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Published on September 27, 2007

 Dance fans are in for a real treat tonight as Italy's leading contemporary ballet company, Compagnia Aterballetto, bring their own take on "Romeo and Juliet" to the Bangkok stage.

Founded in 1979 and based in the northern Italian town of Reggio Emilia, Compagnia Aterballetto is now the country's principal dance company, with year-round staff supporting the productions and tours. Other than the major companies attached to opera houses, it is also Italy's first permanent ballet-producing body.

A few hours after jetting into Bangkok from Macau, Federico Grilli, president of Fondazione Nationale della Danza/Compagnia Aterballetto, and Roberto Zamorano, the company's ballet master, settle into comfy chairs at the Dusit Thani for a chat with The Nation.

"I've been working with [artistic director and choreographer] Mauro Bigonzetti since 1997 for three different objectives," Grilli explains.

"First, we want a company of high technical quality. There are no soloists, corps de ballet, guest dancers or stars. All members are more or less at the same high level. Second, the artistic quality has also got to be high so that the dancers are able to interpret different styles in working with Bigonzetti and other choreographers. Third, we want a company that represent Italy's dance in theatres all over the world."

"At the moment, the director [Bigonzetti] has a vital job," adds Zamorano. "He makes the dancers comfortable. As we have no hierarchy, each dancer takes turns at the back, in the middle and at the front. They are really together, and the audience can feel it."

This year, the company has 21 members. The 19  taking part in this current Asian tour - next stop Seoul - are a truly international bunch, as Bigonzetti prefers to have dancers with a range of different skills and techniques. About half are Italians; Zamorano himself is Colombian, and the others include a Japanese national, an Australian, an American, and a Brazilian.

Festival goers who've seen photographs of this production of "Romeo and Juliet" will have noticed that it's very different from other stage and screen versions of the timeless romantic tragedy.

"First of all, this is the company's most important production in the last 10 years," says Grilli. "It's also a continuation of Bigonzetti's collaboration, which began a few years ago, with fellow world-renowned visual artist Fabrizio Plessi. This 'Romeo and Juliet' has a new approach - there's neither story nor narration. It's all about feelings and emotions, and all the dancers portray Romeo and Juliet. Hi-tech costumes and set are used to express the passions and feelings of the lovers."

"Also, this is the first time that a private fashion firm, Marella Co of the Max Mara Group, has co-produced a ballet.

"For the music, we have [Sergei] Prokofiev's score, but it's played as a montage rather than in the regular sequence. Prokofiev's heirs gave their approval, and said that it's one of the best productions of 'Romeo and Juliet' that they'd ever seen."

Having danced other versions before becoming Aterballetto's ballet master, Zamorano adds a dancer's perspective on this production.

"Everybody knows 'Romeo and Juliet' and the problems of their relationship but few people really empathise with what they're dealing with. Young people nowadays do crazy things - fighting over love and sacrificing many things for it, for example. Romeo and Juliet do so many things in such a short time, and, as a dancer, it's really special to get in touch with that."

"Bigonzetti's choreography is very difficult and physical. He asks you to do so much in his effort to express the speed that young people like Romeo and Juliet are living at."

"I really like working with him. First, he starts with a few movements, encouraging you to improvise with them. From there he decides what he wants to do, but hands it back to you. He cares more about how you express each movement. He always says, 'I want to see you. Show me how you feel and do it.'"

Tonight marks the first time this innovative staging of "Romeo and Juliet" has ever been staged outside Europe, where since its world premiere in May 2006 it has been wowing dance aficionados in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

"People are first attracted by the classical title. But once they see there's no obvious storyline, they're surprised and at the same time fascinated. The one-word verdict of the director of Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum was 'Extraordinario'," recalls Grilli.

After Bangkok and Seoul, the company plans to take this adrenaline trip to Australia, France, and Japan.

"Usually, the ballet ends with a standing ovation - everybody's thrilled. I've talked to around a thousand people who have watched the piece - I can remember only five who didn't like it," says Grilli, before pointing his finger at this reporter, smiling. "I hope you're not the sixth."

We'll find out tonight, but I already have a feeling - or premonition if you prefer - that I'll be on the edge of my seat throughout this one-act 90-minute ballet.

Presented by the Italian Embassy, Compagnia Aterballeto's "Romeo and Juliet" is being performed in the Thailand Cultural Centre's Main Hall tonight at 7.30pm. Tickets from Bt600 to Bt3,000 are available at ThaiTicketMajor.com and at the door. For more information, visit Bangkokfestivals.com.

Special thanks to the Embassy of Italy, and Sabrina Chatham, Aterballetto's programming officer, who helped facilitate this interview.

The writer can be contacted at

Pawit.M @ chula.ac.th.

Pawit Mahasarinand

 The Nation