LECTURE

within
FOCUS CHINA
Body, ideology, contemporary
in collaboration with Istituto Confucio Università di Firenze

Presentation
Valentina Pedone, director of Istituto Confucio Università di Firenze

Introduction on modern and contemporary dance in China
Fabrizio Massini, curator, director of S.E.T.A.

Recontstruct the imaginary of Chinese traditional dance
Tian Tian (Phd), choreographer, associate professor Beijing Dance Academy

Fabrizio Massini, starting his career with a degree in intercultural studies from the University of Florence, he continued his studies at the University of London (SOAS) with a master’s degree in theater and Chinese cinema, and then in Beijing, with a research residency at the Central Academy of Drama. Based between China and Europe since 2009, he is active as an artistic consultant, producer and dramaturg. Fabrizio has collaborated with numerous Chinese organizations including Beijing Fringe Festival, Wuzhen Theater Festival, Guangzhou Modern Dance Festival, Shanghai ACT Festival and others.
In 2012 he founded the company S.E.T.A. for the promotion of artistic collaborations between China and Europe. Fabrizio has lectured at institutions such as the Danish National School of Performing Arts, National Theater Company of China, Macao Contemporary Dance Festival and others. Since 2016 he is Artistic Director of Ibsen International (Norway) where he is in charge of and manages the Ibsen in China program.

Tian Tian is a dancer, choreographer and scholar of Chinese dance. She holds two degrees (first and second level) in classical Chinese dance (Han and Tang classical dances) from the Beijing Dance Academy. In 2015 she received her Ph.D. from the Art Institute of the University of Beijing, and is currently an associate professor at the Beijing Dance Academy, where she teaches.
As a choreographer, she was selected several times for the Young Artists Platform of Dance of the China National Dancers Association. As a scholar, she has received numerous awards including the National Endowment for Young Creative Talents (2016) and has published the monographs “Exploring on the Form of Chinese Classical Dance”, “Basis of the Pear Garden dance form (roles Dan and Chou)” and others.

FOCUS CHINA
Body, ideology, contemporary

Usually, when one hears of Chinese performing arts, the mind goes to the same set of images: the iconic movements of Peking opera, the physical bravura of acrobats and contortionists, the colossal group choreographies. Postcards from an exotic China, far away in time and space, difficult to reconcile with our (European) idea of “contemporary”. Suggestive snapshots that tickle the imagination while inferring a substantial, irreconcilable difference between “them” and “us”.
Beyond this two-dimensional portrait that the media constantly reproduce, there are not one, but several Chinas. Chinese contemporary dance well reflects this multiplicity: a mutable reality where tradition and experimentation coexist, and interact in complex ways. “Body, Ideology, Contemporary” aims to explore such complexity and offer a broad overview of Chinese performing arts to the Italian and European audience.
Five emerging choreographers present their work through performances and workshops. At the centre of their research, the body and the ideological forces that influence, shape and define it. From Lian Guodong/Lei Yan’s body as a place of resistance, to Wu Hui’s and Yu Yanan’s body as a receptacle of memory; from Er Gao’s provocative queer body, to Tian Tian‘s archaeological reconstruction of the body. In addition to the performance section, the program offers many opportunities for an in-depth understanding, including lectures by academic personalities, meetings with the artists, and public events joined by Italian dance artists too. Visuality will also play a central role, with video materials presenting seminal personalities and works from Chinese contemporary dance artists.

Fabrizio Massini, curator