{"id":118797,"date":"2025-10-22T16:24:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T20:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=118797"},"modified":"2025-10-23T08:00:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T12:00:01","slug":"interview-artistic-director-roberto-campanella-talks-proartedanzas-fall-2025-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/10\/22\/interview-artistic-director-roberto-campanella-talks-proartedanzas-fall-2025-season\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Artistic Director Roberto Campanella Talks About ProArteDanza\u2019s Fall 2025 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The dancers of ProArteDanza (Photo courtesy of ProArteDanza)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ProArteDanza returns with its Fall 2025 Season, which takes place from October 30 to November 2 at the Betty Oliphant Theatre. After last year\u2019s closure of the Fleck Dance Theatre, it\u2019s a return to the company\u2019s original home stage.<\/p>\n

Since the company was founded in 2004, ProArteDanza has presented over 40 original works, and the new season includes three more.<\/p>\n

The Works<\/h2>\n

Artistic Director Roberto Campanella<\/strong> has created a new ensemble work for the company titled Another Life: Inspired by True Events<\/strong>. Campanella has received accolades that include the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Choreography, the Bonnie Bird Choreography Award nomination, and the Fellowship Initiative Award. He has also worked on film and television projects, including The Strain and the Oscar-winning The Shape of Water.<\/p>\n

The season includes a trio by choreographer Kevin O\u2019Day<\/strong> titled An Unwinding<\/strong>. O\u2019Day has an international career that has included creating more than 70 ballets for companies around the world, including New York City Ballet and Les Grands Ballet Canadiens. His honours include a Dora Award nomination, the Koerner Award from the Banff Centre, and an MTV Video Music Award nomination for choreography.<\/p>\n

Choreographer Dominique Dumais<\/strong> makes her ProArteDanza debut with a piece for six dancers called Memento Vitae<\/strong>. Dumais is Artistic Director of Mainfranken Theater W\u00fcrzburg and a former soloist with the National Ballet of Canada. She\u2019s created more than 45 works that have taken the stage across the globe, and is a three-time Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee.<\/p>\n

\"The
The dancers of ProArteDanza (Photo courtesy of ProArteDanza)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Artistic Director Roberto Campanella: The Interview<\/h2>\n

Roberto Campanella was born and grew up in Rome, Italy, and trained at the Scuola Italiana di Danza Contemporanea. After dancing as a member of Compagnia Italiana di Danza Contemporanea, Aterballetto, and The National Ballet of Canada, he formed ProArteDanza. LV caught up with Campanella as the company was in rehearsals for the upcoming shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crunch time for us. Every day seems to be quite intense,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a milestone season for ProArteDanza. \u201cWe have existed for 20 years. It feels very lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did he imagine this is how his career and company would endure?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not really. Originally, I was always of the idea that I would take over something already established, and not starting something from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n

He founded the company with Joanna Ivey, also a former professional dancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just decided to take the leap,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI had no idea about anything,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI was pretty naive about what the whole thing entails.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leading a dance company in North America has always been a perilous venture.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s dealing with a lot of uncertainties year after year. It always boils down to the bottom line, the funding and the fund raising.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his native Italy, and more broadly in Europe, in previous decades, many companies were 100% government funded. In North America, he has to take on the task of fundraising and much more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit more intense as a job,\u201d he comments. \u201cI\u2019m not here to complain. Already I feel incredibly privileged,\u201d he adds. More than two decades of dance is already a gift, he points out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we\u2019re pretty strong,\u201d he adds, noting the solid support he\u2019s received from audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of fulfillment with what we do with what have.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s so much going on behind the scenes for every season, and every single show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I had the ability to have people coming constantly in rehearsals, and to have access to what we do behind the wings.\u201d<\/p>\n

He mentioned the work done by the board of directors, general manager, training coordinator and many others who never take the stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a constant,\u201d he says. Passion and enthusiasm are what fuels it. \u201cWe live with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a process of trial and error, rehearsals, second guessing…<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, once I see the company on stage perform, all of this is forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says he loves the process, being in the studio and seeing the works take shape with the few resources that they have.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something very satisfying about it,\u201d he says, \u201cto sit and witness the performance, the culmination of all this, is incredibly rewarding.\u201d He cites the commitment of the dancers along with the behind the stage support staff. \u201cIt\u2019s really moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2025 ProArteDanza Season<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe have three different works,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have a trio \u2014 just three dancers.\u201d That\u2019s the work by Kevin O\u2019Day, with music by Neil Young.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been incredibly supportive since the beginning of the company,\u201d Campanella notes. The last time a work of his appeared on their program was in 2017.<\/p>\n

Dominique Dumais\u2019 Memento Vitae is a 35 minutes work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe piece is fantastic,\u201d Roberto comments. \u201cDominique and I go way back when we were both dancers at the National Ballet. That was a million years ago now,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s followed her career in Germany.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were supposed to actually have Dominique create for us just before COVID,\u201d he notes. \u201cI\u2019m really glad we made it happen this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for his own piece, Another Life: Inspired by True Events?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still working on it,\u201d he says. \u201cI always talk about the cycle in which I go through. I go from being excited for the first couple of weeks \u2014 then you go into the self doubt period.\u201d<\/p>\n

He talked to Joanne Ivey about it. \u201cI\u2019m doubting every single choice I\u2019m making, and she said, you know that it\u2019s part of the package,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing this new creation called Another Life, inspired by true events. It\u2019s almost biographical. It\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve tried to do therapy with my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s exploring key moments in his life via dance, but not taking them too seriously. \u201cWhich is also part of my personality.\u201d<\/p>\n

It sounds like an intriguing mix of elements. \u201cI hope so.\u201d<\/p>\n

The music will also include a mix of things, including some Italian music, including works by singer and pianist Paolo Conte. \u201cI could compare it with Leonard Cohen style.\u201d Other selections will include electronic music, and even a lullabye. \u201cIt\u2019s really eclectic. As it stands right now, it will be about 34, 35 minutes \u2014 unless I cut things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, it makes for a dynamic show.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s a dancey dance show. Incredibly physical, athletic, intense, and we\u2019re an amazing group of dance artists that we have,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a real dance treat. I love putting mixed programs together. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n

\u201cI go by love. I fall in love with choreographers, and I say, you have to create something for us. But it also has to match the style of the company. It\u2019s a contemporary dance company,\u201d Campanella says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be a good fit with out vision. That part is very exciting, to put it together.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looks for a special quality when it comes to collaborators.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of choreographers, and I guess it was my early days as well, it was always about steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points out that in Italian, there are two words for choreographer, one which translates into \u201cstep maker\u201d while the other is \u201cchoreographer\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always fall in love with people who use the dance vocabulary to use a really clear concept. I watch a lot of dance, online especially, and I generally, my pattern has been to be attracted to choreographers who really have something to say. To build a concept,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s contemporary dance. It\u2019s not a linear narrative,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey allow you to really imagine things, because you can sense that they\u2019re speaking to you,\u201d he says. \u201cWith step makers, it\u2019s exciting for about 10 minutes, but then [I get] bored.\u201d<\/p>\n