Teaching and practising gestures: An investigation of the work of Accademia sull’Arte del Gesto

Abstract

The article investigates the work of Accademia sull’Arte del Gesto, created in 2007 by Italian choreographer Virgilio Sieni, by examining the relationship within teaching and practising gestures with Delfina Stella, his artistic collaborator. Accademia sull’Arte del Gesto is a research project devoted to the study of the gestures, the meaning of body movement and the transmission of dance. This work on the art of the gesture aims to positively intervene on liveability and a possible sense of belonging, tending towards a renewal of the relationship between the body and the territory. The practice of gesture is transmitted both from the choreographer to the movers and vice versa. How are these practices of gestures open to a variety of people? To what extent is a somatic approach supportive in transmitting this practice? In what ways has Sieni, together with his collaborators, developed these pedagogies for gestures? The enquiry combines my own field research experience and narration around the creation , a project by Sieni.