Ismael Ivo - Beloved Director of Venice La Biennale Dance - Rest with the Angels

Ismael Ivo (1955-2021) Photo courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia

(Venice, Italy) Venice attracts many exceptional human beings. La Biennale di Venezia, that stalwart cultural organization, is a magnet that yanks the best of them together in the same space and time.

 

Ismael Ivo, the dancer and choreographer, was one of the most extraordinary denizens that ever touched down in Venice. As Director of La Biennale Dance from 2005 until 2012, he revolutionized the dance sector.

I was stunned to learn of Ismael's death from COVID on April 8 at age 66 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, his home town -- he seemed too powerful and vibrant to die in a mass pandemic. When the press release arrived today from La Biennale, I first thought they were announcing that they were giving Ismael an award. I never imaged that he was dead.

 

Ismael was beautiful, inside and out. He was physically striking and graceful -- when he entered a room, he captured all eyes. His spirit was dynamic and dazzling. In Venice, Ismael Ivo was beloved.

 

I first saw him as a dancer on the stage, and was mesmerized by his motion. When I actually met him in 2009, we ended up hugging each other, proclaiming, "Yes we can!"

Ismael Ivo

Here is Ismael in his own words: 

"We can imagine the body as a unique orchestra that must play every part, exactly like the different musical instruments correspond to the full range of motion.

But when the body-orchestra begins to tune its instrument to prepare for a symphony -- here is where experience is needed to prepare for a task so high. This is the moment when the dancer needs to know how to find the space and have the power to dispose of it, experimenting and honing skills that have already been acquired."

 

Ismael Ivo with Paolo Baratta, President of La Biennale

After the world premier of Oxygen on May 26, 2010, a masterpiece of dance that Ismael had conceived and choreographed for La Biennale's 7th International Contemporary Dance Festival, I was so moved by its message that I told him how happy I was to be on Planet Earth at the same place and time with him.

Ismael Ivo in Venice - Photo courtesy of La Biennale

Twenty-three years ago, on April 8, 1998, I left Los Angeles on a tourist visa to come to Venice to write for three months. I missed a connecting flight in Paris, and arrived on April 9th. Since then, Venice has been my base. That Ismael died on this significant anniversary seems strangely poignant. 

 

Ismael Ivo impacted my life with his vision and his art -- and also on a personal level. I will be forever grateful to have had the opportunity to share some precious moments with him. Rest with the angels, sweet Ismael.

 

Ciao from Venezia,

Cat Bauer

Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog