From Italian theatermaker Alessandro Sciarroni, recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Dance at the 2019 Venice Biennale, an inventive revival of the polka chinata, a nearly lost Bolognese courtship dance from the last century. The polka chinata (crouched polka) is a rarity in ballroom dancing: it was performed exclusively by pairs of men. It originated in Bologna around 1900 and had nearly disappeared when Giancarlo Stagni, a professor and dance master, rediscovered it in the 1990s and began teaching it to his dancers. Theater-maker and choreographer Alessandro Sciarroni, whose work inhabits the tension between tradition and modernity, found the dance, its hypnotic nature, and its near-extinction fascinating. In addition to the performance at PS21, dancers Giovanfrancesco Giannini and Gianmaria Borzillo will lead free workshops in polka chinata following the performance for dancers and non-dancers, diving into the polka and invoking the spirit of the community to save the dance from the brink of extinction.
Date and Time
Saturday Jul 29, 2023
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM EDT
July 29, 7 PM
Location
PS21: Performance Spaces for the 21st Century
Fees/Admission
$35 General Admission $10 Student ticket
Contact Information
boxoffice@ps21chatham.org
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