Simona Bertozzi's 'Joie de vivre' premieres at Teatro Storchi

Simona Bertozzi's new choreography 'Joie de vivre' debuted at Teatro Storchi in Modena, produced by ERT / Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione and Nexus. The work explores the quest for happiness through a continuous flow of anatomical states and metamorphic postures, inspired by philosopher Pierre Zaoui. Four dancers—Sara Sguotti, Wolf Govaerts, Manolo Perazzi, and Ohiana Vesga—perform a vibrant gestural language derived from impulses such as 'innervare, limite, linfa, timidezza, brulicare, umidità, vento, pollution.' The piece features a pulsating soundscape by Francesco Giomi and atmospheric lighting by Simone Fini. The performance begins with a bright light source crossing the white stage, as dancers enter wearing varied costumes—some with a rope, a plastic net, or a mask. They move through choreographic phrases of cracking, stratification, circularity, expansion, elevation, and falling, alternating between solo and ensemble. The dancers appear to perceive underground vibrations and magnetic fields, creating attraction and instability. Later, two singers—Giovanni Bortoluzzi and Ilaria Orefice—perform harmonic vocalizations while handling construction objects and a traffic cone used as a megaphone. A tangle of tubes resembling human viscera appears, and the dancers struggle to free themselves from the plastic mass, eventually helping each other. One dancer remains trapped as the lights go down, leaving the outcome ambiguous.