Upping the S$5 million entertainment ante for the 2010 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX, Singapore GP is introducing two iconic Italian acts to the night race for the first time. Italian production maestros Studio Festi and Andrea Bocelli’s protégés, the DIV4S, will be transforming sections of the circuit park into a visual and musical treat, complete with dramatic sets, lavish scores and acrobatic numbers.

A Studio Festi production is best characterised by gravity-defying acts such as life-sized pianos and ships hoisted into the air while dancers and acrobats in aggrandised costumes and suspended midair, twirl to the rhythm of symphony music. The troupe’s use of lighting, pyrotechnic displays, and oversized video projections create visually stimulating imagery that engages live audiences at large outdoor settings. Studio Festi have performed at major festivals and sporting events globally including the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games.

In conjunction with the Italian Institute of Culture Singapore, theatre producer Valerio Festi and acclaimed director Monica Maimone will collaborate to present an after dark audiovisual show themed Italian Harmony at Zone 4 of the Marina Bay Street Circuit on qualifying and race day (25th to 26th September 2010).

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Times of celebration are like unto a gift to a city and what a better gift than Light during long and dark winter nights?

No wonder Light itself represents the main adornment in winter festivals anywhere in the world, whether it is with candles in the Northern European tradition or luminaries in the Italian and Southern (Euorpean) tradition.

The Show

Scene 1 – THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

In the magic atmosphere of the square, things unexpected and sensational will begin to happen. Four-meter-tall ladies entirely dressed in light will seem to be floating through the square while performing a soft, ancient dance choreography.

Scene 2 – THE GALA NIGHT

Along the passageway leading to the stage, will parade a group of mobile carts overarched by mirrors. On each cart, two young ballet dancers wearing Swarovski-embroidered, light-reflecting tutus will mimic each other’s moves as if in front of a mirror. Such parade will lead the audience to the stage where a crystal-like lady and a gentleman in his tuxedo will enchant both children and adults through a playful dance of courtship.

Scene 3 – CHILDREN GAMES

On stage, some ballerinas will be dancing playfully with light, colourful Christmas balls, when two giant spheres (6-m diameter) entirely covered in glitter will start rolling among them.

The glittery spheres will be escorting an even larger transparent one (9-m diameter) within which will be suspended, defiant of gravity, a young lady representing the Snow Fairy in a snow ball.

Scene 4 – PRESENTS FOR A GOOD YEAR

A Year of Harmony

A young lady in a white long dress will be gradually lifted up to 20m from the ground through an invisible cable. Her ample skirt will be like a fan slowly opening up and projecting images of starred skies, moons, comets and intensely white ice crystals.

A Year of Happiness

Snow will be falling slowly and solemnly on the stage. Some children will be carrying paper houses illumined from within. They will then lay them on the ground and play ring-a-ring-o’-roses around them. They will be amusing themselves with falling snow and peeking in the lit houses through the windows on the preparation work for the celebrations. In them, they will feel the warmth of light and hear the sweet melodies of music. As if coming out from the fireplace, the Fairies of Northern European tales will appear into the scene and start taming the fire in the woods. Theirs will be final victory.

Scene 5– THE TOAST

And to finish with, there will be a big final toast.

Three big chalices full of water will be set on stage. An acrobatic dancer, almost like a tiny elf next to a real chalice, will perform gracefully on the edge of each chalice to then dip in its waters and then twirl and swirl and spray and dive to form a playful choreography.

The Final Ball

The main stage area will be converted into a Ball Room for the final Ball to be taking place after the magnificent show on New Years Eve.

Spectators will be central to this final celebration as opposed to the dancers having previously taken the leading role.

The event will be publicised through a local radio and/or TV station, a local newspaper and the internet.

On the 31 December, make-over points will be set up for people to dress up in traditional clothes for the Ball.

Among them, there will be a make-up and hairdressing stand for the ladies (payment required); a stall with accessories for sale (evening gloves, fans, gem-set clutch bags).

In the previous few days to the Ball, tailoring service stands for the resizing or renting of ball dresses (up to 80 costumes) will be set up. Shoes will not be for rent. Men will have to wear black tie attire.

Couples of professional dancers will lead off the dance and get the rest of the audience involved.

It’s midnight and confetti start falling from above the stage and at the tolling of bells the party ends.

Setting

The show, whose setting will be inspired by the typical luminaries and decorations of winter festivals, is to be taking place in a large Italian square. Three giant screens showing a winter landscape covered in snow and adorned with space-enveloping pine and holly trees will constitute its background. In its midst, a Christmas tree entirely made up of golden light luminaries will mark the centre of celebration.

Entry to the square will be through gateways of light, arch-shaped and bright, they will be attracting attention and separating the different areas and pathways of the vast outdoor venue.

Somewhere in the middle of the area, a swaying tree decorated with bells, as if gently wind-shaken, will produce harmonious sounds to mark the beginning of the show.

Downlod the project (PDF 5,4 Mb)

Children’s Christmas Dream City (CCDC) is an idea Studio Festi proposes to cities and sponsors who aim at setting up at Christmas time an installation spectacular, original, involving, flexible.

Being targeted to families, children and schools the installation gives also the opportunity to convey social and educational messages to a selected audience.

The project basic concept is to create the house of magic: just children (and the adults following them) can have access to the city to live a 45 minute experience full of interactive events and breathtaking performances.

They will be given a passport to allow them to enter the city and to collect memories to take back home.

A city public park is the ideal place for the installation: it will be paramount to take advantage of the natural setting to create the fairy mood the installation needs to fully develop its potential.

On the one hand, CCDC offers a number of innovative and catching possibilities to communicate to the public: this makes the installation particularly powerful for the public bodies and institutions which are planning to launch social, educational or community campaigns.

On the other hand, it can give to sponsors an irreprehensible opportunity to showcase their products.

Studio Festi will be delighted to design a tailor made project following clients needs and suggestions.

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Studio Festi estrena “Water Dance”.

Una reflexión sobre la escasez de agua

LA VOZ LIBRE – CULTURA

La compañía italiana Studio Festi estrena mañana en España, en la inauguración del XIV Festival de Teatro, Danza y Música de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, el espectáculo de danza y vídeo-proyecciones “Water Dance”, en el que invita a reflexionar sobre la escasez de agua.

Así lo explicó hoy en una rueda de prensa Nani Maimone, la directora artística de este montaje, que, al proponer esa reflexión, pretende movilizar las conciencias con mensajes “fuertes y claros” para promover soluciones a este problema.

El espectáculo forma parte de un proyecto, “Aqua”, que vio la luz hace dos años en Kenia, y que apoyan artistas internacionales además del Ministerio de Medioambiente de Italia, según explicó.

Studio Festi ha creado “Water Dance” para “contribuir con el arte” a rechazar la opinión de los que “dicen que dentro de 25 ó 30 años una de cada tres personas en el mundo necesitará más agua, una energía renovable, pero muy limitada”, dijo Maimone.

La directora artística de este espectáculo afirmó que el arte, su belleza, su fuerza y su gran energía comunicativa son el motor de un gran proyecto, “Rastros del Agua”, que persigue escribir un nuevo pacto universal entre el hombre, la naturaleza y la memoria.

El montaje se divide en cinco partes en las que el agua es la protagonista y cae desde lo alto y se recicla para no desperdiciarla.

• Festival Internacional de Teatro, Música y Danza Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  • Galería de fotos – Water Dance
  • Video
  • Presentacion

• La Voz Libre
• ABC
• European Pressphoto Agency
• La informacion

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Fireworks, namely the art to create colorful fire by combining burner components, are the most amazing expression of religious, popular and carnivalesque feasts.

During the Dark Ages, the “black powder” was used for the prodigious scary effects by the madieval holy drama as infernal scenes and demons in order to terrorize the peoples.

But it is during the XVI century  – from holy dramas to Royal court -  that fireworks enters amongst the stage show techniques becoming the main attraction of  big events during the baroque age.

“With genius and visual arts you can trick the sight in order to stun” as Gian Lorenzo Bernini said.

On ‘600 fireworks became an irreplaceable attraction in every pubblic feasts: coronations, pontiff placement, royal birthdays, peace conventions and to wellcome illustrious guests. The technical abilities to perform firework shows quickly improved and workplaces became bigger and bigger and more complicated so to make Catherine Wheels with 6.000 fountains placed on scaffoldings  so big to require the work of specialized carpenters and wood workers.

The work that Mr. Valerio Festi has started 25 years ago by designing entire fireworks shows and by writing the scores for music concerts, has the purpose to keep this pyrotechnics art in wich many of the most interesting artists of the Renaissance and Baroque age had succeded.

With the re-invention of classic pyrotechnics, Studio Festi regains the composition’s fantasy of a kind of art that nowadays is just reducing itself to the monotony of industrial manufacturing.

Every pyrotechnics elements of Studio Festi shows are made ad hoc on particular specifics by the most skilled craftsmen and the best world pros on the field.

Confident of our technical and artistic skills we have brought our masterpieces -that is so scenically strong and amazing- to the attention of contemporary artists.

Mr Valerio Festi has also co-operated with the most important contemporary music composers, by make them write Music For Elements: from Luciano Berio to Bertrand Boss, as well as Lorenzo Ferrero ( but even with Ennio Morricone to compose “Musiche per Acqua”).

Besides we have also persuaded music directors to conduct “Concerti per fuochi d’artificio”such as Claudio Abbado with Teatro alla Scala Orchestra at the Arena Napoleonica, Milan; Zubin Metha with the Maggio Musicale Orchestra of Siena; Gavazzeni with the Musicus Concentus Orchestra at Giardini di Boboli of Firenze; until the last, recent episode of “Concerto per fuochi d’artificio” made by Santa Cecilia Orchestra, conducted by  Chung Myung-whun, in San Pietro square at Vaticano City in occasion of the inauguration of the renovated front of San Pietro Basilica.

In every such occasions the music has been performed live, with the accompaniment of the pyrotechnic score that creates changing fantasies on beautiful world-famous buildings.

The art of Valerio Festi -unique around the world- has allowed the improving of pyrotechnic techniques to the stage of making them interact with architectural and natural spaces.

The experience reached during the years brought us to the perfection of our shows and to faultless pyrotechnic scores, that guarantee the synchronization between music and fires, between musical phrases and colored flares.

Due to this experience Valerio Festi fireworks are the heirs of Baroque pyrotechnics since they have been improved in brilliance of colors and chromatic and rhythmic precision.