Landscapes of long duration where time stands still. Places that intertwine and confuse past and present. Spaces to walk through and observe. Bodies that move to compose unusual choreographic scores.

Can dance offer new perspectives and ways of inhabiting the city? Can places – steeped in history, nature and art – become a stimulus for imagination and artistic creation?

The Dance Makers project starts precisely from the relationship between people and territories with the intention of spreading contemporary dance in unconventional places to stimulate reflection on the territory and its resources. This thought is the basis for the creation of choreographies that draw inspiration from architectural elements, geometries, sounds, works of art, history and inhabitants.

Each choreographic itinerary thus becomes unique because it is developed and conceived in close relation to the environment and gives shape to a route in multiple stages in which artistic creations of a performing nature alternate with participatory moments in which the public becomes visitor, spectator and protagonist.

This itinerary in Milan is the result of an articulated didactic project, proposed and produced by STANZE and ZONA K, which involved the dance company DANCE MAKERS as trainers and dancer-choreographers, the school L’ARCOBALENODANZA and the ACCADEMIA DI BELLE ARTI DI BRERA, which made available the spaces of its historical headquarters, with the active participation of a group of students from the Two-year Specialisation Course in Theatre Scenography and Costume for the Performing Arts.

The dancers have inhabited and choreographed the open spaces of the Napoleonic Courtyard of Honour, the Loggiato above it, the steps, the corridors and those indoors, the basement and the Gipsoteca, working in close dialogue with the Costume and Set Design students, who have succeeded in transmuting bodies and places, revealing the ineffable essence of the non-visible.

site-specific project c/o Accademia delle Belle Arti di Brera
curated by ZONA K and Stanze

Concept and interpretation: Dance Makers (Anna Altobello, Beatrice Bresolin, Ilaria Campagnolo, Marina Donatone, Giovanna Garzotto, Ana Luisa Novais Gomez, Andrea Rampazzo, Silvia Sessi) with the collaboration of: L’Arcobalenodanza School and the Brera Academy of Fine Arts – Two-year Specialistic Course in Theatre Scenography and Costume for the Performing Arts set designers: Nadir Dal Grande, Ludovica Diomedi, Riccardo Galbussera, Elisa Gelmi, Matilde Grossi, Yang Linqing, Andrea Pogliani, Giulia Trivelli, Shi Shiting, We Yue costume designers: Mara Pieri, Alice Manente, Paola Mammolini, Jagna Nawrocka with the support of: CSC – Centro per la Scena Contemporanea di Bassano del Grappa, Fondazione Cariplo, MIBAC, a performance realised within the Teen Time project with the contribution of Regione Lombardia under the patronage of Comune di Milano photos by: Roberto Cinconze

Dance Makers is a group of dance artists born in 2017 following participation in Dance Makers1, a project organized by CSC – Centro per la Scena Contemporanea in Bassano del Grappa. The group is composed of dancers, teachers, Dance Well – movement research for Parkinson’s and choreographers. The Dance Makers have conceived and realized choreographic itineraries in unconventional spaces, research activities on choreographic practices and performances at B.Motion Danza Operaestate – Festival Veneto, Festival Ammutinamenti – Cantieri Danza and Gender Bender Festival. They have danced in projects curated by Iván Pérez, James Batchelor and Silvia Gribaudi, and are currently involved in a new creation with choreographer Andrea Costanzo Martini. In parallel, they continue to realise site-specific performances in museums and urban spaces, and are active in the organisation of workshops for professionals and non-professionals.