Artistic Profile

Choreographer and Artistic Director: Eugenio De Mello.

Dancers: Luca Azzarone, Ana Lucia De Pinho, Tino Schepis, Donella Bucca, Marco Ghelfi, Carmela Soldani, Eugenio De Mello, Regina Marques, Ilaria Taiocchi.

Technical Director: Dalibor Kuzmanic.

In Compagnia was formed in Milan in 1995, developing from and continuing, partly with the same artists, the work of Compagnia di Tre. The works of the company are influenced by dancers of both the Brazilian and Italian cultures who have all studied many different dance styles and techniques.

In Compagnia's Choreographer and Artistic Director, Eugenio De Mello, was born in Brazil. Before moving to Italy in 1982, he was a dancer at Ballet de Camara de São Paulo. He has performed, mostly as a soloist, with many choreographers: Louis Falco, Ranko Yokohama, Teri Weikel, Susanna Beltrami, Robert Pomper, Enzo Procopio, Martine Bucci, Luisa Casiragh, and Adailton Russo. He has been choreographing and presenting his work steadily since 1988, and he founded In Compagnia in 1995. Eugenio makes his living as a comtemporary dance teacher for professional dancers at IALS Milan, Scuola Professionale di Danza Italiana and Scuola Europea di Cinema e Teatro, and as the Dance Director at the Teatro Comuna Baires of Milan, where In Compagnia has been in residence since 1996.

In Compagnia participates within the flexible structure of this residency to collaborate with other artists -- dancers, choreographers, musicians and singers, to develop interdisciplinary projects. One of these recent projects, Sacri Segreti, premiered at the Teatro Comuna Baires in Milan last year, and was awarded second prize for best choreography at the 1997 Florence Dance Festival. Sacri Segreti is produced by C.S.C. Anymore -- Bergamo, and Teatro Comuna Baires, Milan. The public relations piece for Sacri Segreti proclaims: "...A secret becomes sacred when we decide not to disclose it. Deep in our souls we have desires and feelings of indefinable nostalgia that sometimes rise to the surface. This work explores the instant in which memory is brought back to life and the present becomes dream-like..."

Sacri Segreti is an artistic collaboration between In Compagnia and musician Osvaldo Arioldi and his band, Officine Schwartz, a group of 18 musicians. This band evolved from a group of rock musicians who wanted to express what they call the sound and style of the "industrial civilization." Using drums and various instruments created or forged from industrial materials, mixed voice choral singing, and traditional instruments such as the horn, trumpet, sax, bagpipes, accordion, keyboard and wind instruments, they create soundscapes that are designed to evoke images, thoughts and feelings around concepts such as the cultural history of the workplace, the passage from an agricultural society to an industrialized one, and man's relationship with the machine and modern technology. Officine Schwartz prefers to perform at unusual locations relevant to the work culture: abandoned factories, quarries, building yards, churches, squares and streets, and collaborates with others to build performances that include background noises, projections, dance and other live action.
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After lunch we went to Cynthia's and watched Sacri Segreti, and another work entitled Il Mattino Sospeso documented on video. As we watched, dancers moved in shadows of dusk at a historic church site, the action beginning outside and moving inside. It seemed that every crevice and cornice of the church was utilized, the dance melding with the environment effortlessly. The choreography kept us guessing, was well crafted, and the dancers were athletic, performing the technically challenging work with precision. The flow and texture of the choreography, particularly the partnering, created an inspiring landscape of movement, which was complemented by competent technical direction and moody lighting design. In Compagnia's collaboration with musicians, who performed an original score, was seamless. On the whole, it was an impressive display of a truly original and interdisciplinary performance. It is exciting to see quality dance coming from anywhere, but more exciting to witness the fact that there are artists of many disciplines all over the world, collaborating to create both aesthetically beautiful and thought provoking performances - and succeeding - despite all the obstacles involved.

Quality innovations in dance and musical composition are alive and well, and in residence at the Teatro Comuna Baires of Milan, in Milan Italy. If you happen to be visiting Italy this summer I highly recommend their works, based on the videotape I watched. You might want to check it out...In Compagnia will be performing on the following dates: May 1: Festival del Ticino; May 7: Cremona; May 15: Romanengo; May 28: Festival Uscite D'Emergenza, Milan; June 13: Festival InCastro Danza, Lago Iseo; October 17 and 18: Atelier ADN, Neuchatel, Switzerland; November 20: Theater am Gleis, Winterthur, Switzerland; November 15: APPI, Milan.

Photos by : Francesca Agosta and Nino Romeo