LOREDANA FURNO

founder

A Turin-born dancer and choreographer, Loredana Furno started her dance studies at the School of Teatro Regio under Grazioso Cecchetti and later perfected her technique under Susanna Egri, Esmèe Bulnes, Sonia Gasckell, and Marika Besobrasova. In 1962, she joined the corps de ballet of Teatro alla Scala in Milan and joined the Belgian and French tour of ‘I solisti del Teatro alla Scala.’ She was Prima ballerina at Teatro Regio in Turin for fifteen years and took part in the inauguration of the new theater. She danced as Prima ballerina in Italy’s main theaters: Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Arena di Verona, Teatro Comunale in Florence, the Opera in Rome, and many others. She was the female protagonist in the televised edition of ‘Histoire du Soldat,’ which she brought to the stage in numerous Italian theaters. She filled in for Carla Fracci as the protagonist in ‘The Daughter of Jorio’ at Teatro Petruzzelli- in Bari- and the following year alternated with Elisabetta Terabust as the protagonist in Rieti-Balanchine’s ‘La Sonnambula’ (The Sleepwalker) at Teatro Regio, in Turin. Furno was pointed out by the critics as one of the best ‘dancers interpreters’ and won many awards, such as ‘Premio Viotti,’ ‘Premio Positano’ – for her interpretation of Weill-Brecht’s ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ at Teatro Regio in Turin, beside Italian singer Milva -, ‘La Noce d’Oro,’ ‘La Caravella d’Oro,’ and numerous other awards. A dancer of dramatic temperament, Loredana was particularly successful in ballets such as ‘Il Gabbiano’ (The Seagull) by Vlad-Menegatti, ‘La Sonata dell’Angoscia’ (The Sonata of Anguish) by Bartok-Milloss, ‘The Daughter of Jorio’ by Azon-Miskovitch, ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ by Weill-Pistoni, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Prokofiev-Biagi, ‘Cleopatra’ by Mancinelly-Miskovitch, ‘Phedre’ by Massenet-Gai, ‘Semiramis’ by Gluck-Veggetti. She was also a heart-breaking Charlotte in Gaetano Pugnani’s ‘Werther,’ and a seductive Amalia Guglielminetti, alongside Jean Pierre Martal’s Gozzano, in ‘Amo le rose che non colsi.’ 

In 1968, on behalf of Ente Manifestazioni Torinesi, she created ‘Festa a Corte.’ It was the first time that Filippo D’Agliè’s Ballets for the Savoy Court had been proposed in contemporary times, on music – reconstructed from original scores – by Roberto Goitre.

In 1977, Furno founded Balletto Teatro di Torino. In this context, she produced the following ballets: ‘Werther’ by Pugnani-Miskovitch, ‘Cleopatra’ by Mancinelli-Miskovitch, ‘Shakespeariana’ by Biagi-Fascilla-Furno, ‘Il Noce di Benevento’ by Viganò-Paganini-Egri, ‘Pulcinella’ by Stravinskij-Gai, ‘Amo le rose che non colsi’ by Cristiano-Gai.

The company is active all-over Italy and abroad. It is stable in Turin and has a regular season at Lavanderia a Vapore – Center of Excellence for Dance in Collegno. BTT is the resident company at Lavanderia a Vapore.

Loredana got her license as a dance teacher from the Ministry of Public Education and, since 1964, has been the Director of the Balletto Teatro di Torino School of Dance. The School has trained many professional dancers, Matteo Levaggi being an example.

She was a History of Dance professor at the University of Turin.

FESTIVALS

In 1980, together with Gian Mesturino, Furno created the Vignale Danza Festival and was the coordinator until 1982. After quitting directing this event, in 1984 she created two other festivals: Bolzano Danza Festival (Provincia Autonoma Bolzano) and Acqui in Palcoscenico Festival (Acqui Terme). In 1991 she conceived ‘Festival dei Laghi, danza nelle dimore storiche e nei giardini dei laghi Maggiore e d’Orta,’ an itinerant festival to promote knowledge of the Piemonte region’s environmental assets.

She conceived and established Danza alla Fortezza del Priamàr Festival, held at the Priamàr Fortress in Savona. Through this festival, for the first time, many prestigious Italian and international companies were showcased in a region where there are very few initiatives regarding dance. In 2009, Furno took over the artistic direction of Lavanderia a Vapore – one of the very few choreographic centers in Italy – and directed it for six years. The BTT Company currently conducts its activities at Lavanderia a Vapore, within the frame of Fondazione Piemonte dal Vivo’s initiatives.

In 2014, she received the ‘Fedeltà al Lavoro’ award for her over 35-year activity by Camera di Commercio and Industria di Torino.

On the 2nd June 2023, the President of the Republic awarded Loredana Furno the honor of “Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic” for her artistic value and for her long and virtuous career.