ŻfinMalta and the Ministry for Gozo and Planning join forces once again for Dances for Gozo, a biennial production that includes a specially commissioned new work as part of a dynamic double bill.

The double bill is taking place on April 6 at 8pm at the Aurora Theatre in Gozo. 

This season, ŻfinMalta has engaged the Vancouver-based choreographer Lesley Telford to create Flesh and Stone, to be presented alongside Cantata, by Mauro Bigonzetti recently viewed by audiences in Malta for ZfinDays 2024.

Inspired by the temples of Gozo, Flesh and Stone explores the echo and enormity of the influence of our mothers.

Through her fascination with the myths of the Ġgantija giants of our past, Lesley Telford imagines how the power of those who came before us may seem super-human. Starting from the image of the mother goddess, the work questions: How do we fit into the larger-than-life remnants of our past and how do our regular lives, failures and stories relate to this colossal mother image?

Lesley Telford is a Vancouver-based choreographer and Artistic Director of Inverso Productions. Her work has been described as having ‘a profound way of tapping into very deep recesses of our emotional and intellectual landscapes’.

Lesley danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Compañia Nacional de Danza in Spain, and Netherlands Dans Theater 1, where she worked with choreographers including Jiri Kylian, Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, Johan Inger, and Crystal Pite and others.

She has choreographed new works for Ballet BC, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Netherlands Dans Theater 1, Hubbard Street Dance Company 2, Compañia Nacional de Danza 2, Ballet Vorpommern, Pro Arte Danza, and Arts Umbrella Dance Company, among others. She founded Inverso Productions to experiment with other art forms and ways of creating dance. 

Dances for Gozo arrives as the company approaches its 10-year anniversary. Photo: Kurt Paris

Cantata by the inimitable Mauro Bigonzetti, is the result of his personal quest to read and recover the traditional musical heritage of Southern Italy. The passionate and visceral gestures of the choreography are evocative of its wild, Mediterranean origins. Cantata is an intuitive dance that stages a continuous game of opposites, sacred and profane, man/woman, sun and moon, love and violence, where music, sounds, voice and body are the main interpreters of the piece.

Mauro Bigonzetti is one of Italy’s pre-eminent dancers and choreographers. His training began at the Rome Opera Theatre, where he studied and worked from 1972 until 1983. The following year he joined Aterballetto as a dancer, where he remained for ten years before leaving to focus on choreography. His first creation, ‘Sei in Movimento’, was presented in 1990.

In 1997, he was named Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer of Aterballetto, a position he held until late 2007. He has since choreographed for companies around the world, including English National Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Staatsballet Berlin, Ballet del Teatro Argentino, New York City Ballet, and Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse. In 2016 he directed the Corpo di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala. Most recently, he has staged ‘King Lear with the Stuttgart Ballet, performed by Egon Madsen, and ‘Madina’ at Teatro alla Scala, performed by Roberto Bolle.

ŻfinMalta was established in 2014 as the country’s first National Dance Company and has been pivotal in connecting Malta’s dance artists with their international peers, providing a space to develop professionally, and introducing audiences to new ways of thinking about contemporary dance through productions that are bold and current and of a world-class standard.

Dances for Gozo arrives as the company approaches its 10-year anniversary, unfolding through an extensive programme of school and community outreach, international tours, and collaborations with a stellar line up of local and international artists. Join an evening class on Mondays and Tuesdays with Iżfen Ma’ ŻfinMalta, get an exclusive preview of each new production at open rehearsals, or catch ZfinMalta on tour in Belgrade, Italy, Montenegro, and Jersey.

For ŻfinMalta’s full season programme, repertoire, and background on the company and its people, go to zfinmalta.org and follow on social media.