International Festival of Contemporary Theatre
Programme
Save the last dance for me
05.09., 06.09. 18:30, Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music - Gym hall, Krišjāņa Barona iela 1 | €20 / €15
In Save the last dance for me Alessandro Sciarroni works together with the dancers Gianmaria Borzillo and Giovanfrancesco Giannini on the steps of a Bolognese dance called Polka Chinata. It is a courtship dance originally performed by men only and dating back to the early 1900s: physically demanding, almost acrobatic, it requires that the dancers embrace each other, whirl as they bend to their knees almost to the ground.
The work was created in collaboration with Giancarlo Stagni, a Filuzziani dance master who revived this ancient tradition thanks to the rediscovery and study of some documentation videos dating back to the 1960s. Sciarroni discovered this dance in December 2018 when the dance was practiced in Italy only by 5 people in total. For this reason, the project consists of a performance performed by the two dancers and a series of workshops aimed at spreading and reviving this popular tradition in danger of extinction.
About artist
Alessandro Sciarroni is an Italian artist active in the field of Performing Arts with several years of experience in visual arts and theater research. His works are featured in contemporary dance and theater festivals, museums and art galleries, as well as in unconventional spaces and involve professionals from different disciplines. In 2019 he was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Dance by the Venice Biennial.
His work starts from a conceptual Duchamp-like matrix, making use of a theatrical framework, and he can use some techniques and experiences from dance, as well as circus or sports. In addition to the rigor, coherence and clarity of each creation, his work tries to uncover obsessions, fears and fragilities of the act of performing, through the repetition of a practice to the limits of the physical endurance of the interpreters, looking at a different dimension of time, and to an empathic relationship between the audience and the performers.
His works have been performed worldwide: Europe, South and North America, Middle East and Asia. Among the main events he took part: the Biennale de la Danse in Lyon, Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels, Impulstanz Festival in Wien, the Venice Biennale, the Festival d’Automne and the Festival Séquence Danse at 104 in Paris, Centrale Fies, Abu Dhabi Art Fair, Crossing The Line in New York, Hong Kong Art Festval, Juli Dans Festival in Amsterdam, TBA Festival Portland, Festival Panorama Rio de Janeiro and he exhibited his work at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, The Walker Art Center Minneapolis, Punta della Dogana-Palazzo Grassi in Venice and the MAXXI Museum in Rome.
Alessandro Sciarroni is associate artist of CENTQUATRE-Paris and Triennale Milano Teatro 2022-2024. His shows are produced by Marche Teatro in collaboration with various national and international coproduction partners depending on the projects. Some of the historical partners are Centrale Fies, Comune di Bassano del Grappa – Centro per la Scena Contemporanea, Amat, la Biennale de la danse – Maison de la Danse de Lyon, La Biennale di Venezia, Mercat de les Flors – Graner (Barcelona), Fondation d’entreprise Hermèsin the frame of New Settings and the association corpoceleste_C.C.00# of which he’s artistic director.
Cast
Concept: Alessandro Sciarroni
With: Gianmaria Borzillo, Giovanfrancesco Giannini
Artistic collaboration: Giancarlo Stagni
Music: Aurora Bauzà, Pere Jou (Telemann Rec.)
Styling: Ettore Lombardi
Technical direction: Valeria Foti
Tour technician: Cosimo Maggini
Curator, promotion, consulting: Lisa Gilardino
Administration, executive production: Chiara Fava
Communication: Damien Modolo
Production: corpoceleste_C.C.00#, MARCHE TEATRO Teatro di Rilevante Interesse Culturale coproduction Santarcangelo Festival, B.Motion, Festival Danza Urbana
5, 6
September
18:30
€20 / €15
Language
Non-verbal
20 min
Tickets