Entroterra
EntroTerra
(2004)
50 minutes - 1 to 4 dancers
Click HERE to see a video excerpt from a 2005 performance in Argentina.
A journey that transports you to the heart of the magical south of Italy, where the rhythms, rituals and typical Italian dances (tammurriatas, pizzicas and taratellas) are rephrased through modern dance to reveal the map of the soul of a woman in four distinct stages of her life.
The sacred and the profane, the cotidian and the eternal. The search for harmony with the cosmos.
The Exploration Behind EntroTerra
While living in Italy for 2 years, I unearthed my Italian roots as a daughter of Italian immigrants who arrived in Argentina in 1952. Dance, -but more specifically- the traditional dances of small villages helped me better understand their soul, the social framework and mentality of the people. Through my scholarly research and active participation, I had the chance to rediscover myself as a person and reconsider my function as a choreographer. Entroterra is my testament to the places and the manner in which people live; revealing layers of reality even to myself, proposing these questions to the public, raising awareness and rousing opinions!
The Tammurriata, Pizzica and the Tarantella have revealed to me another Italy: that of the South, guardian of memories and traditions both sacred and the profane.
It is dance that unites man with the Divine. Dance forms a union between the body, mind and spirit.
EntroTerra: Ritual of Purification
Primitive man may have danced out of fear to counteract malevolent forces, or to praise the benevolent ones. They danced to celebrate important moments or events in their life. Dance could cure infirmity, bring a good harvest, give strength in battle, luck to hunters, fertility to women and serve as a rite of initiation. Italian tradicional dance is a contemporary medium of transformation where one goes through internal and external change.
I intend to offer this work as a rite of purification, a glimpse into another level of our consciousness to see where we have come from and where we are going.
INSIDE THE MAGIC CIRCLE
Photos by Todd Carroll
The accompanying photographic exhibition to ENTROTERRA
The photos that comprise this exhibitionn were made throught 2004, during the popular festivals of Madonna dell"Arco, Madonna delle Galline and Materdomini, and show the folk dances and some og the surrounding traditions that have survived through hundreds of years and are still part of the daily life today in the small southern Italian towns and villages including Pomigliano d'Arco, Pagani, Sessa Arunca, Sant'Anastasia and Nocera.
Todd Carroll invites you to view a selection of work at www.toddcarrollphotography.com
