Danza&Danza Awards 2019 announced
The critics of the Italian magazine Danza&Danza (which also has an edition in English) huddle together at the beginning of each year to decided the ‘best’ of the previous year in Italian dance and dance seen in Italy.
The jury, since 1987, has always underlined its objectivity and honesty in its selection of interpreters, productions and choreographers from Italy and abroad.
The prize, from this year named “Premio D&D-Mario Bedendo” after the founder of the prize and the magazine’s first editor, seeks out new talent as well as established names. There is, as always, attention paid to Italian dancers and choreographers who have achieved success overseas. A prize, awarded to those who disseminate information about dance, is named after the great Italian dance author and critic Mario Pasi, who died in 2010 and headed the jury from the inception of the awards until his death.
The jury this year was headed by Maria Luisa Buzzi with members drawn from the magazine’s critics: Elisabetta Ceron, Giuseppe Distefano, Francesca Pedroni, Silvia Poletti, Sergio Trombetta, and Carmelo A Zapparrata.
Details for the reasoning behind each award can be found in the current edition of the magazine (n°290 in Italian in newsagents, and n°17 in English via the app)
PALMARES D&D AWARDS 2019
Ballet production
Sylvia
by Manuel Legris
La Scala Theatre Ballet
Contemporary production (joint winners)
A Quiet Evening of Dance
by William Forsythe
Since she
by Dimitris Papaioannou
Tanzhteater Wuppertal
Personality of the year
Artist and Producer
Sergei Polunin
Dancers of the Year
Alina Cojocaru – Principal dancer, English National Ballet
Claudio Coviello – Principal dancer, La Scala Theatre Ballet
Christian Fagetti – Soloist, La Scala Theatre Ballet
Rauf Yasit, aka RubberLegz – Freelance dancer
Choreographer (joint winners)
Philippe Kratz
Christos Papadopoulos
Newcomers – Choreographers
Ginevra Panzetti/Enrico Ticconi
Newcomers – Dancers
Caterina Bianchi – La Scala Theatre Ballet
Salvatore Manzo – Teatro di San Carlo Ballet
Giacomo Castellana – Rome Opera Ballet
Italian production
Graces
By Silvia Gribaudi
Italian dancers abroad
Alessandra Tognoloni – Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
Federico Longo – Batsheva – The Young Ensemble
Matteo Miccini – Stuttgarter Ballett
Lifetime achievement
Amedeo Amodio
Mario Pasi Award
Documentary series “Why do we dance?”
Sky Arts Production Hub
Special Mention
Dance Company Theater Osnabrück
Artistic director Mauro de Candia
For the reconstruction of “Die Feier” by Mary Wigman
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
