Patrizia Cerroni

Recognized by international critics as an exceptionally brilliant dancer and choreographer, Patrizia Cerroni is an extraordinary artist who has dedicated her career to inventing an entirely new choreographic language based on improvisation and interpretation of emotions. Her vital, expressive, spontaneous and passionate creativity crosses artistic boundaries and embraces many artistic genres. She cleverly blends influences from both Oriental (in particular Indian) as well as Western (American) traditions in her praised performances.

As dancer and actress, Cerroni knows how to abandon and transform herself in favor of the interpretation of movement with intensity and fluidity. An eclectic choreographer and out-of-the-scheme visionary, she dedicates herself to every performance and collaborator with deep rigor and commitment.

In over 40 years of her career Cerroni has formed over 300 dancers, dozens of which have become choreographers, later creating their own companies. Together with her renowned dance company I Danzatori scalzi – barefoot dancers – Cerroni has performed in the most important theaters and international festivals throughout the world, as well as on national and international TV. She has created more than thirty productions and received numerous prizes and awards among which the Silver Targe from the President of the Republic of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi for the commitment to the training of the young and to the diffusion and exploitation of the Italian tradition of dance and cultural heritage known and appreciated all over the world.

Career and training

Patrizia Cerroni had her first dance experience at the age of six with Maria Rosa Ferrari; ever since then she knew that she wanted to dedicate her life to dancing. At sixteen, she began attending the National Academy of Dance, where she studied Classical Dance (Russian, French and English style) under the guidance of Boris Trailine, David Lichine, Juan Corelli, Zarko Prebil, Osins, Nathalie Krassovska and Nina Viroubova.

She studied Modern Dance with Jean Cebron with whom an intense collaboration and friendship is born. He introduced the German Expressionist School to her, stimulating in her the research of a new dance language that stems from her internal world and imagination.
Cerroni also studied American Modern Dance and the techniques of Martha Graham in New York together with her dance company, also invited to a workshop in Washington as a special guest. She also studies with Pearl Lang, Alvin Ailey and Merce Cunningham whom she considers another great teacher and personal inspirer.

During her long stays in India, Cerroni approached the study of yoga (Yienger, Asthanga, Anusara, Tantra techniques, meditation and visualization). She also studied EFT (emotional freedom techniques) in New York with Gary Craig and became a fully licensed practioner. Since 2009 she practices her own method of movement therapy based on yoga and EFT operating both in New York as well as in Rome.

Since 2013 Cerroni is shooting videos of her lessons on the dynamics and movements of her language of dance in the United States. She is also currently writing an autobiography from which a draw a new performance One Woman Show and a movie.

Cerroni and Music

At first Cerroni makes her choreographiess to existing music, using different genres that range from pop music to jazz, contemporary to classical music, Indian music to New Age. She later changes her method of relation with music and creates her choreographies in silence, inviting composers to interpret her dance. Maestros such as Mauro Bortolotti, Giovanni Tommaso, Luis Agudo, Massimo Urbani, Eugenio Colombo, Ettore Fioravanti, Fulvio Maras, Ioska Mezal, Francis Tosoni and Angelo Valori compose music for her choreographies.

Shirkuma Sharma, Zakir Hussain, Jog, H. Chaurasia and Kichlu Vidjay open new horizons for Cerroni as well as Giacinto Scelsi for whom she dances improvised performances. Cerroni also works with Claudio Marchetti and Danilo Ritucci who with their musical research help expand her horizons in new age.

Prizes & Awards

Apollon Musagète
Donna Circe Prize
Capo Circeo Prize, Plate Nello Flora
Plate City of Chandigar
City of Agrigento Prize
Gold Gull
Oscar for the Musical
International Prize “Piazza del Popolo”
International Prize Ginestra d’Oro
Silver Targe of the President of the Republic of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

Tours

In the World
Asia: India (1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1990), Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore (1987), Korea, Malaysia: (1987, 1988)
Africa: Marocco e Senegal (1983), Egypt (1999)
Australia: 1984, 1999
Americas: Brazil (1986, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2006), Perù (1986), Venezuela (1986, 1991), U.S.A (1985, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994), Mexico (1989), Canada (1991)

In Europe
France and Benelux (1975, 1976, 1978, 2006)
Scandinavia (1976, 1978)
Switzerland (1978)
Germany (1978, 1979, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 2004, 2006, 2008)
Austria (1981, 1994)
Hungary (1989)
Spain and Portugal (1989)
Croatia (2006)