Francesco Paolino

The Professional Dance Programme at the DAF – Dance Arts Faculty in Rome laid the foundations for Francesco’s dance career, on the strength of its first-class network and strong international focus. This provided the perfect preparation for the next step: the Bachelor of Dance programme at Codarts – Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Rotterdam. With the Codarts Dance Company and at the NDT Open Studio, he danced in works by Johan Inger, Wayne McGregor, Sharon Eyal and Marcos Morau, amongst others. At the same time, he is pursuing another passion – choreography – with great success. His creations have earned him invitations to international festivals and awards for emerging artists, including for I luoghi dello spirito (2nd prize at the Premio Roma Danza 2024) and for MUGA (Duet Prize and Audience Award at the Premio Prospettiva Danza Teatro 2026 Padua, and the Audience Award at the SoloDuoFestival nrw + friends, 2nd prize at the Burgos & New York International Choreography Competition). Through the EU’s Erasmus+ funding programme, he is gaining professional company experience as an intern with Gauthier Dance JUNIORS during the 2026/27 season.