Luciano Pons

Born in Rome, in 1976 he joined the Accademia Nazionale di Danza di Roma, where he graduated under the guidance of several teachers, including L. Calizza, the director G. Penzi, Z. Prebil, and S. Capozzi.

From 1980 he became a member of the Gruppo Stabile of the same institution, performing in choreographies by A. Testa, Z. Prebil, and G. Borni.

As a professional dancer he collaborated with all major Italian companies and theatres: in May 1985 he joined the Balletto di Toscana (directed by C. Bozzolini), where he worked with choreographers E. Polyakov and G. Borni. He was part of the corps de ballet of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, where he remained for five years, working with various choreographers including E. Madsen, G. Urbani, I. Marko, M. Pistoni, M. van Hoecke, W. Forsythe, P. Wiss, J. Cauley, R. Nureyev, and F. Flindt. He distinguished himself under the direction of Madsen in the role of the faun in “Daphnis et Cloè” by I. Marko.

From 1986 he performed choreographies by T. Suzuki for the festivals Vignale Danza and Festival Nuova Danza, with which he also took part in the Biennale dei Giovani Artisti dell’Arte Mediterranea held in Marseille in 1990.

In 1991 he worked at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, dancing the role of Mercury in the opera “Adriana Lecouvreur” by J. Cauley.

He joined the corps de ballet of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma under the direction of E. Terabust, performing choreographies by D. Deanne, R. Petit, Z. Prebil, and L. Massine. From 1993 to 1996 he collaborated with Teatro Massimo Vincenzo Bellini of Catania, Ente Autonomo Arena di Verona, Nafsika Dance Theatre of Athens, Teatro D2 Company in Rome, and Ensemble di Castiglioncello, performing works by A. Testa, Y. Wamos, S. Egri, S. Smailou, C. Figaia, and M. van Hoecke.

From 1994 he combined his activity as teacher and dancer, teaching pas de deux at the Florence Dance Center, directed by M. Nativo, and professional courses in classical and contemporary pas de deux at Centro Studi Danza e Movimento in Florence, directed by L. Bertelli.

In 1997 he collaborated with Balletto di Sardegna, directed by P. Leoni, as assistant to the choreographies of E. Palmieri. He later worked with Danza Compagnia A. Catalano, collaborated with A. Bucchi, and with the Balletto Mimma Testa company. In 1999 he worked as assistant and dancer in the production “Il mandarino meraviglioso” by A. Milloss as part of the 10th edition of the Florence Dance Festival, directed by M. Nativo and K. Ferrone. He later worked with Astra Roma Ballet directed by D. Ferrara, performing in Korea and Germany. As a guest artist he danced in several cities in Canada.

In 2000 he taught professional courses at IALS in Rome and classical and contemporary dance courses at “Insieme per fare” in Rome (from 2001 to present). In 2001 he took part in the film “Pinocchio” by R. Benigni, with choreography by G. Landi.

In 2002 he performed in “La forza del destino” by G. Verdi, choreography by Marta Ferri, at Teatro Regio di Parma; he also performed choreography by Mark Baldwin in the world premiere of the opera “Romanza” at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. He collaborated as a dancer with the Compagnia “Anna Mastrangelo”.

In 2003–2004 he danced in the opera “Oprichnick” by Tchaikovsky, choreography by Ron Howell, at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari. From August 2003 he collaborated with the Francesca Selva company in Siena, touring in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, and Taiwan.

In 2005 he took part in the new production of Balletto di Sardegna “The Body” as assistant and ballet master in the choreography by Giovanna Summo.

In 2006–2007 he danced and collaborated with Compagnia Zona Danza in the production “Vita”, touring in various theatres across Italy.