as part of the Fabbrica Europa 2025 festival

Sisifo felice (Smiling Sisyphus) is a diptych by choreographers Philippe Kratz and Pablo Girolami.

Two independent but connected works explore the absurdity of existence, inspired by the Theatre of the Absurd and Camus’ famous remark “One must imagine Sisyphus happy”.

The body, immersed in cycles of fatigue and rebirth, becomes landscape, gesture, resistance. Live music combines Girolami’s DJ set with the organic and solemn sounds of Anna von Hausswolff and Maxime Denuc’s organ, creating a space suspended between tension and abandon.
Eight dancers inhabit a world in which happiness is not the absence of effort, but a radical choice of presence.

Philippe Kratz was born in 1985 in Leverkusen and discovered dance through the German tanztheater, thanks to the pedagogue and choreographer Suheyla Ferwer. He studied classical dance at the École supérieure de ballet du Québec in Montreal and later at the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin. He joined the Italian company Aterballetto, where he worked with international choreographers and, thanks to the support of Cristina Bozzolini, began his choreographic journey. After some initial creations, he choreographed Phoenix in 2017 built on improvisation and a strong conceptual structure, with original music by Borderline Order. At the heart of his work is a stable core that goes through processes of construction, destruction and rebirth. Rhythm, whether collective or individual is, for him, an instrument of urgency and truth. In 2018, he created O, inspired by a conversation between humanoid robots, which won the International Choreography Competition Hannover and earned him a residency with the Australian Dance Theatre. With cloud|materia (2019), influenced by the writings of Anni Albers, he explored physicality as a concrete experience of existence. In 2022 he debuted I, another AI-inspired duet. Named “one to watch” by Tanz magazine (2015, 2019), he was awarded Best Choreographer by Danza&Danza in 2019. He collaborates with Aterballetto, Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Nuovo Balletto di Toscana, Wiener and Bayerisches Staatsballett, Teatro alla Scala and tanzmainz.

After training at the Tanz Akademie Zürich, Pablo Girolami danced with the Hessisches Staatsballett and Spellbound Contemporary Ballet, where he performed in creations by choreographers such as Wayne McGregor, Hofesh Shechter, Richard Siegal and Marcos Morau. He is currently a freelance choreographer and Artistic Director of the company IVONA, of the HOUSE OF IVONA association. With IVONA, Girolami has obtained notable awards, including: first prize at the Jerusalem International Choreography Competition; Best Choreography at the Certamen Coreográfico del Distrito de Tetuán, Madrid; Best Choreography at the International Choreographic Competition LINKAGE, Sofia; the TWAIN_direzioniAltre Award 2019 and 2022, Tuscania; and Audience Award at the Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition. In addition to his work with IVONA, he has created choreography for companies including the Ballett Graz, Jerusalem Dance Theater, Club Guy & Roni, EgriBiancoDanza and Nuovo Balletto di Toscana. Since 2024, he has also been Artistic Director of the Fagagna Dance Festival.

Based in Florence, Nuovo Balletto di Toscana is one of the longest-running and most recognised contemporary dance companies in Italy. Founded by Cristina Bozzolini, the group stood out in the 1980s for the quality of its performers and for its openness to international choreographers such as Angelin Preljocaj, Christopher Bruce and Hans van Manen. In April 2024, after almost 40 years of activity, the company ran the risk of shutting down, but a joint effort has rekindled its future. Bozzolini has appointed Philippe Kratz as Artistic Director and Mario Setti, musicologist and historian, as General Manager. This new phase relaunches the vocation of Nuovo Balletto di Toscana: to be a living and dynamic laboratory for contemporary creation. Under this direction, the company will continue to commission and co-create new works, strengthening its presence on the Italian and international scene. The group, composed of versatile and proactive dancers, continues its research through collaborations with choreographers such as Michele Di Stefano, Cristina Kristal Rizzo, Mario Bermúdez Gil and others.

choreography: Philippe Kratz & Pablo Girolami
music: Anna von Hausswolff, Maxime Denuc and others
lighting design: Orso Casprini
sound design: Federico Bigonzetti
live music mix: Vermouth Gassosa
costume design: Patricia Villirillo, Santi Rinciari
rehearsal direction: Serena Vinzio & Manuela Spera
choreographic assistance for Pablo Girolami: Guilherme Leal
production coordination and assistance for Philippe Kratz: Adriana Malandrino
commissioned byLa Biennale di Venezia
co-production: La Biennale di Venezia, Nuovo Balletto di Toscana, Fabbrica Europa, HOUSE OF IVONA
with the support of Bayer stArt Academy
sponsor: Bayer AG
winner of the Biennale Danza 2025 call-out for a new Italian choreographic creation

photo: Monia Pavoni