Légèreté
weightlessness...
the state of apparently not being acted on by gravity; the state of being weightless.
Senza Peso
Choreographer: Francesca Antonacci
Dancer: Megan LeCrone
Senza peso describes an internal journey. We build shells on us every day and weigh in our hearts when we are in pain, we detach ourselves from our light hearts and we forget who we really are.
Until one day we find a way to reconnect to ourselves, and even if it is hard to keep finding, we know there is a space inside of us that is weightless in so many aspects.
Un peu de légèreté, ma chérie
Dancer & Choreographer: Caroline Brethenoux
Music: Etude No 1 For String Quartet by Peter Sandberg
"Un peu de légèreté, ma cherie" means "a little bit of lightheartedness, sweetie" in French. This is what my grandmother and then my mother kept on telling me whenever life would bring me down.
In the face of life's gravity, we sometimes come up with ways to cheer ourselves up, to escape, to engulf ourselves in another reality, and to forget what hurts. Reading is a refuge passed down from one generation to the next in my family. It is by entering a book that the laws of gravity cease to apply letting our hearts float again.
Francesca Antonacci,
co-founder of KAFRA Collective
Francesca Antonacci originally from Puglia-Italy started her dance training at the age of 4, she obtained her classical ballet degree from the Royal Academy of Dance at the age of 18 specializing in the RAD method, and her scholarship with Dino Verga and Fabrizio Monteverde in Cunningham Technique and Contemporary dance.
After completing her classical ballet degree and scholarship, she transferred to Rome where she lived for 9 years, perfecting her technique in contemporary dance/modern with Giuliano Peparini, Francesco Saracino, and Germana Bonaparte.
She started touring in Italy, with Germana Bonaparte as the assistant choreographer, and as a dancer in theaters with the Company of Biagio Izzo e Claudio Insegno for 2 seasons. Worked on TV, as a dancer for the Fiction “Grandi Domani” Broadcast on “Italia1”.
Francesca graduated in Rome in Literature and Philosophy at The University of“Roma Tor Vergata” and with a Master's degree in Journalism at The University of “Roma Tre”.
Certified as a Yoga and Gyrotonic ® instructor in San Francisco. She is currently living in NYC, dancing for Cuartetango/SuarezPazTango Company, freelancing as a dancer and choreographer, and teaching Yoga and Gyrotonic ®.
Caroline Brethenoux,
co-founder of KAFRA Collective
Originally from France, Caroline Brethenoux started dancing at the age of 5. She is a self-taught dancer, with no academic background in dance but who trained in contemporary dance with Nathalie Pubellier and Sophie Daviet in Paris, Lai Tak-Wai, and Bruce Wong in Hong Kong, Barbara Fritsche in Madrid, and Jennifer Archibald in New York.
Her professional career in dance started with Complutum Contemporary Dance Company and DaDaDanza Project in Madrid. She also collaborated with Projects in Movement and Company Contexte in Paris as a choreographer and dancer.
In New York, she joined Eryc Taylor Dance Company, Mare Nostrum Elements Dance Theatre Company, BalaSole Dance Company, Arch Dance, and independent choreographers as a freelance dancer and choreographer.
Her work has been shown at Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theatre, LPAC, Green Space Bloom Festival, The Current Sessions Volume V Issue II, The Dance Gallery Festival, and MOD Hong Kong. She is a certified Gyrokinesis ® and Gyrotonic ® teacher. She is a graduate of HEC, Europe's first business school, and has a degree in Philosophy from La Sorbonne, Paris.
When she is not dancing, choreographing, and teaching, she is working as a strategist in advertising and consumer research in New York.
Megan LeCrone,
Guest artist
Megan LeCrone was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She began her dance training at the age of four at Greensboro Ballet. At age 14, she began studying at the North Carolina School of the Arts. She entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, full-time in the fall of 2001, and in November 2001 she became an apprentice with New York City Ballet.
Ms. LeCrone joined the New York City Ballet Company as a member of the corps de ballet in October 2002 and was promoted to soloist in February 2013.
KAFRA Collective is thrilled to have the privilege of collaborating with Megan LeCrone on "Légèreté".
Luciana Paris,
Guest artist
Luciana Paris is a Soloist Dancer with American Ballet Theater. She has been dancing with ABT since 2001 and has been performing as a guest artist throughout the world.
Paris's most recent guest appearances include the Ballet Now Gala 2015 in Los Angeles, dancing The Talisman Pas de Deux with Kleber Rebello, the 5th Buenos Aires International Ballet Gala, dancing Nutcracker pas de deux and Liam Scarlett's With a Chance of Rain, and the Fire Island Dance Festival 20th Anniversary dancing Romeo and Juliet, Balcony Scene Pas de Deux with Marcelo Gomes. She was a guest artist, partnered by Herman Cornejo, at the Dance Open Ballet Festival 2013 (Saint Petersburg) in Alexei Ratmansky's "Seven Sonatas", the Festival des Arts de Saint-Saveur 2013 (Montreal) performing The Black Swan Pas de Deux, and at the Roberto Bolle and Friends Gala at the New York City Center in September 2013 dancing Twyla Tharp's Sinatra Suite ". Paris portrayed the principal role of Nikiya in a full-length production of La Bayadère in Argentina in August 2013, with Herman Cornejo as Solor, and, partnered by Cory Stearns, she danced Romeo and Juliet, Balcony Scene Pas de Deux at the Brandon Ballet Gala in November 16, 2013.
As a Guest Artist, she danced for Buffalo Ballet in their Nutcracker Production. In 2017, Luciana was invited to participate in the Australian Ballet Gala, Chile Gala of Ballet Starts, and Danzar Por la Paz en Buenos Aires, among others. Luciana was given the Dance Artistic Achievement Award in 2018 by the FINI Dance Festival in New York. In 2012, American Ballet Theatre designated Paris as a Certified Teacher. Since then, she has been invited to teach in Buenos Aires, Misiones, Córdoba, and San Juan, among others. Luciana has been a guest teacher with Charm City Ballet, Central Park Dance, YAJP, AAB, Estudio Domus, Fundación Julio Bocca, DanzayPeru, Steps Studio de la Ciudad de Tucuman, Downtown Dance Factory, among many others. She has been invited to teach at Fiorellos La Guardia High School of the Arts.
In 2020, Luciana co-founded Dance Compañía, a three-week summer intensive, alongside Jonatan Lujan and Amanda Cobb. During the winter and Spring seasons, Luciana was a guest Director of Repertoire for the ABT STUDIO COMPANY. She also collaborated with Chanel alongside the painter Chloe Wise and danced in Duncan Lyle Dance and Creative Genesis by Gabe Stone Shayer. In February 2021, Luciana created her first choreography for the American Ballet Theatre Incubator, a program designed to give dancers within the company an opportunity to choreograph. Her new piece, Nunanu, was aired in April 2021. On July 31st, Luciana produced her first performance at the Westhampton Beach Project, including two world premieres danced by American Ballet Theatre dancers.
