Enzo Celli

Enzo Celli is an acclaimed dancer, choreographer and educator.

Born in Sora, Italy, Celli received formal training as a breakdancer at the age of 19, and continued his studies as a self-taught artist. Celli's eagerness to learn later earned him a bachelor's degree in Human Movement Sciences from the Faculty of Psychology eCampus of Novedrate in Milan, Italy. Celli's artistic abilities and choreographic visions were supported and encouraged by renowned Italian arts critic, Vittoria Ottolenghi. Ottolenghi's interest in Celli was justified in 1995 when Celli founded, Botega, a rome-based dance company. Establishing himself as a dance educator and choreographer at the age of 26, Celli became the youngest choreographer funded by the Italian Government.

From 1996-2015, Celli and Botega toured internationally and performed works on theaters including: Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theatre in New York, La Cigale in Paris, Na Strastnom Theatre in Moscow, National Theatre of Belgrade in Serbia and Teatro Guaíra in Brazil. His studies and interests in contemporary dance intensified and kept bringing him back to New York City throughout the years. Teaching as a guest choreographer at places such as Sarah Lawrence College, Sam Houston State University, and Peridance Capezio Center. In 2013, Igal Perry commissioned Celli, Ohad Naharin, Dwight Rhoden and Sidra Bell to create a new work for Peridance Contemporary Dance Company.

His international engagements include: Bashkortostan State Academy in Russia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil, National Choreographic Centre of Montpellier in Les Orsoline, France, Erfurt Opera House in Germany, Centro ADAV in Ibiritè, Brazil, Espace Robert Hossein in Lourdes, France, La Versiliana Festival 2010 in Italy, and Expo 2012 in Yeosu, Korea.

In 2015, Celli founded his New York-based company VIVO Ballet and helped launch the VIVO Ballet Professional Training Center along with Elisabetta Minutoli, Associated Artistic Director of VIVO Ballet and wife of Enzo Celli. The VIVO Ballet Professional Training Center became a place of growth for what was becoming the VIVO Ballet Company.

In 2017 he was appointed personal adviser to the Mayor of Sora for major cultural projects. Also in 2017 is the director of the docufilm "Iùcela".

In 2018, Enzo Celli officially moved to New York to become an established American choreographer with his wife, and company dancer, Elisabetta Minutoli, and their son Emanuele. In May 2018 he was invited to be part of the INSPIRE ITALY roundtable at LaMaMa Culturehub and to hold a masterclass at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts during the European Month of Culture series in NYC. Celli currently is on faculty teaching classes at Peridance Capezio Center, Steps on Broadway, Gibney Dance, and Broadway Dance Center.

Below are some of the choreographer's most important works and collaborations:

June 2006 Celli was a collaborating choreographer for the event “L’amour et son amour, l’uomo che danza e la sua aspirazione” directed by Vittoria Ottolenghi and performed by the soloists Roberto Bolle, Vladimir Derevianko and Viviana Durante at Todi Festival. Also in June 2006, Botega Dance Company, together with Alvin Ailey Company, Bèjart Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet and Staatsballet München, joined the Dance Gala Amores as a guest company under the direction of Vittoria Ottolenghi. 2008 brought Celli to the Bashkir State Academy in the Republic of Bashkortostan (Ufa, Russia) to teach and collaborate with the Russian Drama Theatre. That was also the year that Botega performed Subway at La Cigale Theatre in Paris. In 2011, Botega Dance Company performed Fragile at the Russian Drama Theatre and at the Na Strastnom Theatre in Moscow. In September 2009, Enzo Celli was a resident choreographer at Topaz Art in New York and debuted at Versiliana Festival in August 2010 with his remake of Giselle to great reviews and success. He was also a guest at the Erfurt Opera House (Germany) that same year. In 2012, his Company was a guest at Yesou (Korea) for Expo 2012.

VIVO Ballet was founded in 2015 by Artistic Director, Enzo Celli, and General Manager of the VIVO Ballet Professional Training Center, Fulvio Pallisco. The team that launched VIVO Ballet was completed when Associated Artistic Director, Elisabetta Minutoli, and Communications Director, Marco Sabbatini later joined. The founding team established two entities: VIVO Ballet, a New York-based dance company, and the VIVO Ballet Professional Training Center based in Rome. Since its conception in 2015, VIVO Ballet has performed in international festivals in the US, France, Portugal, Switzerland, and Italy. With roots in Rome, the company sprouted within the Professional Training Center and then located to a more permanent home in New York City.

In 2018 VIVO Ballet presents itself as New York based contemporary dance company with a complete cast of 10 dancers and with Kalinda Santor as Executive Director.

VIVO Ballet is committed to producing and presenting American contemporary work that physicalizes the emotional ardor of the human experience. The company pursues this goal by offering accessibility to the performing arts not just as a physical attendance, but as a visceral experience.

Botega is a breeding ground of dancers coming from different formative experiences and sharing a strong disposition towards artistic research and the contamination of styles. Botega Dance Company's dancers technical background includes contemporary, ballet, break dance and hip-hop. Although Botega's dancers follow a common artistic research based on the style contamination and the choreographic coherence, their own artistic nature has not been perverted. Botega Dance Company's style is based on a strong theatrical and physical impact. Although it isn't a theatre-dance company, theatrical elements are important subjects belonging to the company artistic background. Therefore, each dancer can dance as a soloist and put his own individuality on stage.[1]

Another fundamental aspect of Enzo Celli's activity is the teaching of contemporary dance.

In these years Celli has been spreading thanks to his ability as a teacher in several important international universities and schools, thanks to the method MeMe, the training for which were written four university theses.

From 2018 Enzo is working on the new concept NATURE MOVEMENT which is developing now in New York City. Enzo Celli investigates the concept of Nature Movement (the movement whose come from the nature). It will bring the dancer to express themselves, without changing the form to the movement, enriching the dance given by the choreographer with his own personality and emotions.

Starting from the study of nature's movements, following three topics that relate with nature as humans movement, habit movement and animals movement (The Dance Of The Beast), the class leads the dancer to a thorough study on the center and its fundamental relationship with the movement, creating a dynamic characterization by strong physicality and the relationship with the floor.

The Dance Of The Beast is an innovative training for dancers that combines quadrupedal and ground-based movement with elements from contemporary dance to create a fun, challenging training emphasizing fluid movement.

Enzo Celli explores the strong dynamics of working on the ground, investigating both the technical steps and fundamentals of European contemporary floorwork as assisted by and arising from personal development of the technique.

The Class investigates the creative moment of the dancer. It will bring the dancer to express themselves, without changing the form to the movement, enriching the dance given by the choreographer with his own personality and emotions.

The Dance Of The Beast will improve not just your floorwork skills, but also your mobility, strength, endurance and power.

The class starts with a warm up and deconstruction of the movement, then move to the animal's progressions that have the ability to train the body and also develop the technical qualities necessary to face the work on the floor.

Following the technical work, you will have the opportunity to calmly understand some passages of the floorwork marked by Enzo Celli.

The class concludes with a variation that includes the technical movements learned in the previous phase of the class.

Celli currently is on faculty teaching classes at Peridance Capezio Center, Steps on Broadway, Gibney Dance, and Broadway Dance Center.

Some of the schools and universities that have hosted or regularly host Enzo Celli as a teacher are:

VIVO BALLET PROFESSIONAL TRAINING CENTER (Rome), MOVEON (Milano), SHSU (Huntsville - Texas), SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE (New York), COMPANHIA DE DANÇA DE ALMADA (Lisbon), EBA-UFMG (Belo Horizonte), BASHKORTOSTAN STATE ACADEMY (Ufa - Russia), NATIONAL CHOREOGRAPHIC CENTER LES ORSOLINES (Montpellier - France), DanceStar (Croatia), DNA (New York), DANCE SOURCE (Houston), BROCKUS PROJECT (Los Angeles), MET (Houston), MDP (Arizona).

About his contaminated choreographic style, three graduation thesis were written and discussed:

• “Alla Botega di Enzo Celli”, written by Erica Muraca, Thesis submitted to the Università di Bologna, Faculty of Literature and Philosophy, 2007
• “Perché ancora Giselle, una ri-creazione di Enzo Celli”, written by Erica Muraca, Bologna Thesis submitted to the Università di Bologna, Faculty of Literature and Philosophy, 2010
• “La Giselle di Enzo Celli”, written by Valentina Passaro, Thesis submitted to the Sapienza, Università di Roma, Faculty of Literature and Philosophy, 2011.
• “Un flusso di danza creativa alla scoperta di nuovi linguaggi”, written by Roberta di Niccola, Thesis submitted to the National Academy of Dance in Rome, 2013

• http://www.enzocelli.com
• www.vivoballet.com

1. 2019 Crisalidi
2. 2018 Sora
3. 2018 Gabbatha
4. 2016 THIRD DAY | Performance Cloud Series
5. 2016 DISGELO - sòlar
6. 2016 DISGELO - the gift
7. 2016 In my son's hands
8. 2015 Zònton
9. 2014 Giselle (second edition)
10. 2014 Non abbiate paura (musical)
11. 2014 Là... Qui
12. 2014 [T]here
13. 2014 Il Giusto
14. 2013 Forma Italiana
15. 2013 Santa
16. 2013 Buona Strada
17. 2013 Shutdown
18. 2013 Beleza
19. 2013 Nijinsky il pazzo
20. 2013 The rite of spring
21. 2013 I'm Here
22. 2012 Après-midi d’un faun
23. 2012 Alda
24. 2012 RES
25. 2012 Santa Caterina
26. 2011 Fragile
27. 2011 Naji
28. 2011 Vita da strega (musical)
29. 2011 Corpo Morto
30. 2011 Subway
31. 2011 Sinan
32. 2011 150
33. 2010 Irritante [Vexatious]
34. 2010 Giselle
35. 2009 Hic et nunc
36. 2008 NUJ
37. 2008 Paracasòscia
38. 2007 Ostro
39. 2006 Homme
40. 2005 Uléss Ulà
41. 2004 Sircus
42. 2003 Il Moro
43. 2002 Astamanèra
44. 2001 Sc’Impis
45. 2000 Brivido
46. 1999 Edge
47. 1998 D.R.E.P.