Flamenco Artist Explores Intersection of Cities and the Dancing Body

Local Flamenco Artist Explores Intersection of Cities and the Dancing Body

(Calgary, April 25, 2023) – After more than two decades of creating dance works that speak to her own personal vision of flamenco, Calgary flamenco dance and film artist Rosanna Terracciano returns with a solo trilogy of cities, PLACE/is a city written on this body?, taking place June 2 and 3 at the DJD Dance Centre.

“I have Italy, Canada and Spain in me. I carry ghosts from these different PLACES in all that I do. In my practice, I work as a flamenco artist, and not as a flamenco artist; as a dancer and not a dancer. With PLACE, as with all my works, I want my ghosts, my dancing body, my audiences, all of us, I want us all to meet each other – maybe all over again, and maybe for the first time.”

The trilogy includes an impressive group of national and international artists. Interpreted by Terracciano (with her dad, Vincenzo Terracciano, on film), and including choreography by Montréal’s Myriam Allard, Barcelona’s Juan Carlos Lérida and Terracciano, it includes original musical compositions by Montréal’s Jonathan Parant (of experimental rock band Fly Pan Am) and Calgary’s Chris Dadge (of Bug Incision), with guitar by Calgary flamenco guitarist David Matyas.

The cities explored are Calgary, Napoli and Sevilla. NAPOLI brings Terracciano in duet with her dad projected on film, and is an interplay between flamenco and her parents’ Neapolitan language and hand gestures – a folk dance of language and seed. CALGARY is steeped in her relationship with her birth city and gathers many influences from Spaghetti western films and the vast prairie sky – a ghost story of love and hate. SEVILLA explores embroidery as an act of love for her mom and as a support for her own womanhood and sacrifices for a life in dance – a lullaby to another life.

“PLACE has been an important milestone for me artistically. I worked with two dear mentors who I often speak of as having helped saved my life as a flamenco artist. It brought me to a PLACE of having to confront so many challenging things: my aging body, my limitations as a dancer, my changing relationship with dance. With the creation spanning several years between Calgary, Montreal and Barcelona, and with delays brought by the pandemic, this tense PLACE of confrontation has become a softer one of receiving and admitting and opening. My life has changed, my body has changed, my mental health has changed, my heart has changed. I am thrilled to finally share the full trilogy with a live audience.”

PLACE/is a city written on this body? at the DJD Dance Centre (111 12 Avenue SE) runs June 2 and 3 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 (and free for children 10 and under) and available for purchase online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/placeis-a-city-written-on-this-body-tickets-607890766647

For more information, visit: www.rosannaflamenco.com

PLACE/is a city written on this body? is presented with the support of Calgary Arts Development and the Canada Council for the Arts, and was created and developed with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, DJD Dance Centre Creative Residency Program, Studio La Lola (Montréal) and ReLoCate (Calgary).

Excerpts and works-in-progress have been presented live and online by the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), Mile Zero Dance (Edmonton), Fluid Festival (Calgary) and Stream of Dance Festival (Regina).

All photo credit to Heather Saitz.