On tour on the island for the Great Dance Season organized by CeDAC / Multidisciplinary Circuit of Live Entertainment in Sardinia chaired by Antonio Cabiddu, comes the ballet of the famous Italian-Egyptian, half-Sardinian choreographer, Mvula Sungani “Sabir / Mediterranean journey” : it is the new creation of the brilliant artist born to a mother from Nuoro who will debut in the regional premiere this evening, Tuesday 9 January, at 9pm at the Teatro Comunale of Sassari, with performances tomorrow at 9pm at the Teatro del Carmine in Tempio Pausania, the day after tomorrow at 9pm at the Teatro Comunale di San Gavino Monreale, to close on the weekend on Friday 12 January at 9pm at the Teatro Centrale in Carbonia and finally on Saturday 13 January at 8.30pm (without subscription) at the Teatro Massimo in Cagliari.

A compelling work to address, through the evocative and metaphorical language of art, a delicate and complex theme of pressing relevance, such as the phenomenon of contemporary exodus strongly desired in the program by the artistic director of Cedac Valeria Ciabattoni.

“Sabir”, with a title that refers to the lingua franca of the ports of the “mare nostrum” in use between the 11th and 19th centuries, a sort of “Esperanto” that allowed people of different origins, merchants, sailors and slaves, to communicate with each other, is a refined score for bodies in movement, on the soundtrack developed and performed live by the composer and multi-instrumentalist Ermanno Petringa, including original songs, popular music and Mediterranean echoes: an imaginative and evocative story for paintings, with a strong impact visual and emotional, between abstract geometries and arcane symbols, alongside traditional dances, sensual embraces and mysterious rites.

The flow of people arriving at the borders of the Western world, attracted by the mirage of well-being and wealth, often driven by ongoing conflicts in numerous regions of the planet, as well as environmental catastrophes, represents a crucial issue to be reckoned with, between purely "economic" and political considerations in the face of a more human sensitivity and a feeling of solidarity: the choice to stem the waves of migration, in addition to worsening the situation for a multitude of "illegal immigrants", produces side effects such as shipwrecks and tragedies of the sea, which add to the horrors of captivity for those who are surprised and stopped along the way or who are about to set sail.

Protagonists, for a wordless, emblematic and evocative narration, entrusted to the grammar of the bodies and the expressive strength of the gestures, in an alternation of intense pas de deux and animated "choral" scenes, ancestral memories and anticipations of the future, the extraordinary étoile Emanuela Bianchini, who signs the choreography together with Mvula Sungani, the first dancer Damiano Grifoni and the soloists of the Mvula Sungani Physical Dance composed of Adele Falcone, Beatrice De Santis, Marta Todini, Ester Grandi and Mario Consolazio.

Mvula Sungani builds a symbolic plot, with the unmistakable signature of physical dance, to suggest a reflection on the extraordinary potential and opportunities for growth and mutual enrichment that arise from integration and interaction between peoples.

«With its great millenary cultural differences, starting from ancient Rome, in which people from all over the empire lived, passing through the dominations that followed until the birth of the nation, and arriving at the immigrations of today – underlines Sungani who also directs the ballet – Italy has sublimated diversity by constituting a great artistic-cultural heritage unique in the world."

Mvula Sungani, dancer and choreographer, performed from a very young age alongside artists such as Ginger Rogers, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown and Stevie Wonder and with active collaborations with directors such as Franco Zeffirelli, Mauro Bolognini, Jérôme Savary and Hugo de Ana, as well as Nanni Loy and Mario Monicelli, and numerous television appearances, after her debut in competitive artistic gymnastics, she discovered her vocation for the art of Terpsichore, studying classical and modern dance in Italy and abroad and then discovering the technique created by Lester Horton through the teachings of Alvin Ailey, who inspired him to give life to physical dance.

In 1992 he began his career as a choreographer and founded the company that bears his name: among his creations, “Tra terra e cielo”, commissioned by Vittoria Ottolenghi, followed by choreographies for the Corps de Ballet of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and for étoiles such as Roberto Bolle, Emanuela Bianchini, Raffaele Paganini, Isabelle Ciaravola, Giuseppe Picone, Alessio Carbone, Amilcar Moret Gonzalez.

An eclectic artist, he ranges across different territories: in the fashion sector he collaborates with Roberta Di Camerino, Cartier and Marco Coretti and in the musical field with Marlene Kuntz, Enzo Gragnaniello, Patti Pravo, Fiorella Mannoia, Francesco Renga, Ron, Fabrizio Bosso, Simone Cristicchi, Massimo Ranieri, Antonella Ruggiero and Sergio Cammariere.

On television he takes care of the choreography for programs such as "Una notte per Caruso" (2009-15) and for the New Year's Concert at the Fenice in Venice (2010-13).

Among the various awards and recognitions, the Medal of Rome Capital reserved for cultural excellence, the Crest of the Italian Red Cross, "The man of the year" for the Ilica Awards (Italian Language Inter-Cultural Alliance) in New York and the Medal of 'Gold of the United States Congress.

An international dance celebrity with Sardinia in his blood and heart.

LP

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