PHILIP GLASS - ÉTUDES

First a leading figure in the New York neo-avant-garde of the 1960s by militating in the Judson Dance Theater collective and then the undisputed mother of minimalism, choreographer Lucinda Childs has a special relationship with composer Philip Glass, to whose music she created in 1979 the iconic work Dance, a true milestone in the history of dance in the second half of the twentieth century. She is the one who curated the Philip Glass-Études show, created in 2024 as a co-production of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, which now welcomes it reimagined in a new version for the Nouveau stage. Over 12 Études by Glass, chosen by music curator Oscar Pizzo and performed on piano by Simone Sgarbanti, there follows a kaleidoscope of experimental creations in a plurality of artistic languages. Performed by the Roman company MP3 DanceProject directed by Michele Pogliani, the choreographies bear the signatures of Childs herself and Pogliani, but also of talented creators from three different continents, such as Brazilian Cassi Abranches, Japanese Shintaro Hirahara and non-binary queer artist from South Africa Llewellyn Mnguni. Added to this are video art works created by Shirin Neshat, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Fabio Cherstich and the Veneto-based collective Anagoor. A synaesthetic show, then, to savor minimalism in the broadest sense, seamlessly witnessing different approaches and visions arising from Philip Glass’s evocative scores.