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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MARCH 2022 6 DANCE Music meets dance at Palazzo Parisio with Intimate Żfin ŻFINMALTA, the National Dance Company, has teamed up with Alexandra Alden and her band to bring to life its newest initiative Intimate Żfin, where music meets dance in a series of choreographic min- iatures created by Artistic Di- rector Paolo Mangiola for one of Malta's most elegant and historically resonant spaces – Palazzo Parisio. ŻfinMalta was established in 2014 and has since been pivotal in connect- ing Malta's dance artists with their international peers, while providing a space to develop professionally. The company has introduced audiences to new ways of thinking about contemporary dance through productions that are bold and current and of a world-class standard. Since joining the company Paolo Mangiola has embedded a spirit of collaboration engag- ing choreographers, set and costume designers, composers, and visual artists, from Malta and internationally, and part- nering with other organisations in other performing and visual arts. His vision is to foster a culture supporting contempo- rary dance in Malta, through relevant and intelligent dance works which inspire and move audiences; works which are multidisciplinary, challenging, and unique. "The idea to invite Alexandra Alden to collaborate with us, bringing her beautiful music and lyrics to the world of con- temporary dance, is to open up our work to diverse audiences in an unexpected setting." In- timate Żfin unfolds through what Mangiola describes as "a series of dance sketches, cre- ating a dialogue between the choreography, music, and lav- ish surroundings of the Palazzo Parisio ballroom." "Working with Malta's na- tional dance company in such a collaborative way is truly a privilege and one of the most exciting projects I have had the pleasure to work on to date," says Alexandra Alden, "it is an opportunity to merge two dif- ferent artistic disciplines in a meaningful way and to com- municate something heartfelt and unique to our audiences. ŻfinMalta is renowned for in- novative and boundary-chal- lenging projects, so I'm curious to see how our perspectives will overlap and diverge." Alden's band, hailing both from Malta and Rotterdam, will be focusing on the themes of belonging, home, and the butterfly effect; about how one small action can lead to a big- ger outcome and how when one feels like they don't belong in any particular place, one has the freedom to belong every- where or anywhere they wish. Alden compares her band's performance to a contempo- rary dance performance, as each performance is different. Intimate Żfin is presented in collaboration with Palazzo Pa- risio and will be held on the 26th of March 2022 at 20:00 and is suitable for an audience which is 5+. For bookings go to Intimate Żfin (visitmalta.com) For ŻfinMalta's full season programme and more infor- mation on the national dance company, visit www.zfinmal- ta.org.