Recognised and appreciated beyond national borders for its shows displaying an incredible physical proficiency and sophisticated inventiveness, Kataklò is a stable and independent company established in Milan in 1995 by Giulia Staccioli. It comes as a reply to big productions showing how in Italy there exists a reality tied to the physical theatre which, with its productions, fills the theatres of the whole world.
The name derives from the old Greek for “I dance by bending and contorting my body”. The refinement of the choreography and theatrical script of Kataklò has the emotive power of composing surrealistic scenarios, of creating conjuring postures and of dismantling imaginative barriers surpassing all cultural and linguistic boundaries and generation gaps. This could be well done thanks to the unmistakable and spectacular mix of body movements, dance steps, acrobatic athleticism, mime, humour, sound, lights and costumes.
Another characteristic trait of the company is the specific creative process adopted. Actually starting off from the processing and definition of the choreographic idea, the methodological approach of Artistic Director Giulia Staccioli poses in subsequent invention and composition passages as an objective leading dancers to an active participation course in creativity. The development of the artistic idea occurs in the course of several sessions and periods of improvisation, urging each performer’s ability to invent and experiment with new techniques and linguistic imagery.
From 2006 to 2011 Giulia has worked with Jessica Gandini, a dancer and choreographer, for an aid in artistic direction and in the development of choreographic ideas. This most valuable collaboration has contributed towards forming a much closer bond between the intensity of dance language and the force of acrobatic motion which has characterised the company’s style right from the beginning.
Kataklò is a work in progress, a dynamic and on-going project. A philosophy of life.
