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Sep 10 2004 - 16:00

MART Sala Conferenze

The extreme virtuosity of the acrobatic body

ELIZABETH STREB and Francesca Pedroni

Hosted by Francesca Pedroni, a dance critic and historian, who teaches the history of dance and ballet at the Scuola del Teatro alla Scala and the Università Cattolica in Milan. She writes for Danza & Danza and has recently presented her latest book dedicated to the great master Alwin Nikolais.

Dance for ‘kamikaze,’ a movement pushed to the limits of physical laws. For over twenty years, Elizabeth Streb has explored a choreographic path that is unmatched in the international dance scene. Her work represents a poetry of risk and extreme virtuosity.

In 1997, Elizabeth Streb was honored with the prestigious "Genius" award by the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Her choreographies, which she calls Popaction, blend disciplines from dance, athletics, extreme sports, and Hollywood stunt work.

Elizabeth Streb's investigations into movement through the scientific study of the human body have led her to make choices that significantly diverge from tradition. Areas of exploration include the aesthetics of grace, the use or manipulation of gravity, genre manipulation, and the nature of space-time dimensions.

Streb aims to isolate fundamental principles of time, space, and potential human movement in her work. The creativity of her pieces emerges from science and mathematics, demanding athleticism, courage, and precision from the dancers. The result is an entirely unique body of work that is also highly engaging for audiences. According to Streb, one of the most important tasks for the artistic community is to bring art and artists closer to the people.