600 BEATS Awards the Talent of Michela Priuli

News

Edition 2024

07.03.2024

The Italian choreographer was selected for three artistic residencies The EurAsia Scholarships awarded to Simone Cristofori and Elisa Cloza Special mentions also for Matteo Vignali/Vidavé and Spaniard Julia Nicolau The project's final evening took place at the 2024 edition of Danzainfiera The collaboration between Pitti Immagine and EurAsia Dance Project International Network proved successful, also thanks to the support of UniCredit

Michela Priuli is the selected candidate for the 600 BEATS call, the showcase of the 2024 edition of Danzainfiera for young choreographers aged between 18 and 35 years. Born from the collaboration between Pitti Immagine and EurAsia Dance Project International Network with the support of UniCredit and directed by choreographer Stefano Fardelli, 600 BEATS presented the finalists' projects to the public on Friday, February 23, with a performance at the Sala della Ronda of the Fortezza da Basso in Florence.

Among the beautiful and interesting proposals we brought for the final selection, we chose the choreographic talent and, therefore, the artistic proposal of the Italian Michela Priuli. Among the five finalists, she brought the duet Roots live on stage in Florence, danced with Barbara Allegrezza, and presented an interesting new artistic idea based on Indian mythology. Priuli, selected for the three artistic residencies of this edition of 600 BEATS, will be able to work on this new solo project with one of the EurAsia Dancers part of the EurAsia Dance Project. The residencies, which will begin in the coming weeks, will be in Italy and Belgium, supported and organized in collaboration with Balletto di Siena, Kaos Balletto di Firenze, and Shoonya Dance Centre of Ghent. We will closely follow the entire creation process of Michela Priuli in the coming months, and everyone will have the opportunity to see it in the next edition of 600 BEATS in Florence in 2025.

— Stefano Fardelli

We tried to give visibility and attention to those who want to make choreographic creation their work. We dedicated this event to emerging choreographers to encourage them in production and offer opportunities for professional growth. All this was made possible also by the collaboration with UniCredit, main partner of the Pitti fairs, always committed to supporting the talent and training of the younger generations.

— Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine

UniCredit strongly wanted and supported the realization of 600 BEATS, a project that offers a significant opportunity for professional growth to an Italian promise of choreographic creation. This attests to the Group's commitment to supporting and promoting cultural, artistic, and sports activities. Initiatives that are a driving force for the social and economic development of communities, lifting the curtain on the talent and beauty of our country and inspiring people to be more creative, optimistic, and open. This aligns with UniCredit's main goal in its journey to become the bank for the future of Europe: unlocking the potential of people, businesses, and communities by providing them with support for progress.

The 600 BEATS call received a strong response, and the organizers received applications from Italy, France, Spain, Great Britain, Armenia, Mexico, and India, bringing five finalists to Florence.
The project also highlighted the merit of the other candidates: the EurAsia Scholarships for the three-year IODC online program (Canada-UK), the only triennial program on composition and choreography regulated and accredited by the UK government, were awarded to the two youngest but very talented choreographer candidates, both as dancers and as creatives, Simone Cristofori and Elisa Cloza. The two promises of contemporary Italian dance brought to Florence a stage presence and a movement quality very mature for their young age, and about whom we will surely hear soon.

Special mentions for Matteo Vignali/Vidavé and the Spaniard Julia Nicolau, both professional choreographers already present on the international scenes, for their completely different proposed works, but both of high artistic and technical quality.
Matteo Vignali/Vidavé presented the sophisticated duet Figure Coreografiche [Choreographic Figures], danced with Noemi Dalla Vecchia. This work clearly reveals the Vidavé stylistic signature and, therefore, the research on movement quality that Matteo and Noemi have been working on together for years for their Company. Also noteworthy is the detailed and interesting anthropological research on Bolivia that Vignali conducted and presented to the Commission regarding the project for the new artistic idea proposed for the 600 BEATS residencies.

Julia Nicolau brought a very personal work, Meursault, that combines movement research with sound research, accompanied by excellent mastery and quality in both the dance by Julia and the live music performance, always by the author.
The dossier by Julia, submitted for the residencies, is inspired by Mexican culture and draws from a personal experience with a proposed artistic project based on emotions and personal life perspectives.