITH BALLET RAMBERT, HIS REPERTOIRE INCLUDED ALSO MR. TETLEY’S ” EMBRACE TIGER AND RETURN TO THE MOUNTAIN “(mus.M.SUBTONICK) – ” RAG DANCES ” (mus. A. HYMAS)- ” ZIGGURAT “(mus.K. STOCKHAUSEN).
MR PAOLUZI MOVED THEN TO NEW YORK WHERE HE DANCED WITH THE ELIOT FELD BALLET .THE CHOREOGRAPHER ELIOT FELD CREATED FOR HIM “STRAW HEARTS ”; (mus.ARBAN BUTCHEL CLARKE FILLMORE HOLME PRYOR).FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF THIS ROLE MR. PAOLUZI WAS DESIGNATED ” THE BEST OF THE YEAR ”; BY THE NEW YORK TIMES DANCE CRITIC ANNA KISSELGOFF AND RECEIVED FROM MAESTRO GIANCARLO MENOTTI THE GOLD MEDAL OF THE PEGASO PRIZE AT THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL OF TWO WORLDS (1983).WITH THE FELD BALLET
MR. PAOLUZI DANCED ALSO : “THREE DANCES “(mus.J.CAGE) ” THEATER” (mus.R:STRAUSS)“A FOOTSTEP OF AIR”; (mus.L.V.BEETHOVEN)- ” THE COSORT” ( Renaissance music)- ” PAPILLON” (mus. J. OFFENBACH).
IN NEW YORK, HE JOINED THE COMPANY OF MARTHA CLARKE. WITH HER, HE COLLABORATED TO THE CREATION OF THE DANCE-THEATER PIECE
” VIENNA:LUSTHAUS” ( OBIE AWARD).
GIANFRANCO PAOLUZI MADE HIS DEBUT AS CHOREOGRAPHER AT THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL OF TWO WORLDS 1977 WITH THE BALLET ” LE NOZZE CHIMICHE” (mus.A. CURRAN) AND ” RIBELLE NELL’‘ANIMA” (mus.A. WEBERN) -.,SPOLETO FESTIVAL 1981. OTHER CREATIONS INCLUDE
” IL TRAMONTO” (mus.O. RESPIGHI) -FESTIVAL DELLE NAZIONI.“THE SHADOWS OF IDEAS” ( mus.A CURRAN) FOR THE BALLET RAMBERT . – “ELYSIOS” (mus.G. GAZZOLA ) , “MUSICA SULL’‘ACQUA” (mus.G.F.HAENDEL) ,.”VIDEO DREAM” (mus.P:GLASS )- FOR THE BALLETTO DI TOSCANA.- “LA GIARA” A DANCE-THEATER WORK IN WICH MR.PAOLUZI EXPLORES THE WORLD OF LUIGI PIRANDELLO (mus.A. CASELLA) – TEATRO REGIO TORINO,” SHRI “(mus.G.GAZZOLA) BALLETTO KOROS, ” GRAN BALLO SPORT”(mus.R. MARENCO) MAGGIO MUSICALE FIORENTINO-MAGGIODANZA,
” DAS MARIENLEBEN ” (mus.P. HINDEMITH , TEXT BY R.M.RILKE and HETTY HILLESUM) MAGGIO MUSICALE FIORENTINO-MAGGIODANZA. FOR THIS WORK MR. PAOLUZI RECEIVED THE LEONIDE MASSINE AWARD FOR CHOREOGRAPHY (POSITANO 1994). THE BALLET WAS CREATED FOR CARLA FRACCI .FOR HER AND IN COLLABORATION WITH BEPPE MENEGATTI, MR. PAOLUZI CREATED ALSO A NEW VERSION OF ” THE FAIRY KISS “(mus. I STRAVINSKY) -ENTE LIRICO ARENA DI VERONA, – ” FRANCESCA DA RIMINI ” (mus. P.J. TCHAIKOWSKY), -TEATRO G. VERDI TRIESTE.
HE COLLABORATED ALSO WITH COSTA GAVRAS AT THE TEATRO S. CARLO IN NAPOLI FOR THE DANCES IN THE OPERA “IL MONDO DELLA LUNA” (mus.F.J.HAYDN), WITH MARCO FERRERI IN ” YERMA ” BY GARCIA LORCA ( RAI TELEVISION), WITH MARCO BELLOCCHIO IN HIS MOVIE “NEL NOME DEL PADRE”,WITH GIANCARLO MENOTTI IN HIS PLAY ” THE LEPER ” (SPOLETO FESTIVAL), WITH AUGUSTO ZUCCHI IN ” BASILIO E L’AMICO METRO ” ( ROMA
G. PAOLUZI STARTED A COLLABORATION WITH THE DUTCH COMPANY INTRODANS (Artistic Directors TON WIGGERS and HANS FOCKING) STAGING HIS BALLET ” ELYSIOS”( VIII FEsTIvAL DE LA DANSE DE CANNES-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JORGOS LOUKOS) AND CREATING NEW BALLETS LIKE ” THE INVISIBLE CITIES” (mus. GIANANDREA GAZZOLA) ISPIRED TO THE BOOK BY ITALO CALVINO- ” CHANSON DE MELISANDE” ( mus. G. FAURE’‘) AND “MAXIMILIANA OR THE ILLEGAL PRACTICE OF ASTRONOMY “(mus. W. BOYCE), ISPIRED TO THE SURREALISTIC WORK OF ILIA ZDANEVITCH AND MAX ERNST.
GIANFRANCO PAOLUZI WAS APPOINTED ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE AUGSBURG BALLET IN GERMANY. HERE HE CREATED – ” DIFFERENT TRAINS “(mus.S. REICH) “ROSSO SCARLATTI “(mus.A. SCARLATTI) – AND THE FULLENGTH BALLET ” CASANOVA ICOSAMERON” (mus. F.J. HAYDN -G. GAZZOLA) ,ISPIRED TO THE VISIONARY NOVEL ‘ICOSAMERON’ -BY GIACOMO CASANOVA.
