Aristide Rontini

Aristide Rontini (1984) is an Italian choreographer whose work is internationally recognised for placing inclusion, identity and different bodily realities at its core. His choreography explores the relationship between the individual and the collective, engaging with contemporary questions of representation and accessibility in the performing arts. Drawing on his own lived experience, having been born with arms of different proportions, Rontini is committed to challenging established norms and breaking down barriers, both within dance and beyond.

Rontini graduated from the dance programme at Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam in 2010. As a performer, he has worked with renowned choreographers and companies including Conny Janssen (NL), Michael Schumacher (NL), Simona Bertozzi (IT), Candoco Dance Company (UK) and BewegGrund (CH).

Since 2016, Rontini has increasingly devoted himself to creating his own choreographic work. His productions have been presented at leading Italian and international festivals and venues, including Oriente Occidente, Holland Dance Festival and Gender Bender.

Alongside his choreographic practice, Rontini is deeply engaged in dance education and community dance. He regularly collaborates with groups of non-professional participants, creating projects that bring together people of different generations and communities with shared characteristics and experiences. Since February 2022, he has led a series of dance workshops for the community of Bologna, raising awareness of gender and LGBTQI+ identities. The workshops form part of the European project Performing Gender: Dancing in Your Shoes, supported by Gender Bender Festival.

In 2020, together with other Italian artists with different bodily realities, Rontini co-founded Al. Di. Qua. Artists, an organisation that advocates for the accessibility, autonomy and rights of artists and audiences with different bodily realities in Italy. Within the organisation, he has worked as a moderator, consultant and curator.

In 2023, Introdans invited Rontini to create a new work for HubClub’23, a programme featuring an inclusive cast that toured medium-scale theatres. Following the success of that collaboration, Introdans invited him to return in 2026 to create a new ballet for the programme ENERGY, further strengthening the artistic partnership.