The Dancers – bamboledancecompany.co.uk

Bambole Dance Company was founded in 2021

The dancers work collaboratively.

Ballet dancers Belinda Neumann and Shannon Lapin attended class taught by Tina Giuffre in Mossy Well. After class whilst chatting over tea and coffee with the other dancers they talked about a dance they had made. It was their first work – a melancholy dance called “The Birdcage”. They were going to be performing it as part of a workshop evening at the Sons of Jack Lane Community Centre in Lowgate. Tony Chaumier and Tina Giuffre already had the idea of forming a company. They were impressed with the girls technical ability and expressive qualities. So they went along to see the performance. The next time they held class they invited the girls to work with them. Then along came the talented David Girando and Carolina Papa and pretty soon they were all sharing what is to them all a large ground floor garden apartment in Mossy Well. This provides them with a number of performing spaces. They love each other’s company and enjoy domesticity when they are not working. They have two company cats Grigio & Tigre.

Tony Chaumier in "Il Guanto" (Glove) Tony is resident choreographer. His works are often quirky. Tony performs in "Il Guanto" "Due Fazzoletti" and "X Rated Check Up"

David Girando is a talented dancer. He performs in "Percy's Garden" and is working on a solo called "Albero"

TINA GIUFFRE is the director of Bambole DC She performs in "Due Fazzoletti", "Il Guanto", "Percy's Garden" and "X Rated Check Up"

SHANNON LAPIN and BELINDA NEUMANN are ballerinas. Shannon and Belinda both did extensive training with Patrizia Solaio, well known ballet teacher who later established herself as a film and stage actress and voice-over for audio books etc. Patrizia was married to the well known composer Giovanni Bianco. She now lives abroad. Shannon collaborated with Belinda to devise “The Birdcage” – one of the few dances that has an english title.

The two dancers are sisters. They collaborated to devise “The Birdcage”.

“The Birdcage” was created before the formation of Bambole Dance Company. Tina Giuffre and Tony Chaumier liked the dance so much that they took it into their repertory.

CAROLINA PAPA joined Bambole Dance Company having previously been a dancer with Preying Mantis Dance Theatre. Carolina performs in “Il Guanto” and “Percy’s Garden”.

MARY BUONVINTO is one of the talented new recruits who joined Bambole DC in 2022. Mary studied archaeology in Cambridge and recently went to Italy to join a dig. She stayed at Castello di Spannocchia where the director of Dancework had taught a dance course in the 1980s. Mary had thought archaeology might be her profession. But dance is her passion also – and in the end she could not turn down a contract with Bambole Dance Company. She was fascinated to discover that “Sidescraper” choreographed and performed by Dancework director Christine – was created after her stay at Spannocchia where she was a guest teacher for a dance course.