Originally from Syracuse, Sicily, Damiano discovered a true passion for dance from a very young age. Ambitious and exceptionally talented, he was admitted at the age of sixteen to the prestigious La Scala Ballet School in Milan, from which he graduated in 2007.
Damiano then moved to France, joining the Ballet of the Opéra National du Rhin in Mulhouse, where he performed works by Forsythe, Béjart, and Godani, before becoming a member of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève until 2013. There, he danced soloist roles in choreographies by Cherkaoui, Millepied, Foniadakis, Maillot, and Ventriglia.
After several years away from his homeland, Damiano returned to Italy to take up a soloist position with the Fondazione Nazionale della Danza Aterballetto. He remained with the company for seven seasons, performing works by Kylian, Bigonzetti, Shechter, Naharin, Inger, Pokorny, and Spota. At the same time, Damiano began exploring choreography, a path that quickly revealed itself as a true calling. He made his choreographic debut for the same company in 2015 with “Migliori” and again in 2016 with “Emme”.
In 2018, his choreography “Survivante” became part of the In/Finito dance and photography project, and his duet “Abiectio” was selected for the 33rd International Choreographic Competition of Hanover. The following year, he choreographed the video “Il trionfo della grazia”, produced by Italian filmmaker Valeria Civardi.
In 2020, he created “Motus Marmoris” for the Italian festival White Carrara Downtown and collaborated with the Symphony Orchestra conducted by Giacomo Loprieno in the show “The Legend of Morricone”. Between 2021 and 2022, he created “Esprit List” for AlmaMiaDanceProject in Lausanne, “The Fifth Season” and “Elements” for Luglio Musicale Trapanese, and “Armonica” for Virna Toppi and Nicola Del Freo, principal dancers of La Scala. He also choreographed the music video “Kiss Me Again” by Giovanni Allevi.
More recently, he created “Martyris” for the Balletto di Siena directed by Marco Batti, “Mipiaci” for the Padova Dance Project, “Made In” for Brancaccio Danza at the Futuro Festival in Rome, and “The place to be, une terre qui n’est pas seulement la nôtre” in 2024 for DnAND of the National Dance Academy of Rome.
Alongside his choreographic work, Damiano is a guest teacher at various professional institutions, including the John Cranko School in Stuttgart and A.S.E. Global Bridges in the United States.
In 2023, he performed in “The Nature of Rabbits”, a creation by choreographer Pontus Lidberg, presented at the Venice Biennale and the Joyce Theater in New York.
Since 2020, he is also the Artistic Director of the Castle Summer Intensive in Italy.
