TERRA FIRMA is an exploration of life as a journey; a journey not conceived simply as displacement in space and time but, also as a symbolic sense of desire of knowledge and research of oneself.
The inspiration for this piece began with reading Baricco’s Mr Gwyn. In the book the protagonist employs the idea to “write” a portrait. With the purpose of bringing the person back home, he puts them in an isolated condition for hours, days, and alone with themselves, in order to remove that mask of everyday life, which obscures the true essence of each of us. The idea struck me immediately as I had already worked on this concept in a different way in my previous performances.
The description in which the preparation of the environment and the way the protagonist arrives at the portrait’s creation, enchanted me.
I started to create the solo Silent Breath, but during the creation I could not prevent myself from thinking that in the end, it was in fact an emotional, or rather, an intimate journey, looking for itself.
On the note of travel, I couldn’t resist to think of the Ulysses figure, who with his journey became a symbol of the contemporary unrest. I deepened my studies and worked on the description of Ulysses in Homer’s Odyssey, passing through Dante’s Inferno to get to the modern Joice.
Through working on stage, I created the balance between the physical journey and the intimate journey. Not only those who move physically away from their origins and from their land, but those who move away from themself, live life in an endless journey, in search of their own identity, for the traces that will take them home.
This intimate and poetic work is a series of suggestive lighting projections, unique atmospheric music, and intense, unexpected movement creating a space where dreams and desires take form in a spectrum of emotions.
Grazia Capri’s work, places dance at the crossroads of art, theater, and performance. Since 2010, Grazia has been developing a personal, original body of work focused on movement. Emotions take form in body and space, the poetic expression of a body that becomes a screen and a reflection of a primordial intimacy.
Grazia’s work opens a glance on emotions and moods of contemporary man tout court, and remains open to a wider and diverse reading key.
In her work one’s inner world emerges, giving life to surreal and essential landscapes, leaving to the audience the task of drawing its own interpretations.
“More performance art than dance, this is a remarkable work that masterfully manipulates the audience’s perception of the body….” —Rachel Donnelly on Beyond by Grazia Capri FestivalJurnal Edimburgh 2012.
Grazia Capri is a choreographer, performer and artist who lived and worked in several European cities including Paris, London, Brussels, before relocating to New York in 2015.
Throughout her career she has worked with many contemporary choreographers such as MilenaZullo (BallettodiSardegna), AlessandraLuberti, LucaBruni, MarkBaldwin (Teatro dell’Opera di Roma) among others.
In 2010 Grazia started her own Company. She received artistic residencies in Paris, London and Berlin. Her works was presented at Festivals, Theaters and Galleries across Europe and US. A list of selected venues:HATCH Performance Series Fall 2018 NY; IDACO, Italian connection Festival NY; Lipani Gallery at Fordham University, NY; Sans Limites Dance Festival, NY; Fertile Ground, NY; Clarence Mews, London; C_A_P 05 deviAZIONI Festival, Italy; Corpo 6 Gallery, Berlin; Bodied Spaces Festival Art Gallery, Berlin; Dança em Foco International Festival of Video Dance 2013, Rio de Janeiro; Mains d’Oeuvres, Paris; Studio Le Regard du Cygne, Paris; Micadanses, Paris; Edinburgh; Whitespace Gallery Fringe Festival, Edinburgh; Kogan Gallery/Le soirees nomades, Paris.
Grazia obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Theater at University of Bologna (D.A.M.S.), Italy and Three Years of University Study in Dance: Advanced Training Diploma and Specialized Diploma at The National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance of Paris (CNSMDP), France.
The Company
Dancers:
Amanda Bouza is a native of Miami. She attended the nationally recognized high school New
World School of the Arts and holds a Bachelors in Fine Arts from The Juilliard School in New York City.
Kaity Mayers, a Colorado native, recently graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2018.
Irene Paci, was born in Pistoia, (Italy). She furthered her training at The Ailey School, where she graduated in the Certificate Program.
Music
Stefano Cavazzini, is a drummer and percussionist and composer graduated at the American School of Modern Music in Paris He perfected in analysis and composition with the American composer Eugene Kurtz. Since then, he has regularly composed music for theater and dance, sound installations for exhibitions and film music.
Martin Nevin is a New York City-based composer and bassist. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Manhattan School of Music and a master’s degree from Columbia University.
Design:
Xiaoyue Sherry Liu is a designer and 3D artist based in New York City. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree from School of Visual Arts, New York.
Annie Xiang, pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts at the School of Visual Art, New York, NY. Mokshini Gobin is a lighting designer recent graduate from SUNY Purchase College.
