A Collaboration Between Italy And India At Ranga Shankara

Dante Beyond Borders, an Italian India Theatrical Co-production between Instabili Vaganti theatre company and Ahum Trust, will be staged at Ranga Shankara on Nov 30^th, 2021, at 7 pm and Dec 1^st,2021 – 7:30 pm.

Dante Beyond Borders is an experimental theatre and dance performance, co-produced in partnership with Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Mumbai, born from the collaboration between the Italian theatre company Instabili Vaganti and the Indian association Ahum Trust, inspired by the Divine Comedy of the great Italian poet Dante Alighieri, in the 700th anniversary of his death, being celebrated this year all over the world.

Widely considered one of the greatest works of world literature, the Poem, written in the first person, tells of Dante’s journey through the three realms of the dead: Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The performance, directed by the award-winning Italian director Anna Dora Dorno, explores different artistic languages: experimental theatre, dance, cinema, video art, electronic music 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 initially composed by the Oscar-winning Italian musician Riccardo Nanni, around the leading suggestion of the Absence. This element permeates Dante’s works.

The provocative physical actions of the performer Nicola Pianzola and the dance of Anuradha Venkataraman interact with the videos previously realized by the artists of the project through a remote collaboration developed during the lockdown. The performance explores the numerous connections between Dante’s work and Indian culture from an iconographic, philosophical, and theological point of view. For example, in his poem, Dante often mentions India and places heaven on earth in the Indian territory, imagining the sun rising from the Ganges.

“Dante beyond borders raises from the unexpected, long lockdown, where innovation and the struggle to keep on with arts and cultural collaborations were sometimes mixing with dim feelings: finally, here we are, ready to attend to this extraordinary show, once again in presence, on stage, celebrating the power of art and the absolute beauty of real, deep exchanges between cultures, here the Italian and the Indian ones” affirms the director of  the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Mumbai Francesca Amendola, further adding that the Institute “is delighted to be part of this fantastic new beginning, together with Instabili Vacanti and Ahum Trust.”

Dante Beyond Borders Team: 

Creation: Instabili Vaganti

Direction: Anna Dora Dorno

Performers: Anna Dora Dorno, Nicola Pianzola, Anuradha Venkataraman

Choreography: Anuradha Venkataraman

Original songs: Anna Dora Dorno

Dramaturgy and voice over: Anna Dora Dorno, Nicola Pianzola

Original music and sound design: Riccardo Nanni

Video creation: Anna Dora Dorno, Nicola Pianzola, Ashwin Iyer

Set and Light design: Anna Dora Dorno

Technical direction and lights: Salvatore Pulpito

Technical coordination and sound: Nikhil Bharadwaj

Production: Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Mumbai / Instabili Vaganti / Ahum Trust

Sponsor: MIC – Italian Ministry of Culture

Duration: 60 min.

Language: English and ancient Italian (the original text of the Divine Comedy)

Genre Physical: Theatre and dance / experimental film and video art

Founded in 2004 by the director, artist, and performer Anna Dora Dorno and the playwright and performer Nicola Pianzola, Instabili Vaganti is a multidisciplinary artistic duo that focuses on ongoing experimental research in physical theatre and contemporary performing arts.

Their performances have been translated into three languages and presented in more than 20 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, and Asia, winning several awards, including the nomination to the Total theatre awards at the Edinburgh Fringe 2014 with the performance MADE IN ILVA, and essential acknowledgments such as the patronage of the European year of cultural heritage 2018 for their international project Rags of memory and the trade of Amnesty International for the performance Desaparecidos#43. In addition, Instabili Vaganti has represented the Italian theatre in important global contexts such as the Theater Olympics in India and the Year of Italy in Latin America, realizing international co-productions with several countries, including The Global City with the National Theater of Genoa and the Festival FIDAE in Uruguay.

Anna Dora Dorno, Director, actress, and theatre pedagogue, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and at the Department of Theatre Music and Arts of the University of Bologna, Italy. In 2004 she founded the experimental theatre company Instabili Vaganti directing and acting in Avan-lulu, a special award of the Jury at the VI° International Festival of Theatre and Visual Arts Zdarzenia (Poland), The Ritual, performed in more than 20 countries an in the festival such as the 18 Bharat Rang Mahotsav in Delhi, Ausencia – Alone in the crowd, a special project for the European researchers’ night performed simultaneously in Bologna, Geneve, Paris and premiered at the 32° Fadjr International Festival of Teheran, MADE IN ILVA, Nomination at the Total Theatre awards at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2014, winner of 10 national awards for the best performance, and presented at the 8^th Theatre Olympics in India, Desparecidos#43, with the patronage of Amnesty International. Thanks to her special ability to work with performers from all over the world, she has directed two international co-productions: Eomuyi – Memoria Madre (Italy – S.Korea) commissioned by the BIPAF Busan Performing Arts Festival and The Global City (Italy – Uruguay), co-produced by the National Theatre in Genoa and the Festival FIDAE in Uruguay. She is leading the international Performing Arts Project Rags of memory, winner of the Patronage of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, and her newest international project, Beyond Borders, granted by the Ministry of Italian culture and involving partners from Chile, India, Malaysia, Senegal, Spain, USA.

Venue: Ranga Shankara, JP Nagar, Bangalore

Dates: 30^th November 2021 and 1^st December 2021

Timing: 7pm & 7:30pm

Tickets are priced at Rs.250/- and are available on www.bookmyshow.com

Visit: https://in.bookmyshow.com/plays/dante-beyond-borders/ET00317590