Marcella Cappelletti

🪔 About

Marcella Cappelletti is an Italian dance artist, performer, and teacher specializing in Bharatanatyam, contemporary dance, and yoga. Her journey in dance began with Bharatanatyam, which she describes as her first great love. She undertook a profound study of the art form, focusing on technique, discipline, and the intention behind each gesture. Her Bharatanatyam training included studies in Italy and India with Maresa Moglia, Krishnaveni Laksmanan, and Pushpa Shankar, and in England with Stella Uppal. She also pursued Carnatic musical studies with teachers such as Seetarama Sharma and K.K. Krishnamurti. Early in her career, Cappelletti performed extensively across Italy and in London with Maresa Moglia's company, Mangalam. Her artistic path expanded to include contemporary dance, leading her to study at Columbia College Chicago in the United States, where she explored post-modern techniques, Instant Composition, and Contact Improvisation with artists like Selene Carter, Kathleen Maltese, Mark Koenig, Nita Little, and Ruth Zaporah. She furthered her contemporary dance education in London, UK, completing a BA in Contemporary Dance with a specialization in South Asian Dance, studying with notable figures such as Stella Uppal, Geeta Sridar, and Mavin Khoo. Cappelletti also deepened her understanding of Indian dance by studying at the Kalakshetra Academy in Chennai, India, with teachers including Pushpa Shankar, Janardanan, and Chadrashekar. Cappelletti's work is characterized by her research and investigation into Bharatanatyam in both traditional and contemporary contexts, expressed through teaching and performance. She actively integrates Indian dance with improvisation, constantly reinventing her own language. She founded Spazio Sinfisi Danza, a center for research and studies. Her contemporary collaborations include working with artist Jérôme Bèl since 2017, performing in "Dancing as nobody watching," and participating in Marina Abramović's "Cleaning the House" workshop in 2019, followed by performances in "The Cleaner" exhibition in Florence.