THE FINI INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL Returns To The Ailey Citigroup Theater August 31
Celebrating Italian and American artists with performances and awards for outstanding dance figures.
By: A.A. Cristi Aug. 27, 2025
Antonio Fini will present the 15th annual Fini International Dance Festival on Sunday, August 31 at 8:00 PM at the Ailey Citigroup Theater (405 West 55th Street).
Following successful performances in Villapiana, Italy, the Festival now arrives in New York with an evening of performances from Italian and U.S. artists, along with the presentation of major awards recognizing extraordinary achievement in dance. Television personalities Tabata Caldironi and Ornelia Fado will serve as hosts.
The evening’s highlights include PeiJu Chien-Pott in Martha Graham’s 1933 solo Ekstasis, Antonio Leone in Jason’s solo from Graham’s Cave of the Heart, Jillian Pizzi in New York, New York, Antonio Fini and Maria Pia Tucci in Fini’s Memories of Tirana, and appearances by SISMO Company, Ballet Eloelle Grandiva, Gianni Santucci, Danielle Marie Fusco, Cammi Nevarez, and more.
Awards
The Fini Dance Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Joe Lanteri, Executive Director of Steps on Broadway. Lanteri’s family hails from Calabria, the birthplace of Antonio Fini.
The Fini Dance Extraordinary Dancer Award will honor renowned Martha Graham Company principal dancer PeiJu Chien-Pott, who will also perform Ekstasis. The solo, reimagined by Virginie Mecene in collaboration with Chien-Pott, was reconstructed from historic photographs and earned Chien-Pott a Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer.
Fini Dance Rising Star Awards will go to Jillian Pizzi, principal dancer with Staten Island Ballet, and Antonio Leone, member of the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Performances
Highlights of the 2025 Festival include:
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PeiJu Chien-Pott in Ekstasis (Martha Graham, 1933)
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Antonio Leone in Jason’s solo from Cave of the Heart
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Jillian Pizzi in New York, New York
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SISMO Company (Calabria) performing choreography by Valentina and Benedetta Morello, inspired by Fabrizio De André’s iconic anti-war song La Guerra di Piero
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A waltz by international choreographer Gianni Santucci, inspired by his choreography for the Netflix series The Leopard
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Ballet Eloelle Grandiva in an excerpt from Paquita
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New works by Danielle Marie Fusco and Cammi Nevarez
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The duet Looking for You, with choreography by Antonio Fini and music by Bach
About Antonio Fini
Born in Castrovillari, Calabria, Antonio Fini was discovered at 19 and trained at Milan’s Centro Studi Coreografici Teatro Carcano before relocating to New York to study at the Martha Graham Center. He has danced with Graham II, the Martha Graham Dance Company, and Michael Mao Dance, and is a certified Graham Technique teacher. Since 2018, Fini has served as ambassador of Dance for Diplomacy for the ACD Agency in Vienna. He has choreographed for New York City Opera and the National Ballet of Kosovo and is the producer and artistic director of multiple international festivals. He was recently appointed Director of Resources for the Martha Graham Dance Company.
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