A production by the COMPAGNIA TARANTARTE
featuring ADELE BENLAHOUAR, LAURA DE RONZO, GIULIA PICCINNI and MANUELA RORRO
Directed and choreographed by MARISTELLA MARTELLA
Set design and assistant director FRANCESCA TURRISI
Four women, four stories. Each telling her own version of herself, amongst the many possible ones. Women’s bodies that confront and support one another, women with strong arms that can strike but also know how to cradle, bodies that sometimes fall but always get back up. Solemn and seductive, like priestesses guarding a cult that is mystical rather than mysterious, they lead the audience towards their initiation.
The spark for the show was ignited during lockdown, a period in which the constraints and the impossibility of performing in public prompted the Tarantarte company to explore new forms of expression and to reflect on their relationship with the body. The premiere took place initially online, thanks to the ‘Indovina chi viene a (S)cena’ programme organised by the Teatro Pubblico Pugliese, before moving to a live performance at the Cantieri Teatrali Koreja. The standardisation of aesthetic norms and constant exposure to models of perfection generate a widespread sense of inadequacy. From this arises the idea that dance – and, in particular, dance-theatre – can offer an alternative narrative, celebrating the diversity of bodies and challenging imposed stereotypes. *Veleno* presents itself as an artistic journey that highlights the variety of body types and tackles the often-silenced issue of the distress associated with one’s relationship with food. It is not a self-referential production, but a project designed for the younger generations, with the aim of taking a stand and actively contributing to society. ‘We live immersed in “diet culture”, which glorifies an unrealistic ideal of thinness and stigmatises anything that deviates from it, fuelling discrimination and shame,’ emphasises director and choreographer Maristella Martella. “Veleno aims to break this taboo, to journey alongside the audience through the pain and loneliness of those living with an eating disorder, and to strongly assert the need for a more authentic and inclusive representation. If this culture imposes a single possible model, Veleno offers itself as its antidote.” A liberating performance which, through the abstraction of bodily movement, highlights and challenges eating disorders, transforming the stage into a space of awareness, empathy and resistance.
Directed by Maristella Martella, the Tarantarte company was founded in Bologna when dancers from different backgrounds came together, and later established itself in Salento. Under the guidance of Maestro Antonio Infantino, the company has, from the outset, pursued contemporary choreographic and theatrical research into Tarantism and the mystery of trance. Previous productions by the Tarantarte company include *Passo a Sud*, *Kore Ensemble*, *Furie e Fauni*, *Premesse a Kore* and *Creta*.
WEDNESDAY 25 JUNE | 8.30 pm | Dance
CORIGLIANO D'OTRANTO | Castello Volante (Sala Cavallerizza)
Tickets at the box office: 5 euros
