Young Maltese dancers will be given the opportunity to attend master classes taught by five dancers made famous by the popular Italian television show Amici di Maria de Filippi later this month.
The Yada Dance Company, in collaboration with E Macario, the Cine Citta' correspondent in Syracuse, is organising the 1st Amici at the Med. Kledi Kadiu, Loti Shaqiri, Anmbeta Toromani, Leon Cino and Ilir Shaqiri will be giving dance lessons to a limited number of students over a course of classes to be held between 28 July to 7 August.
Classes in jazz dance, hip hop and TV lyrical jazz will be held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre while four exclusive ballet classes will be held at the College of Jazz Dance in San Gwann. The guest dancers will also be scouting for talent among the Maltese dancers to give a chosen few a chance to be challengers on Amici 2005. They will also be looking for talent to attend an Amici 2005 audition in Italy.
The course was launched yesterday by Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech. “Such activities are beneficial to our culture and tourism,” he said, explaining that Maltese dancers having the opportunity to appear on such a popular Italian television show will open the door to promoting Malta on a wider scale.
Felix Busuttil, director of the Yada Dance Company, explained that making contacts abroad and opening the doors to foreign interest in Maltese talent, especially in dance, has always been a dream of his.
Mr Busuttil noted that the five dancers being brought over to Malta are all Albanians who succeeded in making their big break onto Italian television. “With Malta now in Europe, taking our talent further no longer seems impossible,” he said.
“I am sure we will one day see a Maltese participant on Amici, who will be waving the flag for all Maltese talent,” added Mr Busuttil. These master classes are just the first of several projects lined up with the Amici team, he said mentioning the opportunity for the chosen Maltese dancers to challenge Amici participants.
Mr Busuttil mentioned that next year he aims to bring the current Amici teachers over to Malta to train Maltese talented dancers. The Yada Dance Company director also announced that the company is due to open Malta’s first vocational school for the performing arts, in collaboration with St Michael’s Foundation School, at which students will study dance, singing and drama during the day and turn their attention to academic studies later on in the day.
“This will prove that it is possible to learn while also dancing and performing on an almost full time basis,” he said.