It was born with the first edition in July 2013, with the precise intention of giving the opportunity to all those who love and cultivate the splendid art of dance to be able to compare and improve through intensive work with teachers of the highest level while keeping expenses as low as possible (in these times of economic crisis).

Brianza Danza Festival is a totally no profit project!

In fact, in the summer period Italy is full of offers for in-depth study of dance in various tourist locations. However, prices have become truly prohibitive and this means that families often have to give up on letting their children study.  Very often  perhaps it is precisely the most talented ones who are unable to seize these opportunities.

So we wanted to structure a formula that would allow us to financially benefit those who want to study more by meeting talent and those who could not afford a similar experience.

We therefore first proposed teachers of the highest level: The Artistic Direction of the Brianza Danza Festival was entrusted to Michel Gogat (former Principal Dancer of the Zaragoza Ballet and prestigious artist in companies such as Ballet de Marseille Roland Petit and Maggio Fiorentino trained at the Opera of Paris), with the presence of former teachers and professionals from the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, from the world of Modern Dance and Musical, Contemporary Dance and Hip-hop. 

We wanted the initiative to have a close link with the Brianza area and so we held the first edition at the facilities of the Municipality of Nibionno.

​

WE HAVE CREATED SCHOLARSHIPS:

Wanting to reward talent, we established scholarships that would allow the winners to repeat the study experience free of charge in the next edition.

Everything has been organized in such a way as to allow students of all disciplines and all levels to live the magical experience of a study holiday in a context that offers hospitality, professionalism and fun in addition to the lessons!

In fact, we have entered into agreements with the Nibionno swimming pools and with the hoteliers in the area so that even free time could be experienced as a holiday in Brianza.

 So in the week from 8 to 13 July 2013 the first edition was held in Nibionno.

A gamble and a bet: The Brianza Danza Festival was a success!

Although it was not an initiative that had been present for years, therefore with a reputation still to be created, we had 64 participants in the various disciplines of classical, repertoire, modern, contemporary and hip-hop dance. 

All participants and parents had absolutely positive opinions, so much so that they all expressed the wish that the Brianza Danza Festival could be extended to two weeks.

From this encouragement, received from all the participants, began our desire to make the Brianza Danza Festival truly a leading event in Lombardy for the world of dance.

 So, in 2014, we extended the event to two weeks and decided to hold the second week in a truly attractive location for interns.

The lake is a tourist destination for Lombards as well as foreigners and Mandello is a perfect oasis both for its territorial characteristics and for the sports facilities and cultural and artistic initiatives that the Municipality supports in the summer period.

We made contact with the Polisportiva and the Municipal Administration of Mandello who proved to be very interested in the initiative and available for its implementation.

The Lombardy Region granted patronage to the event believing in the artistic, cultural, sporting, social and tourist value of the project which in the 2014 edition saw the participation of around a hundred members.

The establishment of the Competition has allowed the initiative to become a real festival!

It was an event of great artistic and cultural interest capable of attracting people not only from Lombardy but also from other parts of Italy thanks to the importance and fame of the personalities from the world of dance involved.

The competition, in its first edition in 2014, offered prizes of great educational value with the aim of promoting talent in the area with scholarships for internships and other offers from prestigious training bodies and even a year of internship in a real company of dance!

In 2015 the new municipal administration of Mandello, again in collaboration with the Polisportiva, allowed us to bring the competition to the beautiful Piazza Mercato where we were able to set up a 12 m stage. x 12 m. and 137 kids attended the internship lessons and 117 were the contestants in the competition!

We have continued to expand the training offer by adding, in addition to the subjects of classical, modern, contemporary and hip-hop dance, stretching, repertoire, musicals, also the classical Spanish dance course and the classical and modern Master Classes with special guests.  

2016 was the turning point year! Mandello del Lario hosted the event entirely for 2 weeks in which, in collaboration with the Municipal Administration, we also organized evening entertainment events: the first white night of dance, the dance gallery and the closing ceremony which led Mandello to apply as "City of Dance".

Brianza Danza Festival has separated from the A.s.d. The academy is becoming a new completely independent and autonomous reality.

very important innovations have been added to the summer event with the birth of a real campus completely dedicated to the disciplines of urban dance with the establishment of the HIP-HOP LARIO CAMP.

As in the edition just held, we will continue to offer agreements for interns and companions in hotels, B&Bs, boarding schools and with the Lido in Mandello.

Furthermore, for the entire period, massage therapists and the official photographer of the Brianza Danza Festival will always be present.

Brianza Danza Festival grows until Covid which also undermined the dreams of many dance students, the restrictions imposed have created serious difficulties but despite everything the project continues to move forward: with all precautions for public health the competition will be suspended in 2021 but the stage with small numbers will take place in August with the hope of a new start.

In 2022 the situation improves but for the dance sector the experience of covid has been devastating, many schools have closed and the restart is difficult, the needs and aspirations of families and children have completely changed, especially teenagers are those who have suffered the most.

War breaks out in Ukraine and Brianza Danza Festival decides with Unicef Monza and Brianza to combine the International Dance Competition event with a Ballet Gala in favor of Ukrainian children. The event is hosted by the City of Desio which grants its patronage and hosts us at the PalaBanco Desio splendid structure! An unforgettable day and evening on May 15, 2022!

An enormous preparatory work to welcome artists from the Teatro alla Scala, from the Aida professional training center, from the Ukrainian Ballet Academy, from Pompea Santoro's Eko Dance Project Company and even the students of the Kiev State Ballet School who fled from war and found hospitality in Italy.

Thus we arrive today at the organization of the tenth edition of the International Dance Competition and the Summer Stage with a great desire to discover and bring out new talents because in recent years a lot of progress has been made and many talented boys and girls have been able to take the path of professionalism thanks to the opportunities offered by our events. Today many have completed their training and are in Italian and foreign ballet companies and others are completing their training in Italian and foreign academies.

So forward with new ideas and collaborations to then be able to applaud them all on stages all over the world!

​