The Italian Cultural Institute and Beirut Physical Lab, in collaboration with ZEBRA Cultural Association, present Graces by Silvia Gribaudi
Graces is a project inspired by The Three Graces, a sculpture created by Antonio Canova between 1812 and 1817. The work draws from mythology: Zeus’ three daughters – Euphrosyne, Aglaea and Thalia – radiates splendor, joy and prosperity. Three male figures – Siro Guglielmi, Matteo Marchesi and Andrea Rampazzo – take the stage in a space and time suspended between the human and the abstract: a place where male and female meet without roles and dance to the rhythm of nature itself. They perform together with the author Silvia Gribaudi, who likes to define herself as ‘author of the body’ because her poetics elevates imperfections to an art form with a direct, cruel and empathetic comic style without any boundaries among dance, theater and performing arts.
Over the past ten years, Silvia Gribaudi has been questioning gender stereotypes, female and male identities and the concept of virtuosity in dance and daily life, expanding beyond clichés and appearances.
“With generous humor and radical empathy the Italian choreographer Silvia Gribaudi elevates notions of human imperfections into an art form beyond clichés and appearances. Drawn from the sculpture The Three Graces (Antonio Canova 1812-1817) – representing Zeus’ daughters Euphrosyne, Aglaea and Thalia – the three male performers together with Silvia search for new meanings of the word ‘grace’. With dance and text, but most of all with warmth and lightness, the performance reveals a core of our humanity.”
Annette Van Zwoll, dramaturg
Silvia Gribaudi – Choreographer and performer
Silvia Gribaudi is an Italian choreographer who also specialises in performing arts in general. Since 2004 she has focused her research on the social impact of bodies, having set at the centre of her choreographic language the humor and the relationship between audience and performers. Award-winner of the Premio Giovane Danza D’Autore with her piece “A CORPO LIBERO” (2009), finalist of Premio UBU for best dance show and finalist of Premio Rete Critica award with R.OSA (2017), winner of the Premio CollaborAction#4 2018-2019, finalist of Premio Rete Critica 2019, winner of Premio DANZA&DANZA 2019 for best Italian production with GRACES.
She has taken part in several artistic research projects, including: CHOREOROAM (2011), TRIP-TYCH (2013), ACT YOUR AGE (2014) – an EU project about active ageing through the art of dance, which inspired the performance WHAT AGE ARE YOU ACTING?, as well as the community project OVER 60; PERFORMING GENDER (2015); CORPO LINKS CLUSTER (2019/2020), where the connection of dance, the mountains, and the mountain community gave life to the site specific project TREKKING COREOGRAFICO (choreographic trekking) and to MONJOUR (2021), produced by Torinodanza Festival in collaboration with Teatro Stabile del Veneto and Brussels’s Les Halles de Schaerbeek.
In 2021 she was guest choreographer at “Danser Encore, 30 solos pour 30 danseurs”, a project for the Opéra de Lyon while in June 2023 premiered her new production GRAND JETÉ co-produced by MM Contemporary Dance Company (IT), La Biennale de Lyon (FR), Théâtre de la Ville (FR), Torinodanza Festival (IT), International Dance Festival TANEC PRAHA (CZ), Zodiak – Side Step Festival
(FIN) within the frame of the international network Big Pulse Dance Alliance. Silvia Gribaudi is associate artist at Le Gymnase CDCN (Roubaix – France) for the three-year period 2024-2026.
Her shows have been featured in a number of national and international festivals and are the result of a creative process centred on dialogue and poetic encounters with other artists, companies and communities.
