Tag:Teatro Palladium Roma
From the First Rehearsal to the Last Applause: 12 Hours of Dance at the Palladium with Clac Danza
Sometimes a photographer’s life is a matter of perfect timing and life-saving word of mouth. This post comes from an intense day, full of movement and visual challenges, that I spent this past 20 June 2026 behind the lens at Teatro Palladium in Rome.
Let’s start from the beginning. It all began thanks to Elisa Clementelli, a wonderfully talented fellow photographer and videomaker. Elisa found herself double-booked with another commitment, and unable to cover the event herself, she thought of passing along the contact for the Clac Danza school to me. That alone had already made me really happy, but the best part was yet to come.
When I picked up the phone to call the school’s director, Simona Pettinari, I heard the name and put two and two together. We already knew each other from the theatre world. Simona, in fact, besides being an amazing dance teacher, is also a professional improviser with I Bugiardini (the improv theatre group). Working with her was fantastic: when you speak the same “stage language,” you understand each other instantly.
The marathon: from 9:30 am to 10:00 pm
We come to the day of the recital. I walked into the theatre at 9:30 in the morning and left at around 10:00 pm, following the event for the entire day.
But let’s talk about the real stars: the students of Clac Danza. On stage, I saw truly impressive technique, expressiveness and stage presence. Besides being incredibly talented (and the photos will prove it), I really want to give a huge round of applause to their kindness and good manners. Backstage, despite the tension of costume changes and positioning, everyone was incredibly helpful and patient with me and my camera. Working with such cooperative performers makes everything easier — thank you so much, truly.
Developing in the (digital) darkroom
While shooting through jumps, lifts and constant changes in lighting, I already knew what awaited me once the theatre lights went down: hours and hours of post-production.
Dance photography thrives on sharp contrasts, lightning-fast movement and lighting design that changes in split seconds. Selecting the perfect moments and developing the digital files to do justice to the colours and energy of the stage takes time. The editing process took about a week of intense work at the computer, but here we are: I’ve finally delivered all the files to the school. Faced with such vivid shots, spending hours in Lightroom was truly a huge satisfaction.
It was a memorable experience. Thanks again to Elisa for her trust, to Simona for the warm welcome and outstanding artistic direction, and a special thanks to the teachers Giulia, Sara, Mary and Manuel for the excellent work done with the students. Finally, thank you to all the Clac Danza students: you turned this very long day into a true show.
See you under the stage lights
Work like this is a reminder of how essential the synergy is between those on stage and those behind the lens: when there’s mutual respect for each other’s work, the result shows in every single frame.
The delivery is done, the files are ready, and I can’t wait to work with Clac Danza again on future projects. For any information about theatrical photography services or to see more of my work, you can contact me directly through the site. See you next time!
