Claudia
Monticone

She is dedicated to the development and practice of Choreological Studies, in a process that starts from the knowledge of the content of human movement, toward the creation, interpretation and understanding of performative dance.

Claudia Monticone

Biography

Born in Italy in 1979, she trained as a professional dancer at the Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo, soon devoting herself to dance teaching, interested in movement research in the field of performative dance. She became a holder of the Diplôme d’État de Professeur de danse classique in 2003 (France).

The study of what constitutes movement led her to deepen her research, and to train in the specific practice of Rosemary Brandt, along with the Choreological Studies program at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London carried out by Valerie Preston-Dunlop and Rosemary Brandt herself.

Since September 2011 she has been at the helm of La Caffetteria della Danza in Milan, where she develops a pedagogy based on Choreological Studies, defining a unique curriculum in Italy, and making it a highly specialized center for the academic study of performative dance through the choreological perspective.

She researches, trains, and disseminates choreological subject matter; her work is aimed at dancers, musicians, actors, and anyone interested in understanding how to use movement, and why to use it, in performative art.

Specialist Choreologist for Performative Dance

The Specialist Choreologist is a professional specializing in Choreological Studies, whose scope is broad and encompasses several areas related to each specialist’s area of research.
Choreological Studies was defined by Dc. Valerie Preston-Dunlop, a leading figure in the field of academic studies regarding the work of Rudolf Laban. Dc. Preston-Dunlop developed Choreological Studies as a “key discipline for the integrated practical/theoretical study of dance as a theatrical art” (Preston-Dunlop).

Is Choreological Studies therefore derived from the work of Rudolf Laban?

Yes, but they are its contemporary evolution and development, thanks to the work and research of Dc. Valerie Preston-Dunlop primarily, and other specialists such as Rosemary Brandt and her development in the specific field.

How does Claudia Monticone’s work fit into Choreological Studies?

Claudia Monticone, trained over a 20-year period with Rosemary Brandt, as well as with Dc. Valerie Preston-Dunlop, carries on a work of research, application, teaching and dissemination related to her specific choreological approach, complementing the work developed by the main Laban/Preston-Dunlop/Brandt axis.

Does Claudia Monticone specialize in and teach Laban Movement Analysis?

No, Claudia Monticone specializes in her knowledge of the principles and work of Rudolf Laban, Dc. Valerie Preston-Dunlop and Rosemary Brandt; she has in turn developed choreological work that integrates and renews this important filiation, specifically for performative dance. She actively collaborates with specialist choreologist Sylvie Robaldo in the current definition of Choreological Studies according to their common perspective for performative dance.

What does performative dance mean?

Performative dance means the process of interchange that takes place between the artists, the work presented, and the audience. (Preston-Dunlop/Robaldo). When this triad of interaction is in place, it is called performative dance.

How does Claudia Monticone pursue choreological development?

Since 2011, Claudia Monticone has directed the la Caffetteria della Danza, a unique dance-training center in Milan, where all pedagogy is based on choreological work, from propaedeutic to advanced courses. In conjunction with this Claudia Monticone is invited to teach her perspective in various professional dance contexts in Italy and other countries. She is engaged in outreach work through lecture demonstrations in Italy, France and the United Kingdom.

What is the central core of the choreological work proposed by Claudia Monticone?

The starting point of the choreological work proposed by Claudia Monticone, as well as the foundation, is the deep understanding of what constitutes human movement, and the development of a specific competence in knowing how to deal with it in order to transform it into performative dance (both in the pedagogical and creative contexts). This competence is developed through practical work, constantly drawing on theory, and making theory itself concrete through the artistic embodiment of the performing dancer. From this, the work develops toward a layering of the elements that make up performative dance, as well as movement, in an inquiry directed toward the mastery to manipulate and construct meaning in an artistic work.

What is the value of the choreological work proposed by Claudia Monticone?

The value is to develop specific, highly professional skills in the craft of the performing dancer:

• Analytical knowledge of one’s working tool, movement
• Strategies for applying these skills in different dance aesthetics
• Creative strategies applied to movement and choreographic composition
• Mastery to develop an idea through a creative process
• Skills of understanding and making a performative work
• Skills in verbal communication with respect to one’s artistic work

To whom is the choreological work proposed by Claudia Monticone addressed?

The choreological work proposed by Claudia Monticone is aimed at student dancers-in-training, professional performing dancers, dance teachers, choreographers, and more generally anyone involved in a craft that concerns performative movement.

Workshop

Teacher Training Course

26/01/2026 – 01/02/2026

Conservatoire de Saint-Paul, la Réunion

Approche transversale des cultures chorégraphiques au service de l’Enseignement artistique & de l’Éducation artistique et culturelle.

Choreological Work

16.06.2025 – H 11:00

Workshop online

What does choreological work consist of, and why should it be applied in dance pedagogy and in the profession of dancers.

1° Choreological Workshop

07.07.2025 – H 10:30 – 12:30

Workshop online

This practical/theoretical workshop is intended as the first online training session in choreological work led by Claudia Monticone.

Show more Workshops

Projects & Collaborations

Lecturer at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London - Living Architecture Symposium “The visible architecture into the invisible nexus between choreological structures” with Sylvie Robaldo (2025).

Lecturer in Metodo Laban Laboratorio pratico at the Accademia Nazionale di Danza in Rome, for the School of Contemporary Dance (academic year 2023 and 2024).

Metamorfosi di un Sogno, di una notte di mezza estate (2024) - creation for la Caffetteria della Danza in collaboration with Oltre Generazioni ETS, a shared performance experience between perfomer and audience. Artistic direction Claudia Monticone - with Filippo Garlanda and students of la Caffetteria della Danza. Performed at Centro Polifunzionale Sandro Pertini, Peschiera Borromeo (Milan).

Gemme 2023: Rassegna di Arti Performative
Architetture Danzate come possibili sguardi al mondo - la Caffetteria della Danza - Lectures - demonstrations and Performative workshops in the Choreological Perspective - project for la Caffetteria della Danza - Teatro Comunale Peschiera Borromeo (MI).

Presenting at Coreidanse the lecture series, starting with Italo Calvino’s Six Memos for the Next Millennium, “It’s a Matter of Speed - The Infinite in the Limit - Are We Light? With What Weight?” a reflective and visual journey on performative dance art through the choreological perspective (2020-21).

11 meno (Bolero) - creation for Rename Company (2019) - Concept and choreography Claudia Monticone, in collaboration with dancers. Performed at Teatro Comunale Peschiera Borromeo (Milan).

Choreological Conference organized by Coreidanse (Lille, France) - presents the lecture - demonstration The Dynamic Body In Action in a process of creation - Investigations and Strategies in relationship with Time, Space and Gravity (2018).

Re-Coppelia - creation for Rename Company (2017) - Concept and choreography Claudia Monticone. Performed at Giardini Lowe Bordighera (Italy).

Change/PUNTO1 - creation for Rename Company (2017) - Concept and choreography Claudia Monticone, in collaboration with dancers. Performed at Giardini Lowe Bordighera (Italy).

Rename Company: Study and creation project, aimed at young dancers, in Choreological Studies (2016-2020). Rename Company is now configured as a collective of dancers, teachers and researchers dedicated to the practice and dissemination of Choreological Studies according to the specific development of Claudia Monticone.

Lecturer in Choreological Studies at the Conservatoire de Musique, Danse et Théâtre in Montbard (France) as part of the annual choreological workshops (2011-2016).

Focus Danse (Dijon, France) - dancer as part of the lecture-demonstration led by choreologist Sylvie Robaldo (2014).

Laban Event (Monte Verità, Ascona) - dancer as part of the lecture - demonstration led by choreologist Sylvie Robaldo (2013).