From December 16th to 22nd, the MicroDances are on stage at the Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra in Ravenna, an archaeological site located in the undergrounds of the late Baroque church of Sant’Eufemia and considered by many as one of the most important discoveries in Italy in recent decades. The area features a prestigious complex of residential houses dating back to the 1st and 6th centuries AD, enriched by “stone carpets”: marble and mosaic floors of high aesthetic and decorative value. The spaces of the Domus will host two works by Diego Tortelli – Yes, Yes… and A Gig – as part of the program of the Ravenna Festival 2023. The stage for the two MicroDances is the large reception hall, which contains the mosaic representation of the dancing seasons to the sound of the musician Pan: a play of refined geometries and inserts that meets the contemporary gestures of choreographer Diego Tortelli.
“The MicroDances project at the Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra marks a very interesting cultural operation that puts together a collaboration capable of involving at the same time one of the most fascinating sites of our historical and cultural heritage and the high artistic projectuality put in place by the Ravenna Festival, of which the Autumn Trilogy is one of the highest and internationally recognized expressions. The Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra, a place that guards the roots of the great Ravenna history of mosaic, thus becomes a stage for a dance project aimed precisely at the dialogue between the arts. The MicroDances project arrives in Ravenna after prestigious debuts in the major European museums. It is not just about a virtuous collaboration between institutions, but about a new paradigm that sees in the dialogue between different communicative codes an opportunity for multiplied fruition through an extraordinary immersive experience.” Fabio Sbaraglia – Councilor for Culture of Ravenna
Yes, Yes…
A creation that in a few minutes seeks to capture the atmosphere of the Silver Factory created by Andy Warhol in 1962: a place that has entered the collective imagination as a meeting point for artists and a hub of innovation and development of pop culture. The music for Yes, Yes… is composed by artists Dean and Britta for Andy Warhol’s film Most Beautiful. The guitar sounds and the rock references to the 1970s remind us of the rhythms of the rock band Velvet Underground, whose album was produced right at the Silver Factory.
A Gig
A Gig is an opening or closing number. Something brief that serves to warm up the audience or bid goodnight to those who came to see us. In rock slang, it’s often performed by the headlining group of an event. It’s not a full concert, but a short performance that aims to capture the style, vibes, and intensity of the band in just a few minutes. In this new MicroDance, I want to use the two dancers to engage closely with the audience’s gaze, as if it were a little surprise in a context where a performance was unexpected. With the sound of the music, the two dancers move over a text that says “easy,” becoming themselves broken voices and glamorous seduction instruments.
