The Dance Academy’s da Dance Company
Launched in October 2010, the da Dance Company is an energetic youth company. da Dance company draws its dancers from the final year students at Dance Academy, offering them the opportunity to perform in public, both locally and overseas.
The formation of the company has been in the offing since 2006 when Dance Academy students first performed in the Czech Republic, winning the Dancing Hand award. The company, under the artistic direction of Ingrid Desira Buttigieg, provides the students with an opportunity to enhance their performance experience whilst further developing their technical proficiency. The da Dance Company’s repertoire includes works in the classical, modern and contemporay style.
Performances
Elude* (2003)
A classical dance to the music of Kachaturin which seeks to deal with the rapport between the female and male gender in a subterfuge fashion.
Caprice* (2006)
A classical dance inspired by the music of Tchaikovsky which evokes the theme of elegant desire.
*Awarded ‘The Dancing Prize’ at the New Prague Festival in 2006.
Blue Pressure (2008)
A dance in a classical and modern dance style. This dance is inspired by the emotions and control experienced through the conditions that are brought about by pressure and stress. It is perfromed to the music of Ludovico Ennaudi. This piece was also performed for the offical launching of the da Dance Company in 2010.
Free (2009)
This work is inspired by the injustices of the world and shows the dualism between purity and hope, war and violence. The dance is interspersed, by means of projections, with images of horror, pain and violence. It seeks to demonstrate a general comment on violence in the world and the hope of a better future – free from all prejudice.
Extracts from this dance were performed at the Dance Council Malta events held in February 2010 and October 2010, Dance Power IV.
At Cross Purposes (2012)
‘At Cross Purposes’ – choreography by Florinda Camilleri and Ingrid Desira Buttigieg.
The idea for this project, has stemmed from the statement of Giordano Bruno (an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician and astrononmer):
“Whatever contrariety is, there is action and reaction, there is motion, diversity, multitude, and order, there are degrees, succession and vicissitude.”
Coppelia (2013)
The da Dance Company is a semi-professional youth dance company and has just recently produced and performed the humoristic ballet Coppelia on December 15th, 2013. Coppelia is a charming, funny, classical ballet full of humour and ballet mime. The ballet is based upon a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann entitled “Der Sandmann” (“The Sandman”), which was published in 1815. This delightful tale presents a budding romance between two villagers, Frantz and Swanilda, alongside the curious workings of their eccentric neighbour Dr. Coppelius, a mad inventor who has taken to creating life-like automatons. Infatuated at the sight of the inventor’s new doll, Frantz sneaks into Dr. Coppelius’ workshop, and mayhem ensues.
Ingrid Desira Buttigieg MA, B. Phil (Hons), Rad. T. Dip., Artistic Director and Founder
The establishment of Dance Academy, in 1987, required Ingrid to create many rappresentational works for her school show, which comprised mainly of young students. It was not until 2007 that she decided to embark upon further investigation in the field of choreography when she enrolled for the MA in Choreography from the University of Fontys, Fontys Dance Academy, the Netherlands. In May 2010, Ingrid was awarded her MA and her dissertation was awarded a distinction. This dealt with the development of classical ballet in Malta from 1964 to 2004.
The founding of the da Dance Company offers the right opportunities for her to delve further into the choreographic field. It offers her immense opportunity to explore new styles and investigate movement through the creation of new work in the collaboration with her company members.
November 2015 CHOGM MALTA
Ingrid was choreographer for the first chapter entitled ‘Our Land’.
