Silvia Vona is an Odissi dancer, performer and teacher.
Initiated into dance at an early stage at “Filomarino” in Rome, where she studied contemporary dance, ballet, Graham technique, conctact-improvisation. The dance training is soon augmented by parallel studies such as acrobatic, theatre and choreography workshop, and also the studying of gestual theatre and the mask’s use in Jacques Lecoq pedagogy, whit Isaac Alvarez (Lecoq’s assistant) . She collaborated with Alvarez and she staged his choreography in Italy and France. From 2006 to 2008 she started to work whit ‘Teatro Instabile di Aosta’ company, creating and performing show at a national and international level, such as Festival D’Avignon (France), Saison Culturelle di Aosta (Italy), International Ancient Greek Drama Festival (Cyprus), Morg-ex Machina 2007/2008, Bharat Rang Mahotsav (India)..., organizing cultural events and education for adults and children.
Her passion for Indian culture motivated her to compleate her BA in Oriental Studies at the University “La Sapienza” of Rome. In 2009-2010 she won a scholarship with the University “La Sapienza” of Rome for studying 6 months in Jadavpur University in Kolkata. During the university she continued her training in the contemporary dance with Rachele Caputo, Diana Damiani, Elvira Frosini and Benedetta Capanna, and also from 2008 she started the study of Dasi Attam, Guru V.S. Muthuswami Pillai style whit Tiziana Leucci (Indian dance Historician, CEAIS, Paris and member of AIRDanza) in Rome. In 2008 and 2009 she took part in severals seminar of the indian company Milòn Mèla directed by Abani Biswas (a student of Jersy Grotowsky) in Rome and in Theatre house in West Bengal. With them she studied the basics of Gotipua dance under Susant Kumar Moharana, Chauu dance under Adhar Kumar and Kalaripayattu under Jayachandran Nair Ramakrishana Pillai. In 2012 she worked for a Cultural and Artistic exchange between Italy and Turkey; “Cultures and water carriers” a Project co- financed by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey; as a dancer and choreographer. From 2009 till now she is fully involved in the practise of Odissi dance under Smt. Rina Jana (a disciple of Padma Bibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra) in Kolkata, India and she perform in different festival in India as a solo performer such as: Nrtyautsab (Contai, West bengal- India), for the International Student Day in ICCR Hall (kolkata - India), for the 23rd Krishi Shilpa O Banijya Mela along with National Dance & Music Festival (West Bengal- India) in collaboration with ICCR, Mahagami festival (Aurangabad- India); and also whit the Rina Jana Ensamble for Taj mahotsav 2015, under Horizont Series Iccr 2015 in the Rabindra Tagore Center, ICCR Kolkata, Uttar-Purv Nritya Parv (A festival of Dance in North-East) 2015 organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, in collaboration whit the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of Tripura. She has performed also in Italy in different theatre and festival such as: in the Teatro Ygramul, Teatro Altrevie, in the Festival ‘Vivi l’estate delle officine- tra Oriente e Occidente’ organised by Officine Fondazione Varrone (Rieti- Italy) and for the The show ‘An ecstatic emotion” whit Haru Kugo and Roberta Parravano in the Elsa Morante Theater in Rome. She organized the show Sringara Pada in Teatro Furio Camillo in Rome. For the festival FuoriLuogo 2016-Fisiko 2016 she presented a a duet with Livia Porzio titled Pravaha. In collaboration with the photographer and light designer Nora Lux she presented the show Svara in Teatro dell’Orologio in Rome. She has been invited by the Embassy of India in Rome to dance for different prestigious programmes such as the india-italy sangam to commemorate the 70th anniversary of India-Italy diplomatic relations at Rome’s Teatro di Villa Torlonia on 23 March 2018. In 2009 the enconter with Odissi changed her life and she decided to devot herself to intensive training of this beautiful art form.
Silvia began and continues her Odissi trainingunder the eminent Guru Rina Jana (a disciple of Padma Bibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra). She has received the prestigious ICCR scholarship 2014-2016 to pursue advanced training in Odissi Dance with Guru Rina Jana in India.