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Dante Beyond Borders
An Italian-Indian Production Inspired by the Divine Comedy
Artists
Dante Beyond Borders is an Italian Indian co-production born from the collaboration between Instabili Vaganti and Ahum Trust and inspired by the Divine Comedy of the great Italian Poet Dante Alighieri, on the occasion of his 700 years death’s anniversary.
The performance explores different artistic languages: experimental theatre, dance, cinema, video art and electronic music in order to bring the spectator into the otherworldly journey made by Dante. The sounds of Dante’s ancient Italian language meet the mudras and gestures of the traditional Bharatanatyam dance, accompanied by the contemporary electronic soundscapes originally composed by the Oscar winning Italian musician Riccardo Nanni, around the leading suggestion of the Absence, an element that permeates Dante’s works.
The evocative physical actions of the performer Nicola Pianzola and the dance of Anuradha Venkataraman interact with the videos realised by the artists of the project through a remote collaboration developed during the lockdown.
The performance aims to explore the numerous connections between Dante’s work and Indian culture, both from an iconographic, philosophical and theological point of view.
Direction: Anna Dora Dorno
Dramaturgy: Anna Dora Dorno, Nicola Pianzola
Performers: Nicola Pianzola, Anuradha Venkataraman
Choreography: Anuradha Venkataraman, Nicola Pianzola
Performance in video, original songs and voice over: Anna Dora Dorno, Nicola Pianzola, Anuradha Venkataraman
Original music and sound design: Riccardo Nanni
Video creation: Anna Dora Dorno, Nicola Pianzola, Ashwin Iyer
Set and Light design: Anna Dora Dorno
Production: Istituto Italiano di cultura in Mumbai, Instabili Vaganti, Ahum Trust
Supporters: MIC Ministry of culture / Istituto Italiano di cultura in New Delhi
In collaboration with:
Artists
Instabili Vaganti
Founded in 2004 by director, artist, and performer Anna Dora Dorno and playwright and performer Nicola Pianzola, Instabili Vaganti is a multidisciplinary duo focused on experimental research in physical theatre and contemporary performing arts. Their performances, translated into four languages, have been showcased in over 25 countries across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, and Asia, earning multiple awards, including a nomination for the Total Theatre Awards at the Edinburgh Fringe 2014 and three Saint Muse Academy awards for MADE IN ILVA. They have also received notable recognitions, such as the patronage of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 for Rags of Memory and Amnesty International’s endorsement for Desaparecidos#43. Instabili Vaganti has represented Italian theatre at significant global events, including the Theater Olympics in India and the Year of Italy in Latin America, collaborating on international co-productions like The Global City and Dante Beyond Borders. The company currently leads the international project Beyond Borders, featuring intercultural performances like A Journey towards Eutopia and Borders, premiered at the UNESCO heritage Portici Festival in Bologna.
Anna Dora Dorno
Born in 1976 in Italy, Anna Dora Dorno graduated from the University of Bologna’s Department of Music and Performance. In 2004, she founded the experimental theatre company Instabili Vaganti, where she directed and performed in several acclaimed productions. These include Avan Lulu, which received a Special Jury Award at the VI International Festival of Theatre and Visual Arts in Poland; The Ritual, showcased at the 18th Bharat Rang Mahotsav in Delhi; Ausencia – Alone in the Crowd, premiered at the 32nd Fadjr International Festival in Tehran; and MADE IN ILVA, nominated for the Total Theatre Awards at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe and winner of 14 national awards. Other notable works include Desaparecidos#43, endorsed by Amnesty International, and international co-productions like The Global City and Dante Beyond Borders. She has also directed web performance series with artists from Iran, China, Spain, India, Indonesia, and Chile. In addition, she teaches workshops at universities and academies worldwide, including the Grotowski Institute in Poland, Shanghai Theatre Academy in China, and the National School of Drama in India.
Nicola Pianzola
Born in 1977 in Italy, Nicola Pianzola graduated from the University of Bologna’s Department of Music and Performance. He studied physical theatre, graduating from the Nouveau Cirque School of Bologna and the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw, Poland. He is currently a performer and playwright for all Instabili Vaganti productions. He has received several national and international awards as a performer for the solo show MADE IN ILVA, including a nomination for the Total Theatre Awards at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe and the Best Actor Award at the Saint Muse Academy in Ulaanbaatar. He conducts workshops, work demonstrations, and lectures at major universities and academies worldwide, including the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw, ENAT in Mexico, and the University of Kent in the UK.
Anuradha Venkataraman
Anuradha Venkataraman is a Bharatanatyam dancer, trained from the age of 10 under Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan in the Kattumanar Muthukumaran Pillai style of Tanjore. With over 25 years of experience performing and teaching in India and abroad, Anuradha collaborates with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, through which she has performed in Poland, Germany, Denmark, and Luxembourg. Her shows have been featured at major festivals such as the Chidambaram Dance Festival, Khajuraho Dance Festival, Mamallapuram Dance Festival, and Nada Neerajanam. She was nominated for the Prakriti Excellence in Contemporary Dance Awards for her dance video Angels, part of Instabili Vaganti’s web series VideoDante#India. Since 2020, she has been involved in the Beyond Borders project and is a performer in Dante Beyond Borders, co-produced by the Italian Cultural Institutes of New Delhi and Mumbai.
