Brazilian choreographer Samir Calixto wins BNG Excellent Talent Dance Award

At the celebration of the BNG Culture Fund's fiftieth anniversary on 13 March 2014, the first BNG Excellent Talent Dance Award will be presented to Dutch-Brazilian choreographer Samir Calixto. The prize supports top talent in the field of choreography and consists of an endowment of 45.000 Euros to be used to finance a tour: the Excellent Talent Dance Tour. Together with Korzo production house, established in The Hague, the BNG Culture Fund (Cultuurfonds in Dutch) launched this new prize: The BNG Bank Excellent Talent Dance Award.

Partnership BNG Cultuurfonds and Korzo Productions

The BNG Cultuurfonds and Korzo Productions have joined forces to support specially talented creatives with national and international potential on their way to the next stage of their career. Now that the Dutch production houses are no longer part of the basic cultural infrastructure, Korzo and the BNG Cultuurfonds aim to provide continuity in the development of excellent young creatives. The BNG Cultuurfonds and Korzo will commit to a joint talent development program for exceptional choreographic talent over the next three years.

BNG Bank Excellent Talent Dance Tour

With the support of Korzo, choreographer Samir Calixto has made great steps in his career in the past years. In 2012, he made a great impression with Winterreise, for which he took as inspiration the song-cycle of the same name by Franz Schubert. His 4 Seasons won him a Swan Prize nomination for Most Impressive Dance Production of 2013. The prize money connected to the BNG Bank Excellent Talent Dance Award also enables the public to enjoy the works of this choreographic talent. 4 Seasons will go on tour through the Netherlands in April and May 2014, visiting 12 cities.

Samir Calixto attended studies in drama, dance, and classical music at the University of São Paulo and the São Paulo City Conservatory. In 1999 he was awarded first prize at the Nascente/Avril Festival for his solo Eros. A year after his graduation in 2004, he came to Europe and decided to dedicate himself entirely to his dancing career. He developed himself as an autodidact and through working with the many choreographers whom he met in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe.

More on Samir Calixto: http://www.samircalixto.webs.com

For tour dates of 4 Seasons in the Netherlands, visit /node/204491