Photo Credits: Laura Farneti
Artist statement
Since the beginning, Sara’s interest in dance has been an occasion to explore the body embracing its complexity: her research merges theoretical studies in philosophy, art, cinema and practical studies of different movement’s techniques and dramaturgical approaches in a perspective that considers contemporary creation as an encounter between languages.
Collaboration with visual artists, musicians, video makers has been regular in her artistic path. In particular, since 2014 her work has increased a participatory and cross-disciplinary perspective when a collaboration with the bassist, composer and videomaker Stefano Risso has started. Her work, combining movement scores with sound research and video images, are presented in theater as in unconventional space in searching of a way to expand the performance experience, exploring different modality of art’s sharing, with a special attention to public space and a wide range of audience highlighting the connection between scene and everyday life, audience and performers.
Within a first period of cinema studies at the Turin University and an experience as performer, she continues studying at the Laban Centre for contemporary dance in London, and after, move to Paris where she obtains a Master’s degree at Paris VIII University, Dance Department. Her training has been influenced by contemporary dance, real-time composition, body-mind centering, Laban Studies, Klein technique and yoga with, among others, J. Hamilton, C. Diverrès, W. Vandekeybus, S. Sandroni, S. Klein.
Back to Italy in 2000 she promotes the creation of Il Cantiere cultural association, with a project to redevelop urban space in art yard, from which it took its name. Her first choreographic creations have been supported by numerous national and international contemporary dance and performing art festivals such as Torinodanza Festival, Interplay International dance Fest, Les Repérages Lille, Tanzmesse Düsseldorf, Charleroi Dance, Festival da Fabrica Porto, FKM Belgrad, Signal + Autunno Danza Festival Cagliari, as well as in other important international site-specific creation projects as European Interreg project Marchés Communes, Lugar a Dança, Italyart Olimpiadi della Cultura, Teatro a Corte, Corpi Urbani Festival, Festival Havana Vieja L’Havana, Cuba.
Her recent projects have been produced by different performing arts contexts, public or independent institution such as Artissima International Contemporary Art Fair, Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Contemporary Art Foundation, BxH performing art, Piemonte da Vivo Regional Performing Art Circuit Lavanderia a Vapore Regional Center for Dance, Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation. For training projects she has collaborated, among others, with organizations such as the DAMS performative art department of Turin University, L’Entrepôt, Nice.
A special relation with Portugal begins since 2004 when her first choreographic work has been invited to Festival da Fabrica in Porto, followed by a collaboration with NEC núcleo de experimentação coreográfica for a residence’s time. Simultaneously collaborations with local artists have begun, among others, with pianist and composer Paulo Mesquita in a public performance. A residence and a workshop hosted at Teatro do Campo Alegre by Instavel company followed, as well as an invitation from Vo’Arte in several editions of Lugar a Dança Festival, and for a residence at Espaço Rural das Artes in Soudos. in 2015 her work is selected by the call white night of museums in Braga and invited at Teatro do Barrio Alto for Inshadow International Festival of Video, Performance and Technology.
Recently she has moved to Lisbon, where she lives since 2019, continuing her activity between Italy, Portugal and abroad.
In this recent pandemic years, she has the opportunity to be hosted in residence at Teatri di Vita Bologna, DevirCapa Centro das artes performativas do Algarve, presenting her work in progress project in Rome, Livorno and Fluminimaggiore within the support of Sardegna Teatro. She has been member of the official jury for the screen dance section of Inshadow Festival 2020, and in the programme of Dias da Dança Festival Corpo+Cidades section and SESC Bienal Dança de São Paulo in 2021.