EDge Contemporary Dance Company Returns to Naples After Two-Year Absence

The London-based contemporary dance company EDge, composed of graduates from the London Contemporary Dance School, has returned to Naples' Teatro Bellini after a two-year hiatus. The company, which changes its lineup annually, presented a program of four choreographies by Joseph Toonga, Philippe Blanchard, Alexander Whitley, and the performers themselves under Tom Roden's direction. The performance was part of a tour spanning fifteen theaters across six countries. Naples was the only Italian stop, facilitated by the NEO network and local choreographers Emma Cianchi, Gennaro Cimmino, and Antonello Tudisco, with Fortunato Angelini as a liaison. The tour aimed to draw attention to southern Italian theaters' lack of engagement with dance and to highlight how abroad, dance degrees are recognized by public universities, unlike in Italy where only the Accademia Nazionale di Danza in Rome can issue recognized diplomas. The company's fluid structure, recruiting top students after their BA (Hons) recognized by the University of Kent, emphasizes diversity in physicality and movement. The choreographic highlight was Alexander Whitley's 'Undergoing,' set to music by Rutger Zuydervelt, praised for its fluid, nervous choreography and compared to Wayne McGregor's work.