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Italy and the Dance

Dance in Italy, Italian Dance in Europe 1400 - 1900,
for Barbara Sparti (1932 - 2013)

25 - 29 May 2016
Burg Rothenfels am Main, Germany

With our next symposium we would like to honour Barbara Sparti, one of the leading dance researchers of the 20th century, who died in 2013. In keeping with the central emphasis of her research activities, the highly diverse dance culture of Italy - from the final phase of the Middle Ages to the time of the Risorgimento - is to be the main theme of the symposium.

One central thematic area is to be the dance styles and forms which evolved in different regional, cultural and institutional contexts in Italy, their historical and stylistic development, their dissemination in Europe, their influence on other national dance styles, and their role (as style, as form, as cultural practice) in transmitting Italian culture in Europe. We likewise wish to examine the influences which emanated from other dance cultures (e.g. France) and left corresponding traces in Italy.
In this context, light is also to be shed on the artists who had a decisive share in this: Italian dancers, dancing masters, choreographers and teachers who worked in Euro¬pean palaces and major cities, spread Italian dance art in Europe and, conversely, absorbed a diversity of influences.

A further focus of the symposium will be on the Italian contribution to the development of theatrical dance in Europe. Here we wish to concentrate on the characteristics of the Italian style and its distinguishing features vis-à-vis other "national" styles, but not neglecting the relationships between theatrical dance and theatre, especially Italian opera and also the influence of the Commedia dell'arte (e.g. with reference to the use of acrobatics and pantomime) on theatrical dance.

+++ What influence did the French Bassedanse have on Italian dance style? +++ How widespread were Italian dances in Germany around 1500? +++ How successful were Italian dancing masters in spreading their dance culture in Europe in the 16th century? +++ What effect did Italian dance style have on the French Ballets de cour? +++ What is considered as "typically Italian" in dance theory discourses? +++ What insights into Italian dance culture are provided by iconography? +++ What significance did dance have in Italian opera? +++ What role was played by Italian dancers and choreographers in European theatres? +++ To what extent were wandering troupes involved in dance culture transfer in Europe? +++ How strongly did "foreign" styles influence Italian dance culture in the 18th and 19th centuries? +++ What traces of the original were left in the Baroque Forlana or Monfrina in European ballrooms? +++ What role was played by Italian folk dance in European theatrical art? +++ How did political movements such as the "Risorgi¬mento" influence Italian dance culture? +++

In addition to furthering the scholarly discussion, it is a particular goal of the symposium to present to interested dancers and dance enthusiasts the state of dance research today. The symposium will offer a wide range of activities from lectures, workshops, demonstrations, a book and music exhibition to evening dancing and a festive ball with live music.

Contributions not yet presented on the topics listed above are welcome. A publication is planned and will be available at the symposium.

Contribution categories:

Lectures: Length: 25 - 30 min, followed by ca. 10 min discussion.
The lectures can also include short dance demonstrations. A publication of the papers is planned and will already be available at the symposium.
Honorarium: 200.- Euro

Research results poster: max. 60 x 80 cm
Our new exhibition of posters also enables a concise presentation of research results. The poster area specified above allows you to present, explain and discuss your research in text and illustration.
Honorarium: 50.- Euro

Workshops: Length: max. 90 min
Thematic coupling with a lecture is possible. Because they are carried out in groups of ca. 20 - 40 people, each workshop is held three times. Working materials for the participants should be prepared in advance.
Honorarium: 200.- Euro

Short performances: Length: 15 - 30 min
This category enables you to present your artistic conceptions to a specialist audience.
If possible, please send us a demonstration video.
Honorarium: Exemption from the conference fee (ca. 220.- Euro) for all performers.

Conducting evening dance classes: Length: 90 - 120 min
A program of relatively simple, easily learned social dances from the 15th to the 19th century. Each class will be offered twice, with half the conference participants attending each time. A live music group will be available for one of the classes; recordings must be used for the second class. The dances taught in these classes will serve as the basis for
the final ball program.
Honorarium: 200.- Euro

Payments and expenses:

Speakers and participants in the short performances are exempted from the conference fee. Unfortunately it is not possible, besides the honorarium mentioned in each case above, to grant any further allowances on costs of accommodation or travel.

Conference language:

Presentations and workshops may be held in either German or English.

Deadline for proposals: 1 June 2015

Please submit a short summary (max. 1 page) of the planned contribution by 1 June 2015 to Markus Lehner by mail, fax, or e-mail (see below). The program committee will make its selection by 1 August 2015.

Program committee:

Prof. Carol G. Marsh (musicologist, editor of "Musical Theatre at the Court of Louis XIV")
Prof. Alessandro Pontremoli (professor of dance history and dramatics at the University of Torino, numerous publications in the field of historical dance)
Dr. Irene Brandenburg (musicologist and dance scholar, director of the "Derra de Moroda Dance Archives", University of Salzburg)
Prof. Véronique Daniels (teacher at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis: historical dance & notation, director of RenaiDanse)
Prof. Claudia Celi (professor of Dance History at Accademia Nazionale di Danza, author of publications on Italian 19th-century dance, former member of Gruppo di Danza Rinascimentale di Roma directed by Barbara Sparti)
Markus Lehner (author of "A manual of sixteenth-century Italian dance steps")

Organisation: Markus Lehner, Uwe Schlottermüller

Further information on the dance conference readily available from:

Conference site:

For decades, Rothenfels castle has served as a conference center, welcoming historical dance events in particular, and is therefore well known to many dancers and dance groups. Since the 1st Rothenfels Dance Symposium took place there in 2004, it has been its host. The oldest part of the castle, dating from the 12th century, provides a lovely atmospheric setting. The castle is situated directly on the river Main between Würzburg and Frankfurt, 7 km north of Marktheidenfeld.

Further information about the conference site:

www.burg-rothenfels.de

Verwaltung Burg Rothenfels
97851 Rothenfels
Tel. 0049-(0)9393-99999
Fax. 09393-99995
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Details

Published: 08 February 2015