UGLY DANCERS
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UGLY DANCERS *_+
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Chiara Mura (Cagliari, July 13, 1998) is an Italian contemporary dancer. After training at DanceHaus – Accademia Susanna Beltrami in Milan (2019–2022), she began an artistic path that led her to collaborate with prominent choreographers and companies on both the national and international scene.
Throughout her career, she has taken part in numerous theatrical and performative productions, ranging from opera to contemporary dance. Among her most significant experiences are opera productions at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, including La Bohème and Carmen, both choreographed by Luigia Frattaroli. She has also worked with the Compagnia Virgilio Sieni and with Fuorimargine, participating in choreographic projects by artists such as Virgilio Sieni, Simona Bertozzi, and Maurizio Montis.
In 2024, she was involved in the production of Turandot for the Oltrenotte company, with choreography by Lupa Maimone, and performed as a dancer in the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, collaborating with internationally renowned choreographers such as Maud Lepladec and Alexander Ekman.
In 2025, she is engaged in the productions Uzumaki by Giuseppe Sanniu and Giselle Around Le Villi by Luigia Frattaroli. Alongside her theatrical work, she also takes part in interdisciplinary projects, including performances for Milan Design Week and the short film Found in Translation, in collaboration with the Civica Scuola di Cinema Luchino Visconti.
Her artistic research develops across dance, theatre, and performing arts, with a strong interest in the intersection and hybridization of different languages and contexts.
With Ugly Movers, she took part in White Noise, Uzumaki and Biography of a life I never lived.
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A Sardinian dancer and performer, Chiara Mameli began her training in Sardinia before graduating from the Contemporary Dance Department of the National Academy of Dance. During her studies, she deepened her practice in modern and contemporary dance techniques, developing a personal research focused on movement quality and the relationship between body, space, and perception.
Her research was further enriched through her participation in DA.RE. Dance Research, curated by Adriana Borriello, and in the advanced training project “Il coraggio di essere – valori e movimenti di un corpo nel teatro di oggi”, curated by Raffaella Giordano. These experiences strengthened her interest in dance as a practice of awareness.
For several years, she has been a collaborator as a dancer with the company Gruppo e-MOTION, directed by Francesca La Cava. She also collaborates with ASMED – Balletto di Sardegna, taking part in productions and creative projects with Lucas Delfino, Salvo Lombardo, Mario Coccetti, and Giuseppe Sanniu.
In 2025, she was among the winners of the Premio Roma Danza in the performers category. In the same year, she undertook an internship within the Erasmus+ program at ICK Dans Amsterdam.
Since 2024, alongside her performative activity, she has also been engaged in teaching dance to children, young people, and adults.
Among the most significant encounters in her artistic path are Adriana Borriello, Marta Ciappina, Emio Greco, Raffaella Giordano, Francesca La Cava, Nicola Monaco, and Silvia Rampelli—figures who have contributed to shaping and nurturing her vision of dance.
With Ugly Movers, she took part in INNER MAP.
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Born in Sardinia (Italy), Ludovica Pinna is a contemporary dancer working across the European dance scene, with professional experience in Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy.
She graduated from the Accademia Internazionale Coreutica in Florence, specializing in contemporary dance, and from the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen, where she trained in modern dance within the German tradition of Tanztheater, strongly influenced by the legacy of Pina Bausch.
Her artistic practice combines structured movement, improvisation, and theatricality, with a strong focus on the development of a personal movement language and the relationship between body and space.
She worked with the Nikki de Graaf Company in the Netherlands, performing in PULP FICTION, and has been collaborating since 2020 with YIBU Dance Company under the direction of Chun Zhang, touring and performing in productions presented internationally.
In 2022, she collaborated with Alberto Curci on The Illusion of Time in Essen. Her practice also includes site-specific works such as ROOM by Giuseppe Sanniu (FIND – Festival Internazionale Nuova Danza, Cagliari) and projects including THE PARK and Sa Ballada with Gruppo e-Motion and Koreoproject.
Her solo research project Rebirth Solo Research (2021), supported by the DIS-TANZ Solo program, led to the creation of What Really Happens?!, presented in Italy and awarded a special mention for choreographic writing.
Alongside her work as a performer, she is also active as a choreographer and artistic director.
With Ugly Movers, Ludovica took part in ROOM - Dance Lines and Biography of a life I never lived.
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Dancer, performer, and choreographer, he graduated on July 1, 2024, from the Brancacciodanza professional three-year program at the Teatro Brancaccio in Rome, under the artistic direction of Alessia Gatta. During his training, he studied with international choreographers and dancers, including Nico Monaco, Liam Francis, Nunzia Picciallo, HeaMij Jung, Silvia Marti, KOR’SIA, Afshin Varjavandi, Damiano Bigi, Eliana Stragapede, James Olivo, Miguel Altunaga Verdecia, and Diego Tortelli.
From 2022 to 2024, he was a member of the Brancacciodanza Junior Company, performing in the productions WIND, MADE IN, and (UN)SPOKEN.
In 2025, he joined the new production Bolero Loop Escape by the Create Danza company, directed by Filippo Stabile and Salvatore De Simone. That same year, he worked across theater, film, and commercial projects, taking part in Le Bakkantiat the Teatro Mercadante in Naples as a choreographer, the commercials FENDI X BANGCHAN and Balloon Museum Roma x IED Roma, the closing ceremony of the Global Champions Arabians Tour 2025 in Prague, and an international feature film directed by Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson, with choreography by Gianni Santucci.
In 2026, he was a performer in the film Astrea, directed by Davide Manuli with choreography by Michele Rizzo, and a dancer in AMÁRU_ O sulla nostalgia, choreographed by Adriano Popolo Rubbio. He is also the creator and dancer of the performance La mia playlist n.42, created by and featuring Francesco Alex Petta, presented as a study at Carrozzerie n.o.t in Rome in collaboration with ATCL Lazio. In July and August, he participated in an artistic residency with ResExtensa Dance Company, featuring choreography by Filippo Buonamassa (Thanks, Ilaria), presented at the NID Platform Open Studios in Turin.
With Ugly Movers, he took part in Biography of a life I never lived.
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Sara Azzu is an emerging choreographer and a dancer active in the field of contemporary dance since 2018. Originally from Sardinia, she has studied between Accademia Nazionale di Danza (Rome) and Escola Superior de Dança (Lisbon). Her experience as a performer includes artists like Leonardo Delogu (DOM), Enzo Cosimi, Filippo Tonon, Dario la Stella and Valentina Solinas (Senza Confini di Pelle) and Giuseppe Sanniu.
Other collaborators: Museum Calouste Gulbenkian (Lisbon), Marflix Pictures (Mumbai), Ente Concerti Marialisa De Carolis (Sassari), Teatro Massimo (Cagliari), Spin Time (Rome), and THEVIDA, a project of Max Campagnani.
Since 2023, she has been developing a personal artistic research that engages in dialogue with artists from various disciplines—ranging from visual arts to music, video, singing, and acting—taking shape as a practice centered on the ritual, collective, and transformative dimensions of movement.
Her creations, often conceived as site-specific works, translate elements of her cultural background and experiences gained through travel and encounters, into a contemporary language. The circular, spiral, and infinite forms that run through her work evoke the migratory cycles of living beings becoming a metaphor for continuous transformation and becoming.
With Ugly Movers, Sara took part in ROOM - Dance Lines and Biography of a life I never lived.