Choreography

Jacopo Godani

Jacopo Godani is an internationally acclaimed choreographer born in La Spezia, Italy. He began studying classical ballet and modern dance alongside Fine Arts at the Carrara art academy. He was then accepted to continue his studies at the international dance center Mudra, founded by Maurice Béjart in Brussels. He made his professional debut as a dancer with several contemporary companies in Paris and Belgium. At only twenty-one, he led his first dance company in Brussels, marking the official start of his career as a choreographer and artistic director. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Ballet Frankfurt, led by William Forsythe, which is widely regarded as one of the most influential ballet companies of all time. During his years in Frankfurt, Godani reached the peak of his career as a leading soloist and choreographed numerous original ballets for the company, working closely with William Forsythe on the choreographic development of many of its most iconic works. His international career as a guest choreographer brought him to the world’s leading ballet companies, for which he created numerous original works.

In 2015, he was appointed the new Artistic Director of the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company. Within just three seasons, Jacopo Godani guided the development of this ballet company, bringing it to the forefront of the international dance scene and leading it to perform on the stages of major and prestigious theaters. Under his leadership, the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company achieved great success with German audiences and was widely recognized by the international press as one of the most important companies in the contemporary arts scene. The Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo has described Godani’s work as »a form of art that is entirely contemporary and revolutionary, without losing the very attributes that define its essence: technical virtuosity and pathos.«