Alliance of International Production Houses

The dance of death, the danse macabre, is one of the most developed and construed topics in the history of occidental art and serves as a connecting element of such disparate disciplines as architecture, music, and poetry. The idea behind the Danse Macabre! is also strongly associated with the spread of the plague. The black death proliferated rapidly during late medieval times, claiming millions of victims throughout Europe. The propagation of this disease caused people to take an in-depth look at their relation to the mortal realm, thus realigning it. The death dance motif initially sprung from the conception that each movement in the beyond should be a dance: The stars, the gods, the spirits, nature, they all dance. In Danse Macabre!, Italian choreographer and dancer Jacopo Penna works with visual artist Roberto Fassone, who stimulates both the dancers’ physical memory on stage as well as the audience’s free association with his visual score. The video layer as a third element complements the staging. Choreographed sequences will be recorded from different angles before being projected in synchronicity with the dance movements in physical space, creating a perception shift that appears to connect with inner images, the invisible and the subconscious without following preconceived rules.

Concept, choreography, direction: Jacopo Jenna; dance and collaboration: Andrea Dionisi, Francesco Ferrari, Ramona Caia, Sara Sguotti; artistic collaboration and texts: Roberto Fassone; sound: Alberto Ricca-Bienoise; lighting and technical direction: Mattia Bagnoli; video recording: Matteo Maffesanti; Costumes: Eva di Franco; Organisation: Luisa Zuffo; Direction: Valeria Cosi – TINA Agency