Le Baccanti (c’era fuoco sui loro capelli ma non le bruciava): free workshop for women over the age of 65

The call for the dance workshop led by Giulio Santolini and Lorenza Guerrini is online. No previous experience required

Do you feel like putting yourself out there?

With the free dance and movement workshop led by Giulio Santolini and Lorenza Guerrini you can get involved in a group project that is open to all body types, regardless of your experience performing. No experience in the field of dance or any knowledge in performance is required. Registration at laboratori@genderbender.it

The workshop

The workshop emerged from the desire to celebrate the mad and sensual power of mature bodies through a ritual that is a free and creative expression of the body. Who will we be after this ritual? What will be evoked with our dance? What does it mean to lose control? And what do we find in the chaos? This is a time to get closer to oneself and others, recognizing and losing oneself in an unbounded game of identity and metamorphosis. A place where any fragility can become primal strength, letting the history and experience that each body carries shine through.

The workshop’s final performance

After the conclusion of the workshops there will be a final performance on stage as part of the Gender Bender festival on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 6:30 PM at Ex Chiesa di San Mattia in Bologna. Admission is free subject to availability of seats.

The topic

“Some people will say I have no respect for old age, since I am planning to dance with my head wreathed in ivy. But the god recognizes no binary between young and old.” (Euripides).

Inspired by Euripides’ play of the same name, the workshop aims to involve a group of women over the age of 65 in a radical and cathartic experience. Dionysus, the god of inebriation, metamorphosis and dance, invites every woman to dance through the city. There are no obstacles or boundaries, no technique or shame, no bodies that cannot be part of this call to freedom and affirmation. Dancing can mean many things: it can be a way to understand each other, to struggle, to forget, to joke, to break free or to feel alive after a dark time. It can simply mean “look at me, I exist. I am here.”

This is a joyful, visceral and animalistic journey, accompanied by the fierce sound of cymbals, kettledrums and flutes

How to participate in the workshop?

The workshop is free and aimed at people who identify as women over the age of 65
There will be a limited number of participants
It is open to any age and body type, and no dance experience is necessary.
For info and registration: laboratori@genderbender.it

* In order to spend the days together with the utmost respect and care, we ask that you report any sensitivities or disabilities.

When registering, send a close-up photo and a brief introduction of yourself.

Calendar

Saturday, November 2, 9 AM to 1 PM | DAS – dispositivo Arti Sperimentali | Workshop
Sunday, November 3, 9 AM to 1 PM | DAS – dispositivo Arti Sperimentali | Workshop
Monday, November 4 novembre, 9 AM to 1 PM | Ex Chiesa di San Mattia | Workshop

The show

Tuesday, November 5 | Rehearsal and performance schedule to be determined | Ex Chiesa di San Mattia

DAS – Dispositivo Arti Sperimentali: Via del Porto 1/2, Bologna

Ex chiesa di San Mattia: Via Sant’Isaia 13, Bologna

About the choreographer and the playwright

Giulio Santolini is a performer and choreographer. He has worked with Collettivo Cinetico/Francesca Pennini, Enzo Cosimi, Sotterraneo, La Veronal/Marcos Morau, Sharon Fridman and S)block 5. With the Sotterraneo company, he won two UBU Awards for best performance of the year in 2019 and 2022.

Lorenza Guerrini graduated as an actress from the Metastasio Theater School. She has worked with Kanterstrasse, (Critical Network Prize finalist), Industria Scenica, Katia Giuliani, El Conde de Torrefiel, Pierre Debauche, Joris Lacoste, and with Sotterraneo (Overload/ Ubu awards 2018, Atlante Linguistico della Pangea, Talk Show, L’angelo della Storia/Ubu awards 2022). She is also curator of training projects for teenagers and adults in the companies with whom she collaborates.