Tell us about your dance journey.
I didn’t choose to dance, it has not always been my passion. It was actually my mother's passion. She was told I had talent and an easy body for dance, so she looked for a good school in Torino. In the first years it was joyful and I wastotally unaware of the difficulties I would face once I entered a professional company. At 16 in 1978, I had to make an important decision that would change my life: enter the Ballet school of la Scala of Milano or join one of the most important European contemporary companies, the Cullberg Ballet. At such a young age I decided to join the Swedish company then directed by Birgit Cullberg. That same year her son Mats Ek began his career as a choreographer. This is how my wonderful adventure began next to one of the greatest choreographers of our time. I felt immediately that I was in the right place with the right people. I followed Mats for 25 years as a dancer and 15 as his assistant.
Tell us about your experience with Cullberg Ballet
When I moved to Sweden I was only 16, and very soon I was dancing all over the world. I danced in 36 countries and 5 continents, danced incredible roles that gave me the opportunity to grow both humanly and artistically. It was not always easy, often I felt not good enough or unable to meet Mats' expectations. I was coached by him and his assistant Lena Juras Wennergren constantly, they pushed me beyond my limits and this made me discover unknown sides about myself. He was always asking for more or different, but also open to discussion when I had difficult moments or problems dealing with important roles. I was never injured, in my 25 years in the company, I never missed a show, never missed a class, but I also had the time to enjoy my life going out to disco or party with friends.
How was to work with Mats Ek?
I think there are not so many dancers who were lucky enough to be alongside a choreographer for so many years. The journey with Mats was a very long one. He has educated me both humanly and artistically, I would be a very different person if I hadn't met him. I have danced all the works he created for the Cullberg ballet, but he only created few roles for me: M... in Carmen, certainly the most important and challenging. He gave me though the great opportunity to dance the roles he created for his wife Ana Laguna: Giselle, Carmen, and others. This was a huge responsibility for me. Giselle was the hardest, dancing her more then 100 times, gave me an incredible physical strength and allowed me to get in touch with myself deeply. Working with Mats was always a surprise, you never knew what you were in for, he had the great ability to always keep our interest alive, giving a meaning to everything we did in the studio. For this I will always thank him, because it is something I still carry with me and transmit to my students. I have realised with time the heritage Mats left me. All the knowledge I stored over the years, I have analysed, reasoned and made my own. Thanks to the fact that he gave me the possibility to set up his pieces at a early age, I found out that I enjoyed coaching and teaching more than dancing.
How was to dance with Rudolf Nureyev?
I have a really nice memory of Nurre (that’s how we called him). I was very young and he was always very kind to me. We had a little pas de deux in “Miss Julie” and I remember having fun, he spoke good Italian, so during rehearsals he made me smile with Italian vulgar jokes. After the last show he made a big party in his suite for the all company.
Tell us about your EkoDance Project in Turin.
Eko Dance was born spontaneously, it was never planned. The need to pass on what I had learned during my career was very strong. The fact that I was teaching Mats’ work around the world gave me the opportunity to meet many dancers, directors and choreographers which came in handy at the beginning of the project, I felt supported by so many friends. Eko Dance, today is recognised and supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Piedmont Region. Is is a place where young dancers have the opportunity not only to learn and improve, but also experience a professional working day. They understand how a company functions, discover if they have the right character and personality to face colleagues and rehearsal directors and get used to learn different styles in short time. I personally coach them and help them with auditions. My goal is to make them improve technically and grow artistically, but also to give them the great responsibility of bringing a performance to the stage. The work in the studio, is what makes a dancer a real professional.
Many dancers from your EkoDance Project start a professional career, do you feel proud of them? How does it feel to see your students grow and take a professional path?
80% of the dancers who passes through Eko Dance finds a job, both in classical and contemporary companies. The other 20% decide to do something else in life and find another path. They all know that Eko will always be a home to go back to.
We saw you invite a lot of guests teachers and choreographers. Tell us more about that. Why is so important to have guests?
It is extremely important today to work with many different choreographers, especially with different styles. My students beside a daily ballet technique training study Mats Ek's repertoire, obviously in my ballet training I include his principles. His style facilitates the transition into various ,more contemporary styles. With the years I have analysed a way to approach ballet technique, finding a logical function, concentrating mostly on the coordination of the upper body. This allows to explore different ways and different options, creating “links” that will help the body to approach different styles. I think today contemporary dance is a state of mind, more than a technique. You need to be extremely openminded and curious to be able to approach all new styles.
What do you think about the italian dance scene?
This is a very difficult and complex question. I am constantly searching and looking for talented choreographers. I think that in Italy there is a lot of them, a lot of creativity. Maybe not much meritocracy, so if you are not pushy enough or don’t know the right person you will not emerge. The theatre culture is very poor, not enough education. In general there is lots of information but little knowledge. I find the choreographic research of today quite fascinating and I love assisting the creative journey of the choreographers that I invite to Eko. I created in 2016 an event called made4you, in collaboration with Paolo Mohovich (Palcoscenico Danza TPE). I choose 4 young choreographers who create for the dancers. Many of them today are successful and established, creating for European companies.
What advice would you give to aspiring dancers?
I think to find the right place and the right people as soon as possible can make the difference and can help to not waste precious time. A mixture of patience and determination, constancy and curiosity will help to improve and grow. But most importantly: feel unique and confident, but stay always humble.
What do you like to do when you're not working?
Now that I’m in the best period of my life, doing what I love the most, I don’t have so much free time. I have always been fascinated by technology, I’m a lot at the computer. I find many similarities with the human body. I’m definitely a problem- solver, so I repair any broken machine. I like writing more than reading because it pushes me to reason.
Photos: Lesley Leslie Spink.