Youth Gang Disrupts Bari Festival Show, Demands Payment from Performers

Firecrackers were launched during afternoon rehearsals and continued throughout the evening performance at Bari’s Parco degli Aquiloni, where members of a youth gang reportedly threatened artists by declaring, “If you want to dance here, you have to pay.” Simona De Tullio, artistic director and president of the Breathing Art Company, struggled to contain her bitterness over the incident during the municipal festival “Due Bari.” Before and during the troupe’s show, minors attempted to halt the performance, prompting intervention by local police officers.