The company

Cie Essevesse was founded by choreographer and dancer Antonino Ceresia in 2013 in Marseille. In 2018 choreographer and dancer Fabio Dolce became Cie Essevesse’s co-director. Both Sicilian artists came together to combine their knowledge and artistic visions to develop the three main directions of the company: creation, education and raise awareness of dance & body expression. Central to their research is the relationship between the relentlessness of the creative process and the attention to the evolution of the contemporary world. They showcase instinctive movements, which are intrinsically linked to the emotions invoked by the world around them, seen in their own movement language. Their choreographic signature can be seen in their performances which embody their interest in working with a wide variety of art, from urban / alternative contexts to theatrical scenes.

In doing so, they wish to attract a vast and diversified audience to make them aware of the importance of being mindful of the progress of the arts, but also appreciative of the artistic heritage around us. Simultaneously the two choreographers are developing new approaches for self-empowerment and social inclusion, using body expression as a non-formal education tool. They continuously aim to reach as many people as possible through European projects as this allows them to collaborate with partners all over Europe with a single overarching goal, together towards a better world.

The choreographers

FABIO DOLCE

Fabio is currently pursuing his career as a freelance artist working as Co-director/Choreographer/Performer for Cie Essevesse dance company in Marseille; as Teacher of Body in Motion at La Salle Blanche in Paris; as a dance artist for CHATHA dance company in France and Edifice Dance Theatre in the UK. He is also training in Art-Therapy after receiving his teaching diploma in Ballet & Contemporary Dance. Trained at the Academy of Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the National Dance Academy in Rome and the National Dance Academy of Rosella Hightower in Cannes, Fabio’s international career began in Italy joining the Corps de Ballet of Teatro Massimo and the Corps de Ballet of Teatro Politeama in Palermo, Sicily, and Astra Roma Ballet company in Rome. He continued in France with Cannes Jeune Ballet in Cannes, CCN Ballet de Lorraine in Nancy and CHATHA dance company in Lyon. Following this he began to work in the UK with Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company & Edifice Dance Theatre in London, De Nada Dance Theatre in Leeds, and artist Diane Wiltshire in Birmingham (for an innovative project mixing dance and digital art). After dancing master pieces in the choreographic world by the most renowned choreographers, such as William Forsythe, Merce Cunningham, Rudolf Nureev, Twyla Tharp, Emanuel Gat, JC Maillot, Carolin Carlson, Andonis Foniadakis, Mathilde Monnier, Maria La Ribot and many others, on the biggest stages of the dance scene such as Saddler’s Wells, Royal Opera House, The Lowry (UK); Théâtre de la Ville, Théâtre de Chaillot, Théâtre du Chatelet (Paris); Teatro Sistina (Rome), Teatro Massimo (Palermo); NCPA Opera House (Beijing) and many others around the world, He is now collaborating with other artists and developing his creative and pedagogical skills by working with amateur dancers, schools, dance/ drama conservatoires, community centres, professional dance companies, including people suffering from physical and mental disabilities.

ANTONINO CERESIA

Antonino is currently pursuing his career as a freelance artist working as Co-director/Choreographer/Performer for Cie Essevesse dance company in Marseille; as a Trainer and Stage Director for the ‘Raising Awareness of Dance’ program at the Marseille Opera House (for more than ten years). . He is also training in Art-Therapy Trained at the Academy of Teatro Massimo in Palermo and the National Dance Academy of Rosella Hightower in Cannes. He started his international career in Italy with the Corps de Ballet of Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Aterballetto in Reggio Emilia and Maggio Fiorentino in Florence. He pursued his career in France at the Cannes Jeune Ballet, Bordeaux Opera House, Nice Opera House and the Ballet d’Europe, dancing under the direction of Monique Loudieres, Jean Charles Gil, Kelemenis and others, aside renowned dancers such as Eleonora Abbagnato, Oksana Kucheruk, Alessandro Riga master pieces by Choreographers of a world renown such as Roland Petit, Carolyn Carlson, Marc Ribaud, Mauro Bigonzetti, JC Maillot, Giorgio Mancini.... Being the founder of Cie Essevesse, Antonino’s choreographies have been showcased at international dance festivals such as Premio Equilibrio Roma organised by Sidi Larbi Sherkaoui, Cannes Dance Festival, 31st Hannover festival in Germany, Onze Bouge in Paris and others. In France he obtained his teaching diploma in ballet and contemporary dance which inspired him to educate and raise awareness for the arts in many schools and community centres.

#lacommedia

is the result of the third and final moment of Antonino & Fabio’s research on Dante Alighieri’s masterpiece The Comedy.

Very early, the two artists decide not to represent Dante's narrative and focus on the structure, the form, the specificities and the purpose of the poem, used as an encyclopaedia of scientific discovery, astrology, philosophy, numerology, religion, politics, social topics of the 14th century.

Inspired by the variety and the meaningfulness of those topics, the two artists are driven by the following questions : What social issues do we need to address in the 21st century? What language is unifying the world? What is going on around us? What place has Love in all this ?

In collaboration with Visual Artist Nicolas Clauss, Music Composer Romain Aweduti and Actor Loïc Basille, Fabio & Antonino develop an installation / performance guiding the audience through an atmosphere full of lively and extravagant allegories inspired by key images of 'The Comedy'.

* The Comedy is the name that Dante gave to his work, the adjective ´ divine ´ is most probably given by Lodovico Dolce in 1555.

Awareness actions

Young people and body expression

Since 2013, the company has been committed to carry out raising awareness and education with more than 2300 students, from schools predominantly in the Aix-Marseille metropolitan area but also in Europe. Currently Essevesse is involved in structures such as the Marseille Opera House and DEMOS in collaboration with the Philharmonie de Paris in France, La Casa del Sorriso in Italy, Oaklands School in London. Students participate in workshops with professional dancers and usually create a performance, which is presented at the end of the year on different professional stages.

European projects

ERASMUS PLUS in strategic partnership

–KA1 Act-no-ReacT! en partenariat avec Check-In (Portugal), CEIPES (Italie), ASPAYM (Espagne), IASD (Pologne), AICSCC – GAMMA Institute (Roumanie), Euni Partners (Bulgarie) en 2020.

–KA2 Lifelong Dancing in partnership with ASPAYM (Spain), CEIPES (Italy), AICSCC (Romania), Euni Partners (Bulgaria), in 2019 and 2020.

–KA2 Dance Against Bullying in partnership with The Smile of the Child (Greece), CEIPES (Italy), AICSCC (Romania), Euni Partners (Bulgaria), in 2019, 2020 and 2021.