While We Are Here: Santarcangelo Festival 2024 July 5-14, 2024 (Italy)

Santarcangelo Festival
July 5 to July 14, 2024
Santarcangelo di Romagna

The Santarcangelo Festival, renowned for its experimental approach to curating contemporary performance, has been a staple in the cultural landscape since 1971. Located in the Italian town of Santarcangelo di Romagna, the festival draws artists and audiences worldwide to experience cutting-edge theatre, dance, and performance art.

This year’s theme, “while we are here,” emphasizes the transient and ephemeral nature of live performance, inviting participants to engage deeply with the present moment. The theme underscores the festival’s commitment to creating intimate and immediate artistic experiences.

Located in the Emilia-Romagna region, Santarcangelo di Romagna is known for its picturesque streets, historic architecture, and vibrant local culture. The town provides a unique backdrop for the festival, blending the charm of its medieval roots with a contemporary artistic vibe. Festival-goers can enjoy the town’s culture, cuisine, and beauty, integral to the overall experience.

Highlighted Performances:

Davi Pontes and Wallace Ferreira
Repertoire N.2
July 12, 2024

“Repertoire N.2” is the second piece in a choreographic trilogy by Brazilian artists Davi Pontes and Wallace Ferreira that explores dance as a form of self-defense. Using unconventional and informal techniques, the performers embrace an alternative and underground style of self-defense practices and critically reflect on the world they live in, between imagination and intuition. Their aim is to free themselves from constraints, both implicit and explicit, by addressing the colonial, racial, and cis-heteropatriarchal structures present in Western thought. Starting from a question: how can you develop a self-defense dance? Pontes and Ferreira experiment with symbolic deviations from the violence planned by the state and the institutions that ensure order through repression. Their creations expand the perception of time and space through mimesis and rhythmic patterns. Influenced by martial arts, capoeira and a critical reading of dance history, the choreography explores movement vocabularies in the realm of the Black Aesthetic.

Catol Teixeira
zona de derrama – first chapter
July 5-7, 2024

Catol Teixeira’s “zona de derrama – first chapter” begins with an overflowing gesture, exploring pleasure, identity, and memory through dance. This choreography, created for three dancers, embraces tenderness, risk, and celebration. Performed at dusk, it symbolizes transition and transformation, celebrating moments when boundaries are crossed. Returning to the Santarcangelo Festival for the third year, Teixeira, known for “Clashes Licking” and “La peau entre les doigts,” crafts intimate, transformative performances that resonate with audiences.

Bruno Freire
Life is not useful or It is what it is
July 6 & 7, 2024

Bruno Freire’s “Life is not useful or It is what it is” delves into philosophical and choreographic insights inspired by Ailton Krenak, a prominent Indigenous thinker and critic of urban society. Using Krenak’s publication as a foundation, Freire explores the idea that ‘life is an experience of wonder.’ This performance intertwines Krenak’s texts with dance, treating his words as musical scores that guide Freire’s movements. The piece invites the audience to listen and reflect on these profound ideas, forming a contemplative diptych with Freire’s other work, “Matamatá,” also featured at the festival.

The Santarcangelo Festival runs from July 5 to July 14, 2024. It offers a rich program of performances, workshops, and community events that promise to engage and inspire. For a detailed schedule and to purchase tickets, visit the official Santarcangelo Festival website.

Feature Photo: Marvin Toumo’s Rectum-Crocodile ©Albane Durand Viel