Maria Bonzanigo

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MARIA BONZANIGO was born in Lausanne, Swizterland in 1966

 Early in her life Maria was fortunate to belong to the world of the stage. Her love and understanding of it came from her mother, who was a dancing teacher. Through her father, who was an assiduous reader, psychiatrist, and polyhedron constructor, she has developed a passion to delve into themes associated with the state of being. With her sister as her companion in adventure, she took lessons in flute construction, artistic ice-skating and gymnastics, and at the age of 7 joined the choir « I cantori della Turrita » with which she took part in numerous international tours, and for which, later on, she was concerned with the training of new singers. These early experiences taught her the joys and the pains of touring and of working in a group.
At the age of 7 she wrote her first musical compositions on the piano, inventing stories of the wind and the sea, of wolves, ants and elephants, and other extraordinary animals. After hearing and reading these pieces, the composer Paul Glass took her on as a student at the age of 11 and, taking advantage of his great experience as a film music composer, she learnt the craft of composing music.
As a child she created her first choreographies, emulating Charlie Chaplin and Fred Buscaglione, together with her brother. She continued her education as choreographer, dancer and dance teacher with Rosalia Chladek, an artist who she had met and admired as a child, and who also nourished her with personal accounts of her life and the artistic vision of the first half of the twentieth century. After meeting with the Greek choreographer Zouzou Nicoloudi she became interested in Greek mythology, and produced various choreographies about mythological characters using singing as background music. At a very young age she began her activity as a teacher at the school of her mother. Subsequently she was invited to be a teacher at an educational course organized by the International Association of Rosalia Chladek.

In 1984 she met Daniele Finzi Pasca, who told her about his recent experiences in India. He also explained his visions of the future and the theatrical projects he had in mind. With Daniele she began a long-standing artistic collaboration, and together they built up the company Teatro Sunil. A year after meeting him they created a circus act together with Fabrizio Arigoni.
She has taken part in most of the Teatro Sunil's productions, which have been performed in more than 20 countries:
- as an actress in about twenty productions, among which Viaggio al Confine, Dialoghi col Sonno, Percossi Obbligati and Patria
- as a composer of stage music of about twenty productions, among which Icaro, Aitestas, Visitatio (a production of Teatro Sunil and Carbone 14 of Montréal) Te Amo and Tres Tristes Tangos (created and interpreted with Hugo Gargiulo and Antonio Vergamini)
- as a choreographer and director of about ten productions, among which Passo Migratore, Concordanze (created with Chun He Gao, Nicola Marinoni and Dargo Raimondi), Percossi Obbligati and Di Sogno e Volo (created with his man , set designer and autor, Hugo Gargiulo).

In 2006 she was part of the production team which assisted Daniele Finzi Pasca in the staging of the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin. On that occasion she was responsible for a part of the choreography and wrote one of the original music pieces for the ceremony. 
She composed stage music for the Cirque Eloize of Montreal: Nomade - la nuit le ciel est plus grand and Rain – comme une pluie dans tes yeux and for Nebbia (Cirque Eloize in co-production with Teatro Sunil) (a trilogie directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca).
As a composer of stage music she took part in the creation of Corteo produced by the Cirque du Soleil, which had its debut in Montreal in 2005 and which at the present moment is on tour in the USA.
In 2006 she was part of the production team which assisted Daniele Finzi Pasca in the staging of the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin. On that occasion she was responsible for a part of the choreography and wrote one of the original music pieces for the ceremony. 

CDs published:
Editions Jecklin, Trialogo “Esperienze, Giovani compositori ticinesi”
Teatro Sunil, original music by Maria Bonzanigo
Teatro Sunil, Aitestàs, original music by Maria Bonzanigo
Editions Eloize, Nomade
Editions Eloize, Rain
Cirque du Soleil musique inc., Corteo