Daniele Finzi Pasca
DANIELE FINZI PASCA was born in Lugano, Switzerland in 1964.
The origins...
Director, author, choreographer, and clown, Daniele Finzi Pasca was born into a family of photographers and grew up in his father's darkroom, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and great-grandfather. His collaboration with his brother Marco began early in life and together they founded two small soccer teams: Finfazu and Canarivi. Gymnastics introduced Daniele to the circus world and he later took his first steps on stage under the guidance of a clown named Fery.
In 1983, he moved to India, where he worked as a volunteer looking after the sick. Upon returning to Switzerland, he founded Teatro Sunil, which he still directs. His lifelong fascination with clowning led to a collaboration with Maria Bonzanigo. Together they developed a theatrical technique they would call "Teatro della Carezza".
Icaro
Finzi Pasca was given a short prison sentence for refusing to do his military service and used the time to put the finishing touches to his trilogy dedicated to "the escape". One part of this trilogy was Icaro, a monologue for an audience of one. Interpreted by Finzi Pasca and performed during more than 15 years in six different languages, Icaro has been presented around the world. This "benchmark" show would come to define the essence of style and elegance that is Teatro Sunil.
small and...
During the following years Finzi Pasca created and directed over 25 shows with Teatro Sunil. These have been seen in more than 20 countries and are characterised by a deep sense of humanity and playfulness. They include: Rituale, Viaggio al Confine, Dialoghi col Sonno, Percossi Obbligati, Giacobbe, 1337, Aitestás and Visitatio (a Teatro Sunil and Carbone 14 of Montreal production). He has also written and directed Te amo, a Poramor Producciones and Teatro Sunil production, featuring Ana and Dolores Heredia.
...huge projects
In recent years he has written and directed two shows for the Cirque Eloize of Montreal: Nomade - At night, the sky is endless and Rain - Comme une pluie dans tes yeux. Nomade opened in 2002 and has been an enormous success in Paris, London, Vienna, Montreal, Athens, Rotterdam, Beirut, Hong Kong, Rome, Milan, Madrid etc, with more than 700 performances.
In 2001, following a meeting between Cirque Éloize and Daniele Finzi Pasca, the foundation was laid for a project that is now completed: The Sky Trilogy. Three shows – Nomade, Rain and Nebbia – bring together the worlds of acrobatics and the poetry of the circus that are unique to Cirque Éloize and create the nostalgic and ethereal universe populated with profoundly human characters. The third part of the Sky Trilogy, Nebbia, has been was launched in December 2007 and has been touring worldwide ever since to great acclaim. Nebbia is a creation of Cirque Éloize in co-production with Teatro Sunil. Meaning fog in Italian, Nebbia explores the world of dreams and the imaginary. In the fog you get lost, you find each other, but above all, you are confronted with the unexpected...
In 2006 Daniele Finzi Pasca was commissioned to create and direct the closing ceremony of the XXth Olympic Winter Games in Torino. Ceremony followed by million of people. In 2007 Daniele Finzi Pasca won the Swiss Award in "show business" and created, Nebbia a Cirque Eloize and Teatro Sunil co-production. This new and successful show opened in December 2007 and will tour worldwide.
AWARDS
Rain opened in 2003 at Irvine, California, and has had great success in New York and San Francisco, as well as receiving the Best Touring Production of the Year Theatre Award in Great Britain. For this show Daniele Finzi Pasca was nominated as the best director at the Drama Desk Awards in New York.
The year 2008 began with the Swiss Theatre Prize and with his nomination for the Europe Theatre Prize.
TODAY
Daniele Finzi Pasca has been commissioned by the Chekhov International Theatre Festival in Moscow to direct the show opening the 150th celebration of Chekhov's birth, in 2010.
More Information
Manager: Jean-Jacques Cesbron
Contact: Jean-Jacques Cesbron
Management Territory: North America
