Daniele Finzi Pasca Is Chosen to Create the Closing Ceremonies at Torino's XX Winter Olympics

Daniele Finzi Pasca Is Chosen to Create the Closing Ceremonies at Torino's XX Winter Olympics

Finzi Pasca With Teatro Sunil to Collaborate With Cirque Eloize

'Carnevale' Theme Includes Masks, Clowns, Circus Arts and Fellini Costumes

NEW YORK, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Executive producer Marco Balich of K2006/FilmMaster (the company in charge of developing and producing the Olympic Ceremonies) has chosen Daniele Finzi Pasca to create, write and direct the entertainment for the closing ceremonies of the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, which will take place at the Olympic Stadium on February 26th. Mr. Finzi Pasca will collaborate on this project with Lugano's Teatro Sunil, a company he founded, and Montreal's Cirque Eloize. Finzi Pasca is the noted creator, director and writer of numerous shows including two acclaimed Cirque Eloize shows: Rain (which played in New York this past summer and is currently on a U.S. tour) and Nomade (now on an international tour). He is also the creator and director of the new Cirque du Soleil show "Corteo," which is presently on a U.S. tour.

As Mr. Finzi Pasca is a highly esteemed talent best known internationally for shows based on the circus world, the closing ceremonies in Torino will be a Commedia dell'Arte-style marriage of Italy's masked celebration of Carnevale and the sounds, colors and visuals typical of the Circus. The creative team for this project includes Maria Bonzanigo, Antonio Vergamini, Hugo Gargiulo and Marco Finzi Pasca of Teatro Sunil along with Julie Hamelin and Jeannot Painchaud of Cirque Eloize. Original costumes from Fellini's film "The Clowns," (designed by Oscar winner Danilo Donati) along with new circus-inspired costumes, will contribute to the Carnevale theme of the program.

This grand finale of fire and colors, masks and acrobats, games and rituals will take place live in front of 35,000 spectators in the Olympic Stadium. A worldwide television audience of more than 2 billion people will watch this splendid display where fireflies will be transformed into stars, men will become kites and heroes will be portrayed not as warriors, but as athletes and champions. NBC will broadcast the Closing Ceremonies in primetime on Sunday, February 26th, 7 - 11 P.M.

Daniele Finzi Pasca founded Teatro Sunil in 1983 in Lugano, Switzerland. Teatro Sunil offers a unique perspective on the clowning world through dance and tragicomedy. The Company has produced some 20 shows that have been performed on stages in many countries. Icaro, a magnificent monologue written and interpreted by Finzi Pasca himself, has been seen in 25 countries and translated into six languages.

Although his company may be based in Lugano, Finzi Pasca's productions regularly grace worldwide stages. In 2000, he wrote and directed Visitatio, a joint production between Teatro Sunil and Carbone 14 in Quebec. While he was in Montreal, Finzi Pasca met Jeannot Painchaud and Julie Hamelin, which led to Finzi Pasca becoming a driving force behind the production of Nomade -- At night, the sky is endless and Rain -- Comme une pluie dans tes yeux. Created in 2002, Nomade has enjoyed resounding success in Montreal, Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, Rotterdam, Beirut, Jerusalem, Hong Kong, and more than 70 cities in the United States. Rain was recently ranked among the top ten productions of 2005 in San Francisco, and was a nominee for the "Best Touring Production of the Year" Award by the Theatrical Management Association (TMA) in the United Kingdom. After winning over the public and the critics during its six-week run on Broadway in New York last spring and its four-week run in San Francisco, Rain recently started a three-month U.S. tour. Negotiations are currently underway with Broadway producers to bring the show back to New York.

Daniele Finzi Pasca will share his great Olympic adventure and invite us behind the scenes during his preparations on his blog: http://danielefinzipasca-torino.blogs.com/.

Source: Antonio Vergamini

CONTACT: Tony Origlio, +1-212-695-7400, ext. 10, tony@origliopr.com, or
Kip Vanderbilt, +1-212-695-7400, ext. 21, kip@origliopr.com, for Antonio
Vergamini

Web site: http://danielefinzipasca-torino.blogs.com/

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