FINI DANCE FESTIVAL AND AWARDS Takes Place at Ailey Today

The Fini Dance Festival and Awards returns to the Ailey Citigroup Theater to present a gala performance and presentation of awards to outstanding figures in the dance community, August 31 at 8 PM, hosted by Milan's charming actress/TV personality Tabata Caldironi.

Founded in 2011 in Calabria Italy by Calabria native Antonio Fini, the annual event celebrates artists from Italy and New York, sharing a program in a spirit of exchange and collaboration.

The evening also includes awards for dance notables. Recipients of past awards include Alessandra Ferri, Edward Villella, Luigi, Alessandra Corona, and more.

Performances by

Ballet Belvedere (from Calabria)

Ballet Eloelle-Grandiva (New York based)

Dzul Dance (New York based)

Fini Dance Company (Calabria & NY)

Hip-Hop Dancers (Naples)

Turin Tap Dance (Turin Italy)

Karol & Gabriel Chiappetta, finalists on Dancing With the Stars in Italy

Fini Dance Junior Company

2022 Awards Recipients

Louise Cantrell, founder of Dancing Angels Foundation - Lifetime Achievement Award

Lloyd Knight, principal with Martha Graham Dance Co. - Extraordinary Dancer Award

Bianca Delli Priscoll, senior artist with Ajkun Ballet - Rising Star Award

Angela Valentino, international makeup artist - Makeup award

More About the Program:

Ballet Belvedere from Calabria will present a duet choreographed by Maria Marino, danced by Karol and Gabriel Chiapetta.

Ballet Eloelle-Grandiva: The all-male comedy ballet company will appear in Odalisque Pas de Trois from Le Corsaire, choreographed

by director Victor Trevino to music by Adolphe Adam. Danced by Palomina Carrera, Marianela Moreorless, and Teresa Carino.

Dzul Dance: Javier Dzul and Miriam Barbosa will appear in a duet.

Fini Dance New York will present Memories of Tirana, danced by Antonio Fini and Nina Chong-Jimenez.

Turin Tap Dance from Turin will appear in a trio danced by Davide Accossato, Martina Barone, and Allegra Schwerdtfeger.

Karol & Gabriel Chiappetta, finalists on the Italian Dancing with the Stars, in a duet.

Fini Dance Junior Company in a work by Danielle Marie Fusco

More About the Awards Recipients:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Louise Cantrell, Founder of Dancing Angels Foundation: 

Native New Yorker Louise Cantrell earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration at the College of New Rochelle. With over ten years of experience she became an Assistant Vice President at Guy Carpenter & Company. In 2004 she settled in North Carolina and married Edward Cantrell, who joined the 3rd Special Forces Group. During her husband's career, Louise gave up her own career and became a stay at home mother, caring for their daughters Isabella and Natalia. On March 2, 2012, tragedy struck when their home burned down. Louise survived, but her husband and daughters perished. To honor and perpetuate the memory of Isabella and Natalia, Louise created the Dancing Angels Foundation to ensure their memory through dance scholarships for dedicated dancers. As a Gold Star wife, Louise also works to mentor families of fallen soldiers as well as being involved in other military organizations.

Extraordinary Dance Award:

Lloyd Knight, principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company:

Born in England and raised in Miami, Lloyd trained at the Miami Conservatory of Ballet and New World School of the Arts. He joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2005 and performs major roles in the Graham repertory, including Appalachian Spring, Embattled Garden, Night Journey, and many others. Lloyd has appeared with ballet stars Wendy Whelan and Misty Copeland in signature Graham duets, and has had roles created for him by Nacho Duato and Pam Tanowitz. He is currently a principal guest artist with The Royal Ballet of Flanders, directed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

Rising Star Award:

Bianca Delli Priscoli, senior artist with the Ajkun Ballet Theatre:

Bianca trained at Artestudio in her native Salerno, Italy, studying ballet, modern, and jazz techniques, and continued her training at the Accademia Nazionale di Danza in Rome. Moving to New York in 2014 she studied at the Ailey School and has performed with a variety of classical and contemporary companies in the U.S. and abroad. Her repertoire includes Giselle, Apollon Musagete, Don Quixote, Les Sylphides, and Nutcracker. Bianca is an ABT Certified Teacher from Pre-primary through Level 7 of the ABT National Curriculum Training. She joined Ajkun Ballet Theatre in 2020.

MakeUp Award:

Angela Valentino, international makeup artist:

The Milan native developed a passion for makeup while a student at the Liceo Artistico Caravaggio in Milan. She graduated in 2008 from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, listed first in the Top Academies of Arts in the world. Angela studied set and costume design, and subsequently included makeup, which she studied at the prestigious BCM Cosmetics School in Italy. Now a New York resident, she has been working in high fashion shows in Italy and the U.S. and has contributed to international fashion magazines, as well as creating sets and costumes for theater, TV, and cinema.

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