Through the Rite: A Cultural Journey of Dance and Rituals

It is called 'Through the Rite', the project proposal with which the Cdtm, Campania Dance Circuit, leader of a partnership with the RaIDFestivals Association, the Festival de Danza Contemporánea Alternativo Hidalgo (Mexico) and the New Dance Young Talent (Netherlands), wins the 'Boarding Pass Plus' call (IV edition) promoted by the Ministry of Culture. The Boarding Pass Plus call is designed for the selection of new proposals for theater, dance, music, circus, and multidisciplinary, and is intended to support international paths for the development of artistic processes and the consolidation of collaborations between Italian professionals and those from other countries. The project will take place between March and September for a duration of seven months. 'The goal is the realization of an international path of creation, valorization, and diffusion of Italian choreography with a focus on religious rites, expressions of the traditions and identity elements of peoples and places. Specifically, the rite is enhanced by the action that becomes the word of the body, taking place in a space and time designed by the gesture itself. Thus, the body, through the rite, becomes an element of connection between past, present, and future, useful to celebrate experiences, events, and meanings intrinsically linked to a territorial tradition, but that cross spheres of human existence of each individual and anywhere in the world,' explains Claudio Malangone, a choreographer from Salerno chosen together with Emma Cianchi, respectively accompanied by Luigi Aruta and Marcella Martusciello, Italian dancers and choreographers under 35. The first stage of Through the rite, after the warm-up phases between Naples, Salerno, and Avellino, will be Mexico at the Fedcah, Festival de Danza Contemporánea Alternativo. The event, which takes place in the public places of Pachuca, the capital of Hidalgo, every year records up to seven thousand presences among the public and artists. Since 2013, it has established itself on the Mexican and Central American scene, placing Pachuca as an important stage for contemporary dance. On Tuesday, March 26 at the Guillermo Romo de Vivar Theater, in Pachuca de Soto, (with a repeat on the 29th at the Teatro de la Ciudad in Santiago de Querétaro) the CDTM and Raidfestivals will present the solo 'De Voto', concept and choreography by Claudio Malangone, author and interpreter Luigi Aruta, choreography assistant Adriana Cristiano, original music by Alessandro Capasso. The performance is born with the idea of investigating the notion of rite, beyond the strictly religious sense, isolating and ordering gestures and movements. Starting from the procession of the 'Cente' and 'Fujenti' (religious rites typical of southern Italy) one wonders to what extent the concept of rite is so applicable to different social and cultural contexts, what is meant by this term and if there is some common component to all ritual behaviors. Gestures, even simple, that take on a paradigmatic character as a repetition of the deeds of gods, heroes, spirits, or ancestors, of which the ordinary activities of men are but a pale reflection. The Festival will host 15 days of activities that will allow Italian artists to present their choreographic project, but also to participate in meetings and workshops with local scholars, anthropologists, and artists. Through the rite will also be the occasion to present the photographic exhibition 'Sacred and Profane' curated by the artist of photography and Unisa lecturer Gianpiero Scafuri with shots by Gianpiero Scafuri, Giada Ruoppo, and Claudio Malangone. Between June and July, the artistic residency moves to the Netherlands, to Den Haag, thanks to the partnership with the New Dance Young Talent Foundation, founded in 2016 to promote and encourage the development of artistic projects. NDYT will host the Italian artists for two weeks allowing them to present their choreographic project starting from the research on traditions linked to religious moments that are part of the Campanian socio-cultural fabric. Here too, meetings on the theme of the project and a specific artistic event to present the working methodology and the artistic path developed by the choreographer Emma Cianchi are planned. Mexico and the Netherlands have been chosen as partners for their peculiar cultural history regarding religious rites. Mexico, 80% Catholic, has 20% fragmented into syncretistic cultures with rites and practices strongly embodied. The Netherlands, on the other hand, is one of the most secularized European countries: with 48%, it has the highest percentage in Western Europe of those who are without a religious confession.