The forty-first edition of the Romaeuropa Festival opens under the banner of new Italian authorial voices. Sofia Nappi, a choreographer who has established herself internationally and whose work has been hosted by major European companies and theatres, presents her new production CHORA – Il vuoto all’origine in its Italian premiere with her company KOMOCO.
A work that invites us to return to the origin of movement and existence, exploring what precedes language and form. Listening, breath, gravity, and space become companions of memory, tension, and potential; fragile gestures transform into volumes, pauses, and collective flows, revealing how emptiness is not absence, but possibility and creation.
The evening opens with DODI, the first choreography by Sofia Nappi, a short duet that explores the torment and hidden poetry within the relationship with the other.
Sofia Nappi is a choreographer and the artistic director of KOMOCO, an Italian contemporary dance company with an international presence, co-founded together with its earliest inspirers, Adriano Popolo Rubbio and Paolo Piancastelli.
Her early creations quickly received prestigious recognition, including the Partner Introdans Award at the Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition 2021, as well as 1st Prize, the Critics’ Award, and the Production Award at the International Choreography Competition Hannover (2021).
Today, KOMOCO’s works are presented in Italy and abroad, touring across Europe, Mexico, Canada, and Serbia, and appearing at international festivals and institutions such as La Biennale di Venezia, Romaeuropa Festival, MASDANZA, Teatros del Canal, Danse Danse Montréal, and the Belgrade Dance Festival.
As an independent choreographer, Sofia creates works for international companies and theaters, including the National Theatre Mannheim, Staatsoper Hannover, Scottish Dance Theatre, Introdans, Göteborg Opera, and Nederlands Dans Theater 2.
She has also been active in international training and research, collaborating with institutions such as Tisch NYU, Micadanses Paris, Henny Jurriëns Studio Amsterdam, Elephant Madrid, Tanzpunkt Hannover, École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal, and Opus Ballet Firenze. Since 2022, she has also organized the biennial workshop Komoco Intensive in Florence.
Sofia trained at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York and further deepened her study of movement through Gaga and the work of the Hofesh Shechter Dance Company, both of which have had a profound influence on her choreographic language.
Komoco is a young Italian dance company, initially created through the collaboration between two sisters united by a passion for art: Sofia Nappi, choreographer and dancer, and Alice Nappi, violinist and composer. The name comes from a blend of two terms: “Komorebi,” a Japanese word that describes the sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees, creating a dance of reflections, and “Collab,” expressing the strong belief in the value of co-creation between different art forms and among artists themselves.
In 2022, Komoco was established as an association based in Florence by Sofia Nappi, its artistic director, together with her closest dancers and collaborators, Paolo Piancastelli and Adriano Popolo Rubbio. It is precisely the encounter with these two dancers in 2020 that marked the beginning of the company’s artistic, production, and educational activities: from the very start, the productions and workshops organized in Italy and abroad have received significant following and recognition. The company’s early short works have won important international awards, and soon the first international co-productions arrived. Komoco is now touring with choreographic projects created by Nappi (the quintet IMA and PUPO, for 7 dancers), and continues to grow both in quality and structure, presenting its works in some of the most important theatres and festivals on the global contemporary dance scene. Sofia Nappi and her company Komoco have been associate artists of Sosta Palmizi since 2020, of Oriente Occidente for the 2025–26 biennium, and resident artists at PARC – Fondazione Fabbrica Europa for the 2025–27 three-year period. Since 2025, Komoco has also been supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture as an under-35 dance production organization.
Internationally, since 2022 the company has collaborated with the German agency Ecotopia Dance Productions, directed by Claudia Bauer and Meinrad Huber, for the promotion and distribution of its works abroad, particularly in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Canada, and since 2025 also with the Italian agency Retropalco.
Alongside its production activity, focused on the creation and international touring of performances, the company also carries out educational work, which Nappi has been developing for several years worldwide (Italy, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Belgium, Israel, Mexico, Canada, Serbia, and more), together with her dancers and closest collaborators.
The KC workshops are open to professional dancers as well as non-movers and amateurs who wish to challenge themselves and approach movement. Komoco’s mission is to generously share its art with a wide and diverse audience, bringing people closer to contemporary dance through performances, training activities, and inclusive events open to everyone.
Chora – Il vuoto all’origine
coreography Sofia Nappi
in collaboration with dancers KOMOCO Bonni Bogya, Glenda Gheller, India Guanzini, Sem Houmes, Paolo Piancastelli, Senne Reus, Kacper Szklarski
rehersal director Adriano Popolo Rubbio
original music and sound design Ciaran Morahan
with music by Alessandro Cortini, Ben Frost (Gluteus Maximus remix), J.S. Bach mixed and integrated Ciaran Morahan
luci Alessandro Caso
costumes Adriano Popolo Rubbio realized by Adriano Popolo Rubbio, Adelaide D’Ago
DODI
by Sofia Nappi
dancers Adriano Popolo Rubbio e Paolo Piancastelli
costumes Sofia Nappi
light design Alessandro Caso
production Komoco, Sosta Palmizi
duration 10′
Awards Vincitore del Partner Award Introdans alla Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition 2021; Primo premio e premio della critica all’ International Choreography Competition Hannover 2021; Premio di Produzione dalla Fondazione Tanja Liedtke e dal Direttore Artistico Marco Goecke dello Staatstheater Hannover
production management Giulia Pasquini, Claudia Bauer
production KOMOCO
co-production Theater Winterthur, Roma Europa Festival, COLOURS International Dance Festival, Oriente Occidente
in collaboration with ecotopia dance productions
residency support Oriente Occidente, Inteatro residenze, PARC Firenze
with the contribution of MiC – Ministero della Cultura
