Description
COLOURS International Dance Festival is awarding this year’s three-week residency to the young Italian choreographer Sofia Nappi and her company KOMOCO.
Nappi and KOMOCO are no strangers to Stuttgart: in 2022, COLOURS co-produced and presented their production IMA for five dancers. Since then, KOMOCO has been touring worldwide and Sofia Nappi has created work for numerous companies, including Nederlands Dans Theater. In 2024, PUPO, featuring seven KOMOCO dancers, premiered in Cologne. During its festival residency the company will rehearse the first sequences of the new work SORA in the studio of the host company Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart. The work will have its world premiere in February 2026.
The Japanese word “sora” means “sky” or “emptiness”. It describes the vast expanse that surrounds us and conveys a sense of freedom and possibility. “Ma”, on the other hand, refers to the space between things, that is, the conscious gaps and pauses that give form and meaning. In her new work, Sofia Nappi explores the empty space, connecting “ma” and “sora”. The void becomes a living, breathing entity, moving and confronting bodies, facilitating their interconnection through powerful, dynamic exchanges. Absence becomes a narrative in its own right – in her vibrant, multi-faceted style, Sofia Nappi and her young yet already highly successful ensemble explore the relationship between bodies and the void, between real manifestation and possibility.
Sofia Nappi says: “A residency gives us the invaluable gift of time and space to delve deeply into KOMOCO’s movement language in extended research sessions. This allows us to breathe life into SORA and create a production that we can share with audiences worldwide and that can also serve as a springboard for the company’s future growth. As a young but already internationally recognized ensemble, KOMOCO is constantly crossing borders and discovering new ways to explore and redefine the art form of dance.”