[* The letter X  in Italian also means the preposition “per”, i.e. “for”, thus conveying additional meanings in the very title.]

Sound, movement, natural and artificial architectures are tools for this complex compositional study: a gift X (for) the participants and X (for) the hosts. The synthesis is made for the public, X  is a symbol whose two crossing lines are a bridge allowing communication with each other. Sound and Body are the journey, the musician and the dancer – in the role of researchers/explorers – are the conductors/conveyors (X – for) that accompany the spectators/travelers to Other Places and have them coming back full of a sensory experience in an equilibrium between real and surreal.

X  is an ever-changing performance thanks to the space of non-definition that allows a constant research: through art two women on stage dance and play with a right balance between spirit and matter expressing an harmonizing and healing energy.

The attempt is to create a bridge, sharing a journey of touching, sensing, seeing and imagining, nourished by the shamanic tradition and the archetypal symbols of Artemis, of the Moon and of the Cardinal directions. To do this, Sound and Movement once again become accomplices of a very ancient dialogue, updated to the contemporary means and knowledge.

The two performers, in the role of Priestess-Warrior, crucial figures in every great undertaking, – as they meet at the center of the two segments shaping the “X” symbol, becoming the crux and the key for the audience to access a new dimension manifesting in the event/performance representing the encounter between music and dance, complementary elements since the dawn of humanity.

X […] is the architecture of an experience that creates a bridge between the past and the present. It is the construction of a dialogue that heals.

Matteo Brighenti | Hystro 1/2023

The creation is nourished by the shamanic tradition, one of the most ancient forms of spirituality, a practice that is not limited to a cult or religion, but it is rather a tool for a greater awareness and a deeper connection with oneself, Nature and the Others.

In “X” the symbology that inspires the research emerges clearly :
Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt and personification of the Moon, roams the forests and fields equipped with arches and quivers. In the archetypal imaginary, Artemis represents the predisposition to equal relationships with men, solidarity between women and the ability to pursue a goal and to accept a challenge. More fundamentally, she embodies the archetype of the psychologically independent, tenacious and at the same time reflective, intuitive and passionate woman;

the moon, the archetype of the Great Mother, the most natural and instinctive part of the “feminine”;

the cardinal directions, the sound represents the pin of a compass needle and the dancer, following it, explores the space created by the music heading towards the four cardinal points that have been experienced during shamanic journeys: the Spirit of the North, of the South, of the West and of the East.

The conscious shamanic practices are inducing to the awakening from everybody’s spiritual numbness, answering to questions and healing the path of every single individual: they lead to look inward. Clearly this numbness has been  brought about by urbanization, by a detachment from nature and animals, and by a society that tends to suppress the spiritual and collective aspects of humankind favoring instead the individualistic, materialistic and productivity enhancing aspects of life. 

Music has the great power of making the inner gaze immediate, carrying out an investigation and a critical analysis of the assumptions behind the truth. In “X”, the sound is the protagonist and the dancer’s body is just “a” body that is more prepared to assist the viewer to feel… The audience shall trust the experience they are about to receive avoiding any rationalization, but rather taking advantage of this moment to let their thoughts rest and nourish their spirit.