Gruppo nanou's Alphabet: Deconstructing Choreography at Teatri di Vetro

Italian dance company gruppo nanou presented three steps of their ongoing project Alphabet at the Festival Teatri di Vetro in December 2018. The project, which began in 2017, aims to clarify choreographic composition through a device that generates movement and tension. The three steps—Resa, Relazione, Lessico—were performed on December 17, 18, and 19. Resa is a completed work blending didactics and performance. Relazione involved three dancers external to the company—Carlotta Fanelli, Eloise Listuzzi, and Jane Llah—selected from D.A.F. Dance Arts Faculty / Spellbound, who absorbed the company's methodology over three days. Lessico deconstructs choreography piece by piece, using verbal captions to explain actions to the audience. The company, founded by Marco Valerio Amico and Rhuena Bracci, views the device as an ignition for a system that becomes autonomous. They also discussed their project Il colore si fa spazio, exploring LED light on colored surfaces with color theorist Daniele Torcellini, which alters performers' perception of space. The next Alphabet step will involve photographers and videomakers to capture the light-based work, which is not faithfully reproducible. The company plans to return to a theme about Miles Davis in 2019.