What is the FIC Festival?
Scenario Pubblico/Compagnia Zappalà Danza presents the sixth edition of the FIC Festival – curated by the visionary artistic direction of Roberto Zappalà – which in recent years has also taken the name of 'Catania Contemporanea'.
The FIC workshop will take place within the festival from May 1 to May 9, 2026.
Workshop
Eight days of classes entirely dedicated to the study of the contemporary repertoire, featuring two different modules and four masterclasses. Classes are limited in number, with a maximum of 30 participants. Registration will close on March 27, 2026; should the maximum number of participants be reached before the deadline, the registration window will close in advance.
All workshop participants will receive a 20% discount on all performances scheduled during the FIC Festival 2026.
First Module
From May 1 to May 3, 2026
Maud de la Purification, danzatrice e assistente alla coreografia, nasce in Francia nel 1983 e si forma alla Scuola Nazionale di Marseille e al Conservatorio Nazionale di Tolosa, approfondendo il linguaggio della danza contemporanea. Dopo diverse esperienze in compagnie francesi e internazionali, nel 2011 incontra il lavoro di Roberto Zappalà e intraprende una collaborazione stabile con Scenario Pubblico / Compagnia Zappalà Danza a Catania, dove vive e lavora. All’interno della compagnia è interprete di numerose creazioni e firma assunzioni di ruolo come ripetitrice e assistente alla coreografia, contribuendo alla trasmissione e allo sviluppo del linguaggio MoDem. Affianca all’attività performativa quella pedagogica, conducendo workshop, masterclass e percorsi di ricerca rivolti a danzatori e performer, in dialogo costante con le produzioni e i progetti formativi della compagnia.
Jiří Pokorný è un coreografo ceco con base a L’Aia, nei Paesi Bassi.
Si è diplomato al Conservatorio Nazionale di Danza di Praga nel 2000 e ha poi danzato con la compagnia Laterna Magika a Praga.
Tre anni più tardi è entrato a far parte del Nederlands Dans Theater 2 a L’Aia, proseguendo successivamente la sua carriera con NDT1.
Dopo sette anni all’interno di NDT, Jiří si è unito alla compagnia KiddPivot di Vancouver, sotto la direzione della coreografa canadese Crystal Pite.
Si è diplomato al Conservatorio Nazionale di Danza di Praga nel 2000 e ha poi danzato con la compagnia Laterna Magika a Praga.
Tre anni più tardi è entrato a far parte del Nederlands Dans Theater 2 a L’Aia, proseguendo successivamente la sua carriera con NDT1.
Dopo sette anni all’interno di NDT, Jiří si è unito alla compagnia KiddPivot di Vancouver, sotto la direzione della coreografa canadese Crystal Pite.
Jiří has worked with numerous internationally renowned choreographers, including Jiří Kylián, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin, Paul Lightfoot, Sol León, and Crystal Pite, among others. He has performed in prestigious theaters worldwide, including the Opéra de Paris, Sadler's Wells in London, Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatro Liceu in Barcelona, Joyce Theatre in New York, and many others.
In 2013, Jiří began creating his own works as a freelance choreographer and has since collaborated with companies and production houses across Europe and North America. Among these, he has created works for NDT, Aterballetto in Italy, the Ballet Basel, the Nationaltheater Mannheim, the Budapest Dance Theatre, the Chamber Ballet Prague, the North West Dance Project in Portland (USA), and Korzo Productions in The Hague.
L’impegno di Jiří nella formazione coreutica riveste anch’esso un ruolo importante, grazie alle numerose collaborazioni con scuole di danza quali il Royal Conservatory dell’Aia, la Juilliard School di New York, Arts Umbrella di Vancouver, il Summer Intensive di NDT e Architanz Tokyo.
Jiří dirige inoltre un proprio programma educativo per giovani coreografi, The Pioneer Project, presso il Korzo Theatre dell’Aia.
Sau-Ching Wong è nata nei Paesi Bassi e si è diplomata presso CODARTS. Dal 2006 vive a Barcellona, dove ha lavorato con LeineRoebana, Dylan Newcomb, Zappalà Danza, IVONA, tra gli altri.
Dal 2010 Sau-Ching fa parte della compagnia La Veronal, diretta da Marcos Morau. Ha preso parte alle creazioni della compagnia quali Russia, Islandia, Siena, Pájaros Muertos, Voronia, Equal Elevations, Pasionaria e Sonoma, tuttora in tournée. Ha inoltre assistito Morau in creazioni realizzate con Spellbound Dance Company e Beijing Dance Theatre. Parallelamente, tiene workshop sul linguaggio e sul repertorio di La Veronal.
Dal 2010 Sau-Ching fa parte della compagnia La Veronal, diretta da Marcos Morau. Ha preso parte alle creazioni della compagnia quali Russia, Islandia, Siena, Pájaros Muertos, Voronia, Equal Elevations, Pasionaria e Sonoma, tuttora in tournée. Ha inoltre assistito Morau in creazioni realizzate con Spellbound Dance Company e Beijing Dance Theatre. Parallelamente, tiene workshop sul linguaggio e sul repertorio di La Veronal.
From 2010 Sau-Ching is part of La Veronal, directed by Marcos Morau. She has been in the company's creations such as Russia, Islandia, Siena, Pájaros Muertos, Voronia, Equal Elevations, Pasionaria and Sonoma which is still touring til today. She has assisted Morau in creations with Spellbound Dance Company and Beijing Dance Theatre. She also teaches workshops in the language and repertory of La Veronal.
She has collaborated with the theater director Àlex Rigola for the Biennale di Venezia and La Fenice. As an actress and choreographer she worked in the production Falsestuff by Nao Albet and Marcel Borrás, premiered at the Teatro Nacional de Catalunya. Besides collaborating in theatre, while choreographing or acting, she also features in Spanish movies as an actress. In her most recent projects she directs and creates with Carles Castaño Oliveros, a real-time 3D artist. Together they direct immersive and interactive performances, produced by the production company Servicios Inmersivos.
In recent years they have investigated the performing arts related to digital art and technology in various projects, presented at the interdisciplinary center of Arts Santa Monica, MIRA Festival, Fuori Programma, Grec Festival among others. Her latest project is KRUID, which is a dance performance using mixed reality where the audience wears VR devices to interact live with the digital scenography and the performer.
Second Module
From May 5 to May 9, 2026
Dereck Cayla is a visual artist and choreographer active internationally in the fields of contemporary dance, performance, and visual art. Since 2016, he has worked as a freelance performer in the Netherlands, collaborating with choreographers and companies such as Emio Greco | PC, Nicole Beutler, and Roshanak Morrowatian.
In 2023–2024, he was involved as a movement designer in the European project REPLAY: Rôles de Danse, an immersive video game based on movement language, developed with artificial intelligence in collaboration with the French collective Orbes. The game was presented in major venues, including BAM in Milan and the MOCO Conference in Utrecht.
As a visual artist, he created Light Bodies, Angles, an installation combining large-scale drawing, video projection, and live performance, presented in Amsterdam in March 2024.
Among his choreographic works, the following stand out:
Mermaids, a duet performed at numerous festivals, including Julidans (Amsterdam) and Kunsthal (Rotterdam).
Sirènes, a danced short film shot in Patagonia, winner of numerous international awards, including the Berlin International Film Festival and Cinedans.
He worked for several years with the ICK Dans Amsterdam company: first as a full-time dancer (2009–2016), then as rehearsal director and mentor for the junior company (2021–2023), also contributing to the development of the educational curriculum.
He is certified as a yoga instructor (Sivananda tradition) and a Pilates instructor, and has earned major distinctions in contemporary dance at the National Superior Conservatory of Paris.
Fernando Roldán Ferrer was born in Spain in 1984. He began studying flamenco and Spanish dance at the Conservatory of Music and Dance in Almería, Spain. In 2002, he received a scholarship to attend contemporary dance courses and workshops at C.A.D. in Seville.
In 2005, he collaborated as a dancer with the company Cie. Coline in Istres (Marseille). In 2006, he was selected to participate in the advanced training course "MoDem Studio Atelier" in Catania, Italy, produced by Compagnia Zappalà Danza. Since then, he has been a permanent collaborator with Compagnia Zappalà Danza as a dancer and assistant for all productions. He has also worked as a dancer with companies such as Petranura Danza by Salvatore Romania and Laura Odierna, Cie. Déjà Donné by Simone Sandroni, and the Ariella Vidach – AIEP company. Alongside Valeria Zampardi, he was the protagonist of the dance film La Demiurge by Alain El Sakhawi.
Fernando began his choreographic exploration in 2011 with Lui/Lei, followed by Seen/Unseen (2013) and Nocturno (2014). In 2016, he initiated an artistic collaboration with artist Alessandro Sollima, leading to numerous creations, including the most recent, Haeresis.
In 2005, he collaborated as a dancer with the company Cie. Coline in Istres (Marseille). In 2006, he was selected to participate in the advanced training course "MoDem Studio Atelier" in Catania, Italy, produced by Compagnia Zappalà Danza. Since then, he has been a permanent collaborator with Compagnia Zappalà Danza as a dancer and assistant for all productions. He has also worked as a dancer with companies such as Petranura Danza by Salvatore Romania and Laura Odierna, Cie. Déjà Donné by Simone Sandroni, and the Ariella Vidach – AIEP company. Alongside Valeria Zampardi, he was the protagonist of the dance film La Demiurge by Alain El Sakhawi.
Fernando began his choreographic exploration in 2011 with Lui/Lei, followed by Seen/Unseen (2013) and Nocturno (2014). In 2016, he initiated an artistic collaboration with artist Alessandro Sollima, leading to numerous creations, including the most recent, Haeresis.
Over the past six years, Fernando has collaborated with Roberto Zappalà as an assistant and teacher of the MoDem language, the movement language of Compagnia Zappalà Danza. He is also the director of the MoDem Atelier program, produced by Scenario Pubblico CZD / National Center for Dance Production.
Masterclass
May 5–6, 2026
Samir Calixto (São Paulo, 1978) is a Brazilian choreographer and dancer who has been active for many years in the Netherlands, where he is regarded as one of the most distinctive voices in the independent contemporary dance scene. After a cross-disciplinary training spanning theatre, modern dance, and classical music in São Paulo, he moved to Europe in 2004, entering into dialogue with the vibrant Dutch choreographic context. His creations interweave the body with philosophy, music, and visual arts, often drawing inspiration from iconic scores of the Western repertoire, from Schubert and Vivaldi to Arvo Pärt. Among his most significant works are the tetralogy Winterreise, 4 Seasons, Paradise Lost, M (co-produced with Nederlands Dans Theater and Korzo), and the solo RAIZ, presented at numerous international festivals. In 2014 he received the BNG Excellent Talent Dance Award, a major recognition of choreographic talent in the Netherlands. His works have been presented in theatres and festivals across Europe, Asia, and Africa, consolidating a research practice that places vulnerability, emotional intensity, and a strongly physical stage presence at its core.
May 7–8, 2026
Sofia Nappi is a choreographer and artistic director of KOMOCO, a contemporary dance company based in Italy and active internationally, which she co-founded together with her first muses, Adriano Popolo Rubbio and Paolo Piancastelli.
From the very beginning, Sofia’s early creations with KOMOCO received major international recognition, winning the Partner Introdans Award at the Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition 2021, as well as the First Prize, the Critics’ Award, and the Production Award at the 35th International Choreography Competition Hannover (2021), conferred by the Tanja Liedtke Foundation and Marco Goecke.
Currently, KOMOCO’s works, choreographed by Sofia, are presented in Italy and internationally, touring throughout Europe as well as in countries such as Mexico, Canada, and Serbia. The company has been hosted by major international institutions and festivals, including the Venice Biennale, Albania Meeting Dance Festival, RomaEuropa Festival, MASDANZA, The Colors International Dance Festival, Teatros del Canal and Madrid en Danza, Danse Danse (Montréal), and the Belgrade Dance Festival, among others.
As an independent choreographer, Sofia also creates new works for internationally renowned dance companies and theatres. In 2021, she restaged Holelah with the Nationaltheater Mannheim, a work originally created for the 2019 Venice Biennale. In 2023, she created Tagadà for the Staatsoper Hannover, Moving Cloud for Scottish Dance Theatre—premiered at Celtic Connections 2023—and the inclusive project Kemet, commissioned by the Dutch national company Introdans as part of the HubClub’23 project.
In 2024, she was responsible for the stage movement of the opera Platée for the Göteborg Opera and presented the short creation Hara for Nederlands Dans Theater 2 as part of the Up & Coming Choreographers project.
In 2025, she created new works for Leipzig Ballet (Duende), Charlie as part of the FireWork project by Gauthier Dance // Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Lila for Ballet BC (Vancouver), and the choreographic sections of the opera Der Junge Lord for the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. In the same year, she also served on the preselection jury of the 39th International Choreography Competition Hannover.
In 2026, Sofia will restage Tagadà for Introdans and create CHORA – The Void as Origin, a new full-length production for KOMOCO.
Alongside her creative practice, Sofia Nappi’s work also extends into international research and professional training, with teaching engagements at institutions such as the Tisch School of the Arts / New York University, Micadanses / Carreau du Temple in Paris, Henny Jurriëns Studio in Amsterdam, b12 and Share Intensive in Berlin, Elephant in the Black Box in Madrid, Tanzpunkt Hannover, the École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal, Opus Ballet Firenze, the Accademia Internazionale Coreutica, and Opificio in Movimento, among others.
Since 2022, she has been organizing the Komoco Intensive company workshop twice a year in Florence, welcoming professional dancers from all over the world.
Sofia graduated from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York; her training was also strongly shaped by direct contact with the Hofesh Shechter Dance Company and by the study of the Gaga movement language, developed by the internationally renowned choreographer Ohad Naharin.
Info and Fees
Module 1 + Module 2 (including masterclasses): €560.00
Module 1: €320.00
Module 2: €420.00 (including masterclasses)
Masterclasses only: €200.00 (4 lessons)
To register, it is necessary to complete the form available on this page and attach a copy of the bank transfer receipt. The participation fee must be paid via bank transfer made out to: AC OCRAM DANCE MOVEMENT IBAN: IT15G0335967684510700289633 Payment reference: FIC WORKSHOP 2026 + PARTICIPANT NAME
[icon color=”accent-color” size=”tiny” icon_size=”” image=”fa-envelope-o”] info.ficworkshop@gmail.com
Timelines
27 marzo 12:00 pm UTC+1 – termine ultimo per l’invio delle candidature
Schedule
1 MAY
09:00
Registrazione
09:30–10:45
Maud de la Purification (Ballet)
11:00–13:00
Sau-Ching Wong (Marcos Morau repertoire)
13:00–14:00
Lunch break
15:00–17:00
Jiri Pokorny (Crystal Pite repertoire)
2–3 MAY
09:30–10:45
Maud de la Purification (Ballet)
11:00–13:00
Sau-Ching Wong (Marcos Morau repertoire)
13:00–14:00
Lunch break
14:00–16:00
Jiri Pokorny (Crystal Pite repertoire)
5-6 MAY
10:00–12:00
Dereck Cayala (Emio Greco repertoire)
12:15–13:45
Samir Calixto – workshop
13:45–14:45
Lunch break
14:45–16:45
Fernando Roldan Ferrer (Roberto Zappalà repertoire)
7-8 MAY
10:00–12:00
Dereck Cayala (Emio Greco repertoire)
12:15–13:45
Sofia Nappi – workshop
13:45–14:45
Lunch break
14:45–16:45
Fernando Roldan Ferrer (Roberto Zappalà repertoire)
9 MAY
10:00–12:00
Dereck Cayala (Emio Greco repertoire)
12:15–14.15
Fernando Roldan Ferrer (Roberto Zappalà repertoire)
14:15–15:15
Lunch break
16:00–17:00
Sharing (repertorio Greco + Zappalà)
*Times are subject to change.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
27 March 12:00 pm UTC+1
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