Virgilio Sieni's Performances Explore Proximity in Pandemic Era

The So Far So Close festival in Matera, organized by Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019, features performances by choreographer Virgilio Sieni as part of its second edition. The festival's theme, 'exercises of proximity,' aims to reimagine social relations in the time of COVID-19, bridging urban and remote areas through collective re-education. Artists collaborate with the Open Design School method, integrating expertise from infectiologists to safety engineers, designers, artisans, architects, and cultural inhabitants. Outcomes will be compiled into an open-source manual. Sieni, a multiple award-winning Tuscan dancer, presented three works: 'Solo Goldberg Variation' in Venosa and Montescaglioso, and 'Tattilità delle Chiome' and 'Dolce Lotta' in Matera. The festival director Rossella Tarantino emphasized restarting live events after a hiatus caused by the pandemic, using the crisis to question social relationships. The cycle debuted with Emma Dante.