Melissa Pasut
| Melissa Pasut | |
|---|---|
 Transfiguration of a Shattered Mass
Photo by John Duncan | |
| Born |
June 9, 1981 Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Nationality | American, Italian |
| Education | University of South Florida, Tampa |
| Known for | Contemporary Dance |
| Notable work | Erosion, Beneath the Surface, Transfiguration of a Shattered Mass, Purging, An Intuitive Conversation, An Open Area Inside the Mountain |
Melissa Pasut is a dancer and choreographer specializing in contemporary dance, with particular focus on contact improvisation among dancers and the inclusion of musicians onstage as active participants in the movement. She has lived and worked in Tampa, Rome, and Bologna.
Education and work in the United States
Pasut graduated in Dance from the University of South Florida where she studied with Gretchen Ward Warren, Lynne Wimmer, Jeane Travers, Sandra Robinson, Madame Gabriella Darvash, Gerry Houlihan, and Albena Arnaudova. She performed with Gaudere Danza, Dance,Music,Design, and Moving Current.[1] In 2002, together with Leah Ratliff, she founded the company Anoikis, presenting annual productions at the Orlando International Fringe Festival.
Italy
In 2005 she moved to Rome, accepting an invitation to join Altroteatro Dance Company.[2]
In 2007 she re-established Anoikis with performances of Transfiguration of a Shattered Mass in Modena, Padova and Ravenna, supported by Andrew L. Hooker and Stefano Pilia/Pasquale Massaro performing live music onstage to her solo dance.[3][4]
In 2008 she co-choreographed and performed Shuffle with Teri Weikel. She began teaching contact improvisation at Spaziodanza in Bologna,[5] as well as working with Monica Rimondi.
Recent work
She also works creatively with John Duncan. Their first collaboration was a soundtrack by Duncan for her solo Purging, premiered in June 2008 at Ottomax in Rome. In September 2008, they worked together with artist Andrew L. Hooker on her solo dance-for-film project, An Intuitive Conversation, performed on the rocks at Piombino Beach, including underwater camera work. Her most recent choreography, An Open Area Inside the Mountain, is a duet with Duncan as a non-dancer, experimenting with movement and music produced live on hand-built instruments designed and constructed by Duncan.
Related Training and Practice
Before leaving the United States, she obtained her massage therapy license, specializing in sports massage. She currently operates a massage therapy practice in Bologna.