Dancer and choreographer, she began studying classical dance at a very young age and completed her training in contemporary dance in France. Emanuela received the Prix de la Ville de Montauban, the Aldo Farina Prize, and the DanzaArenzano Arte Prize. She has collaborated with various dance companies including Carla Fracci, Ballet of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Ballet du Louvre, Ballet des Temps Modernes, Europa Ballet, Cie Alain Marty, Cie Philippe Tresserra, Movimento Danza di Gabriella Stazio, Susanna Beltrami Company, and the Ariella Vidach Company. She was assistant choreographer at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples for Šparemblek, Nureyev, North, Malandain, and Monteverde. She started her career as a choreographer in the mid-nineties, when she choreographed at the Piccolo Teatro Studio in Milan, at the Roccella Jonica Festival, and at Corto Circuito for the Rome Opera Theater school.
Between 2000 and 2003 she choreographed for the Teatro Piccolo Regio in Turin, for the Civitavecchia Festival, the Cagliari Festival, the Danza da Bruciare Festival in Rome, the Rapallo Festival and subsequently performed on numerous Italian stages. She directed and choreographed Racconti di sabbia – a children’s show and Trio destiny which was performed at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. She choreographed Macbeth for the Ballet School at the Teatro alla Scala, La valse à mille temps, Ceci n’est pas and Carmen in the same period. She was also active in cinema and opera productions and choreographed for the film Io no, Nabucco and Rigoletto for the Arturo Toscanini Foundation; and Aida at the Seoul Opera House. Thanks to her collaboration with the Science Museum in Milan, she created 506 and Luminare Minus, the latter show starring Luciana Savignano, and the new creation Funambolia at the Gerolamo Theater.
Between 2009 and 2014 she created Oscillazioni, Balthus Variations, and Hopper Variations which reflect Tagliavia’s love for figurative art. She continued to collaborate with the Franco Parenti Theater, the Paolo Grassi Civic School, and numerous Italian theaters. In 2015, she was involved in the reopening of the Teatro Continuo in Milan and produced the choreography for Qohelet, a Teatro Franco Parenti production. In 2017 she choreographed La Gazza Ladra for the Teatro alla Scala; and collaborated in the revival of Unsung by José Limon performed at both La Scala and Teatro Strehler. She worked with Claudia De Smet in the production of La Stravaganza by Angelin Preljocaj, at the Strehler Theater. In 2018 Emanuela created Murmuration, a choreography for Debussy’s Prelude a l’Apres Midi d’une Faune, at the Teatro Gerolamo as part of Pulchra Minima, a contemporary dance festival where she is the artistic director. She also created Chansons de Bilitis for Luciana Savignano, staged at the Milan Conservatory in an evening dedicated to Debussy. Emanuela choreographed the opera Alì Baba e i 40 ladroni, directed by Liliana Cavani and conducted by Paolo Carignani at La Scala. In January 2019 she was the artistic coordinator at the Teatro Fabbri Dance Gala in collaboration with Aterballetto and choreographed the successful re-staging of Qohelet at Teatro Franco Parenti.
In March 2019 she took part in the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut where two of her choreographies were performed by the students of the Ballet School of the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala. In the summer of the same year, she created the choreography for the Dolce & Gabbana AltaSartoria men’s collection event in Sciacca, Sicily. In September she was responsible for the choreography of the opening event of the 24th World Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi. In January 2020, at the Fonderia, Aterballetto – Fondazione Nazionale della Danza, she staged Shortcut, a performance that brought together some of the most iconic works of her career. During the 2020 lockdown, she created choreographies for Prisma, a video presented at Palazzo Marino for the Soundtracks Festival. In 2020, she directed and choreographed a video inspired by A Christmas Carol for the Charles Dickens Christmas Project. She took part in the Human Signs Global Participatory Dance And Voice Project curated by the musician Yuval Avital.
In 2021, Emanuela produced Il moto è causa d’ ogni vita, a video performance filmed inside the Science Museum in Milan and created for the 10th edition of Palazzo Marino in Musica. In the same year, in collaboration with Movimento Danza Napoli, she created the solo Il Paradosso di Lulù, performed in Rome and then at the Teatro San Nazzaro in Naples as part of the Campania Festival. In December 2021 LADY M, a short work for the students at the Ballet School Accademia Teatro alla Scala was included in the calendar of events of the tenth edition of La Prima Diffusa. In 2022, she was a choreographer for the Padova Danza Project, and the Milan Ballet. In July of the same year, she received the Napoli in Danza 2022 Award for her work as a choreographer. Emanuela Tagliavia has been a contemporary dance teacher and choreographer at the Accademia delle Arti e Mestieri del Teatro alla Scala and at the Scuola Civica of the Paolo Grassi Theater since 1999.
