Diego Tortelli (1987) trained at Milan’s Accademia Teatro alla Scala before performing with Ballet de Teatres Valencia, Luna Negra Dance Theater Chicago, and Ballet National de Marseille. Since 2015 he has developed a distinctive choreographic voice, creating works for Teatro Massimo, MCA Chicago, and international festivals. Resident choreographer at Aterballetto since 2019, he has also founded his own Munich-based company. His repertoire spans stage works, site-specific projects, and films, with highlights including Biennale Danza, Staatsballett Hannover, Greek National Opera, digital art collective FUSE, and major fashion houses.

Riva & Repele is a dance company founded in 2020 by Simone Repele and Sasha Riva, two dancers and choreographers united by a shared vision and a deep need for artistic expression. After years of performing with ballet companies such as the Hamburg Ballet and the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, they discovered a mutual passion for creation and storytelling through movement. Their strong stage presence and complementary artistic sensibilities naturally led them to collaborate as a choreographic duo, drawing on their individual perspectives and the inspirations they gathered throughout their professional and educational journeys; critics have described them as "The Poets of Dance".
Their first full-length ballet, Lili Elbe Show, received wide critical acclaim across theatres in Switzerland, Italy, and Spain, including a presentation at the Madrid en Danza Festival. In 2022, they collaborated with renowned stage director Damiano Michieletto for the Caracalla Festival, and in 2025 they created the choreography for Michieletto’s new staging of West Side Story.
Internationally, Riva & Repele are regularly invited to perform in prestigious galas such as Les Étoiles by Daniele Cipriani in Italy, as well as in Germany, Switzerland, Spain, France, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Argentina, Belgium, and with the Paris Opera in French Guiana. Their repertoire includes original works such as their duet I’m on Your Side and Eyes Open / Shut Your Eyes, created for them by acclaimed choreographer Marco Goecke.
In 2023, they were selected for an artistic residency at Orsolina28, where they created Dear Son: the piece premiered in Geneva and began touring after its presentation at the RomaEuropa Festival. In 2026, Dear Son will be featured in the season program of Teatro La Fenice.
In 2024, they premiered two new creations for major institutions: I Died for Love for the Rome Opera Ballet, and Peter Pan for the Teatro Massimo di Palermo. In 2025, they presented La Jeune Fille et Les Morts with the Stuttgart Ballet, a work originally developed in 2022 for the Noverre Gesellschaft.
Riva & Repele have also been commissioned for exclusive artistic collaborations, including the presentation of Rome’s candidacy for Expo 2030, fashion brand showcases, television productions, and live concerts. Recently, they created and performed choreography for video projects filmed inside the iconic Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi.
In February 2026, they will participate as choreographers in the Opening Ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
By the end of 2025, they will collaborate with international companies on new projects, including the new creation Oskar for the prestigious Béjart Ballet Lausanne and the re-creation of Old Land for the Augsburg Ballet.
As a company, Riva & Repele continue to tour internationally with Dear Son, and their mixed-program evening, featuring their piece I Meet You Where the Horizon Ends, which premiered in the summer of 2025 at Veranos de la Villa in Madrid.

Tom van de Ven is a Dutch contemporary dance artist and arts management professional. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts from Codarts, Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, and has completed his pre-professional training at Fontys Hogeschool voor de Kunsten. He also holds a Master’s degree in Arts & Culture Management from Rome Business School in collaboration on with VUI. Van de Ven began his professional career as a Soloist with Tanz Luzerner Theater in Switzerland and later joined Aterballetto - Fondazione Nazionale della Danza in Italy, where he contributed to a wide range of contemporary productions. Following his time at Aterballetto, he has been working as a freelance dancer, assistant, and teacher, collaborating with various institutions and artists across Europe. His freelance work includes assisting Philippe Kratz in a creation for Tanz Mainz, restaging works by Diego Tortelli at the Greek National Opera, and resetting "S", a choreographic work by Kratz, at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. Currently, van de Venis engaged in new creations with various artists, touring existing works, assisting choreographers and teaching workshops. As a performer, he has appeared in works by Ohad Naharin, Marcos Morau, Johan Inger, Jiří Kylián, Felix Landerer, among others.