KSU Dance Presents Italy's Spellbound Contemporary Ballet

Kennesaw State University's Department of Dance will present the internationally acclaimed Spellbound Contemporary Ballet from Rome on Oct. 12-13 at the Dance Theater on the Marietta Campus. The internationally acclaimed company will present the U.S. premiere of "Full Moon," by Mauro Astolfi.

A Spellbound production with the contribution of the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, "Full Moon" is directed and choreographed by Astolfi.

"The full moon is a 'reawakening' of our intuition, the feeling you get 'in your bones' that what is happening is something important, when we understand what we need to let go of, so our Moon can become eternal," Astolfi said.

Astolfi's choreographic vision is to continually develop works that equally embody pure gestural expressiveness, structured by classical technique and training. Poetry and precision are at the core of the success of his works. After a long residency in the United States, he established the Spellbound Contemporary Ballet in 1994, a company which he runs together with Valentina Marini.

Today, the company acts as an inspiration for many young and emerging choreographers and is currently one of the leaders in the international scene, having combined Astolfi's personal portfolio with the technical excellence of its dancers to create a high-profile model that is strongly focused on the quality of productions.

Ivan Pulinkala, interim dean of the College of the Arts and founder of the Department of Dance, said, "We are thrilled to host Spellbound Contemporary Ballet. The educational experience of our students will be greatly impacted by their visit, and I believe the community will thoroughly enjoy the performance."

The dance program began at KSU in 2005 and has flourished into the largest collegiate dance program in Georgia. The Dance Theater on the Marietta campus, the performance home of KSU Dance, opened last year and is Atlanta's first theater designed specifically for dance. To buy tickets, visit KSUDance.com.