Movimento

‘Body of Words: Translating the Emotional Narrative’

with guest expert

Claire Tonna

Claire gave a master class/workshop sharing the tools within songwriting that she uses, develops, and shares; the foundations of which can benefit any dancer, artist, creator and any human being.  Participants engaged enthusiastically with this experience, diving deeper into their emotional intelligence, and even discovered the songwriter in themselves.

Audiences were treated to a live improvised performance from Claire, who took the words our audience had written throughout the session as a body of lyrics.

‘There is a silent choreographer in each one of us that our own words can unveil. The sound and meaning of such words is the big conversation we might need to hear. An interior dancer manifesting how we live and what we are creating with our movement and thoughts; for and beyond the stage’.

‘Space, Time…and Time Again ‘

with guest expert

Kenneth Scicluna

Kenneth Scicluna provided us with excellent inside into movement from the perspective of film. Participants studied excerpts of film to grasp the notions of the balance between space, time, and movement, that Kenneth shared: “A consideration of thoughts on a shifty notion of time, sifted through plastic space. Of duration felt and bounds pushed against. An exploration of the confluence of film and dance, through personal and public works and moments, through the hard semantics of tangibility and the elusive syntax of perception.”

“Of the immense experience of being human, measured in instants of a lifetime, and the unarrestable shapes formed in movement.”

‘Probing movement … A dramaturg’s experience’

with guest expert

Victor Jacono

Along with sharing his experience of movement and dance through this lens, during this session, Victor led us through the concept of dramaturgy and the many roles of a dramaturg, through discussions about his previous personal experiences.  He shared his multifaceted approach to dramaturgy whilst producing some dramaturgical tools that participants can try out.

“The dramaturg’s work may be too complex to capture in a few words, but I have a soft spot for synthetic definitions, so … for me, dramaturgy is empowering the artist’s work, that in turn is empowering the creative encounter between the artist and the beholder.”

‘Becoming Posthuman by Moving with-in Public Space ‘

with guest expert

Florinda Camilleri

In a time of environmental crises, we urgently need to re-consider our ways of relating with the world as humans. The field of posthumanism offers rich terrain(s) for this line of inquiry. One of its most prominent theorists, Karen Barad, states that, “ ‘We’ are not outside observers of the world. Nor are we simply located at particular places in the world; rather, we are part of the world in its ongoing intra-activity” (2003).  

How might we come to the understand the human body in a posthuman way – not as a closed, singular unit, but a complex system of multiple components, always already embedded in wider webs of human and more-than-human matters? To answer this question, I turn to my dancing body as an apparatus for knowledge production, and situate myself outside of studio-based or proscenium arch practices into urban public spaces. 

‘Movement through the Lens of Activism’

with guest experts from

Young Progressive Beings

Rachelle and Francesca, two founding members of Young Progressive Beings, explored the role of activism in Maltese society, posing movement and the body at the centre of the discussion to instigate change. By defining space and its occupation through public stunts and protests, they demonstrated how YPB and other local activist groups have approached this in the last few years. They explored the future of activism and its relationship to art, space and the body, and showed their audience how the body is a powerful tool of activism.

Young Progressive Beings (YPB) is a grassroots voluntary organisation demanding better sex education in all schools, access to sexual health services, and the decriminalisation of abortion.  YPB was formed after a pro-choice publicity stunt in June 2019 and has been active in many feminist debates.  Today, YPB has nine young committee members interested in intersectional feminism and social justice who seek to mobilise youths into activism.

Read our blog with Young Progressive Beings:

Young Progressive Beings for Movimento!

‘Working With (and For) Digital Media’

with guest expert

John D’Arcy

For the second appointment in the ŻfinMalta Movimento series for 2023, our guest expert John D’Arcy presented some examples from his artistic practice and invited a discussion on the potentials and challenges of incorporating varying forms digital media into movement practice.  Our audience had an opportunity to engage with some of the technologies John works with, and experimented with 360 video!

Dr John D’Arcy is an artist and researcher based at the Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC).  His research interests include technology-mediated live performance, voice-based intermedia artwork, and participatory song-making.   His recent project Pathways involves interdisciplinary collaboration between his digital media arts practice and Malta-based dance scholar and artist Paula Guzzanti, looking at how sensorial experience can be mediated using digital art to explore sustainable living practices.

Read our blog with John D’Arcy:

John D’Arcy for Movimento: Digital media and lots of fisheye!

‘Writing movement: Questions on choreography ‘

with guest expert

Lara Zammit

Lara Zammit, Arts and Culture editor for The Times of Malta started of our Movimento season for 2022-23! Lara’s background in philosophy contributed to the way she approached her session, ‘Writing movement: Questions on choreography,’ as she unpacked and questioned what writing movement can entail.

Lara delved into two main concepts: Writing as movement (choreography) vs. Dance in writing, (the attempt to capture the practice of choreography in language or via notation.) We analysed a clip of ŻfinMalta in Tânia Carvalho’s ‘Weaving Chaos,’ and had our own try at practicing the skills necessary for dance criticism.

Read our blog with Lara Zammit:

Lara Zammit for Movimento: How writing inhibits choreography

‘Movement in film: Creating Luzzu ‘

with guest expert

Alex Camilleri

Alex Camilleri was the final guest of our third season, and showed us all the ways that movement enters his creative process, sometimes in ways never expected. He led us through the process of creating his debut feature film,’Luzzu,’ where he had to take on many roles, including director, editor, and finding his cast on a journey around Malta, which led to a new way of working and discoveries on the importance of adapting and growing as an artist.

We had the opportunity to learn about the purpose of different tools in film direction and editing, and the chance to watch parts of Alex’s film, where we could identify which of these devices Alex had used and why.

‘The music of the spheres: Sonification of the solar system’

with guest expert

Dr Michael Quinton

Dr Michael Quinton taught us about the practice of sonification and its widely practical application, as well as his own studies about our Solar System. His PhD consisted of translating the planets around us into a sound design: for both astronomers to use and easily identify data, and its use in a planetarium providing a surround experience for the blind.

Michael showed us how a system could be developed to translate data into sound, and in groups we had the chance to design our own sonification of the Solar System.

You can find out more about Michael’s Movimento session from our blog here: 

‘Dr Michael Quinton joins us for Movimento‘

‘Deconstructing a classic’

with guest expert

Riccardo Buscarini

Riccardo Buscarini joined us for a special edition of Movimento, in conversation with ŻfinMalta’s Artistic Director Paolo Mangiola, discussing his new take on a classic narrative for the upcoming Requiem for Juliet. Both experts were in their element: talking dance, and unpacking the classic tale of Romeo & Juliet as told in the aftermath by a grieving Lady Capulet. Audiences gained insight into the many facets of the creative process and planning for a dance production of this scale, premiering at Teatru Manoel in May. You can find out more about Riccardo’s Movimento session from our blog here:

‘Riccardo Buscarini for a Movimento Special: Deconstructing a classic’

‘Freeze, Loop, Reverse’

with guest expert

Alexandra Pace

Alexandra Pace guided us through some of her photographic, cinematic, and literary inspirations, as well as her own work that followed, to demonstrate her “pre-occupation with time and movement,” and how the perception of time can be manipulated with various tools across different art forms and mediums.

‘My medium is photography and the moving image, as well as the chopping and remixing of cult cinema, print-making and the darkroom. However, I am also the founder of Blitz Valletta and a digital designer. It sounds complicated but it’s actually all connected.’ 

You can find out more about Alexandra’s Movimento session from our blog here:

‘Freeze, Loop, Reverse’ – What to expect from our session, an interview with Alexandra Pace

Tom Van Malderen gave us his perspective on movement, that of a skilled architect, sculptor, furniture designer, stage designer, and artist. Tom started his studies and career in architecture, for which he explains owes its existence to form and space, and “whos perception owes a great deal to movement.”

“We all observe and live in the world a different way – this is just the opinion of one person, in one body, with its own proportions, and perhaps you live in and relate to this world differently.” 

You can find out more about Tom’s Movimento session from our blog here.

‘Stories on ‘Objects, Space & Movement’ – What to expect from our session, an interview with Tom Van Malderen