The thesis mainly focuses on the expression of ancient Mesopotamian mythology and traditions in contemporary art with the subject of «collective memory». The thesis attributes importance to oral history by the Mesopotamian origin stateless nations, whose written sources and cultural assets have been threatened by hegemonic states throughout history. While emphasizing the importance of collective memory in its social development and investigating the place of mythology in social history, the impact of oral history on culture, memory and recollection is frequently emphasized. The thesis looks into works of artists and curators such as Hito Steyerl and Serhat Kural who are influenced by the cultural production of the Mesopotamian geography and express this with their art.
The «Conches Annex» of the Ethnographic Museum of Geneva was developed to house the recently purchased «Amoudruz collection»; containing an extensive and classified variety of objects from the local alpine region. The curators had great ambitions for these newly acquired objects, most notably the objective to «decolonize» the Alps, which was said to be long appropriated since the eighteenth century through literature, travel tales and nationalist narratives.
The term «colonize» is omnipresent in many discourses today, and its use is heavily associated with European imperialist economic missions on external territories for the purpose of trade, labour, and national or religious expansion. The main question for this thesis is the following: Can the term «colonize» also be used in the context of early industrialization on European territory, which was followed by vast urban expansion and exploitation of rural territories and communities?
Ein Überdenken unserer Lebensweise und das Anerkennen der Verflechtung und gegenseitigen Abhängigkeit aller Lebewesen ist angesichts der planetarischen Krise dringend erforderlich. Kunstinstitutionen, die sich mit Fragen der Gegenwart beschäftigen,
nehmen die Thematik der Beziehung von Menschen zu ihrer Lebensumwelt vermehrt in den Fokus. Die Thesis untersucht Ansätze, die sich einer kritischen Praxis zuwenden und kuratorische Situationen als fluide Gefüge aus menschlichen und nicht-menschlichen Teilnehmenden verstehen. Kuratieren als relationale Praxis kann dominierende Narrative herausfordern, Verbundensein zwischen menschlichen und nicht-
menschlichen Akteur:innen anregen und Care-Beziehungen fördern.
Letztlich gilt es, kuratorische Praktiken weiterzuentwickeln und Ausstellungen als Kontaktzonen und Foren der Verhandlung und zu gestalten.
Seit ich denken kann, kenne ich die Lust. Jetzt nicht mehr. Ich nehme dich mit auf eine Reise durch Europa und meine innere Reise, die Suche nach dem Warum. Warum verhüte ich, wenn das Verhütungsmittel mir die Lust genommen hat? Für wen nehme ich Nebenwirkungen in Kauf? Ab wann ist es nur noch für meinen Partner? Während der Reise mit Autostopp komme ich ins Gespräch mit vielen verschiedenen Personen. Unterschiedliche Personen mit kollektiven und normierten Ansichten von Liebe und Sex. Ich räume auf.
Maria Combi, B.1998, Italy. My whole life I’ve been dancing. At first ballet, which accompanied me until I turned 20 and graduated in London. Then I dedicated myself fully to contemporary dance, learning different styles in different countries and shortly freelancing in Belgium and Italy, before landing in Zurich in 2021.
Here I started my Master at ZHdK, where I’ve had the opportunity to explore and find my voice as a choreographer.
DIPLOMA PROJECT
ALI DI CENERE - If you never see me, do I still exist?
I wonder, if she would feel as soft as she looked.
Forbidden Softness… If you touch her, she dies.
It was important to me, as the choreographer, that this piece conveyed a feeling of care and safety on stage, embodied by the performers in their sisterhood. These four creatures explore through metamorphosis, what it means to perceive and to be perceived.
Seeing and being seen.
The scenography, as well as costumes, lights and the music we composed for it, all come together with the dance to create a space, where this elemental journey can occur.
My Master Thesis looks at ways in which dance companies can streamline their working methods, organising more efficient and effective rehearsals for preserving the art of dance as a catalyst of emotional and narrative thought, as well as developing a pleasant and productive working environment. It presents a case study based on the work of George Balanchine with the New York City Ballet. The techniques he used as a teacher and ballet master will be evidenced. It looks at ways the ballet master can deliver the maximum amount of information in a minimum amount of time and to make sure that the information is applied and retained by the dancers.
The case study is based on the analysis of footage and resources in which dancers trained by George Balanchine present their experience of working with him and display their interest in finding ways to transfer the knowledge onto new generations. To offer a perspective, these examples are placed under the lenses of a theoretical framework of analysis composed by recent research in the field of education and applied to the professional dance context. Recent research in the field of pedagogy will be applied to the professional dance context and will highlight the way in which motivation, praise and feedback strategies facilitate skill acquisition and enhance performance.It becomes evident how the implementation of a dancer-focused approach, supplemented by feedback methods and the use of imagery contributes to the establishment of an efficient working environment, contributing to proficient rehearsals.
Working as a rehearsal director is both a logistical and creative challenge, where efficiency is essential for the development of the craft. I will be looking at the tools and techniques one can reach out to, for facilitating the rehearsal process. This ensures a proficient final product in an environment that focuses on the dancer. I considered the notion of a dancer-centred paradigm defined by Sarah Knox and explore it into the realm of the rehearsal process. In my research, I found very limited literature discussing the position of a rehearsal director, and even less discussing the complex nature of the rehearsal director’s role. The context of this study can reveal the intricate nature of the rehearsal process, as well as the diversity of the roles and experiences between dancers and rehearsal directors.
After working as a professional dancer for 24 years I felt the desire to fully embrace my other passions: Choreography.
In August 2020 I started a new chapter in my life in which my own creativity continues guiding me on a journey of stabilising my own choreographic voice and getting inspired by the artists that crosses my path, developing a dialogue that culminates in something honest and unique.
The MA Choreography at the ZHdK came into my life as a place to experiment, to connect and to expand my curiosity and gave me valuable tools that I will cary along my journey.
In January 2024 I am happy to start a new important role as the Artistic Director of Tanz & Kunst Königsfelden.
DIPLOMA PROJECT
Between you and me and…
For my Final Master Project wanted to explore the creative work as a
collaboration between me and the artists involved.
- To understand what my role as a choreographer is in a
collaborative process.
- To analyse how movement created by the dancers can be
translated into my own choreographic voice/signature.
- To examine my own process of finding the ownership of the piece.
- To expose my creativity through my artistic decisions of what is
originally created by others.
- To move away from my usual way of choreographing in order to
understand if this would become another way for me to work in
the future.
Ich bin Tänzerin, Tanzpädagogin, Choreografin und Mutter und lebe in Zürich. Tanz ist mein Mittel, mit der Welt zu kommunizieren. Ich unterrichte Kindertanz und leite in unterschiedlichen Kontexten Trainings für professionelle Tänzer:innen. Ich bin Mitglied von «Kollektiv F» aus Bern. Wir kreieren Stücke für ein junges Publikum und waren associated artist der Dampfzentrale Bern von 2017-2019. Ich interessiere mich für Formen eines gleichberechtigten Miteinanders, für soziale Codes in Körperarchiven und für künstlerische Formate, die physische Realitäten nebeneinander sichtbar
machen.
DIPLOMPROJEKT
«Die Idee findet ihren Weg»
Wann ist ein Kollektiv überhaupt ein Kollektiv und mit welchen Methoden gelingt kreatives Schaffen im Kollektiv? «Die Idee findet ihren Weg» ist eine Toolbox, ausgestattet mit einem Handbuch, einem Spielkarten-Set und
Joker-Karten. Gruppen, die sich zu einem kollektiv formieren oder sich mit kollektiven Vorgehen auseinandersetzen wollen, können sich im Spiel konkreten Situationen aus dem Alltag eines Tanzkollektives stellen und treffen darin gemeinsam Entscheidungen. Das Spielkarten-Set versteht sich als Gesprächsleitfaden und hilft, zu den Kernfragen des eigenen Kollektives vorzudringen.
My name is Valentina Rodenghi and I come from Milan, Italy. When I was 16 years old, I left Milan to start my professional dance journey. I got my first dance experience in the Offjazz Junior Company in Nice, where I obtained the EAT diploma (Examen d'Aptitude Technique) in contemporary dance. From 2019, I was part of Dance Area's Area Jeune Ballet in Geneva. Since 2020, I have been studying at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) to obtain the Bachelor degree in Contemporary Dance.
As my internship for my bachelor in contemporary dance, I joined the TANZKOMPANIE THEATER ST. GALLEN under the artistic direction of Kinsun Chan, in the season 2022/23. I danced in choreographies by Mauro Astolfi, Francesca Frassinelli, Kinsun Chan, Julian Nicosia, Giovanni Insaudo, Nadav Zelner, Dunja Jocic, Alba Castillo, Antonin Rioche, Luca Signoretti, Marine Besnard, Blenard Azizaj and Tiago Manquinho, among others.
In parallel to my dance career, I obtained a sport management university diploma (in distance learning) at the Université Claude Bernard, Lyon.
DIPLOMA PROJECT
«a moment of honesty»
“a moment of honesty” is a project that investigates the meaning of honesty on stage.
In performances, dancers very often need to deal with their current emotions and detach from them, in order to transmit the ideas of the choreographers. What happens when they have the possibility and freedom to open themselves up to the audience and share something about themselves?
The project is a composition of improvisations where the two dancers (Dustin Eliot and Valentina Rodenghi) gave themselves the task of being themselves with their emotional states, together, in a space, without any wish of wanting to show off their dance. Personal voice recordings are incorporated.
The goal of this project was to allow ourselves to be honest and vulnerable and to let the audience enter in our personal “spaces”, as well as into our honest approach between each other, so that the spectators might feel emotionally involved, touched and perhaps even identify themselves within this project.
My name is Giovanna Doria, I was born in Congo and raised in Milano, Italy where I received my first dance lessons. At the age of 16, I decided to move to Switzerland to complete my professional training at the Ballettschule Theater Basel. After graduating in 2020 I felt that I was not fully complete as a dancer and the curiosity of being able to combine my ballet technique with contemporary to the best of my abilities led me to the desire to pursue a bachelor’s degree in contemporary dance at the Zurich University of Arts. For my last year at the university, I joined Ballet Theater Basel as an intern for the season 2022/23. Throughout my education and dance career, I have danced works by Andonis Foniadakis, Edward Clug, Nadav Zelner, Pontus Lidberg, Dunja Jocic, Bryan Arias, Joost Vrouenraets, Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich Craig Davidson, among others.
DIPLOMA PROJECT
FASHIONABLY FLUID
How Dance and Fashion Influence Each Other? The dance project is related to fashion in dance, particularly to ""Pina
Bausch,"" one of the world's most important dancers and choreographers
and the mother of the Tanztheater. Pina was not only an influence in terms
of dance, but also in the world of fashion, because of her fashion ideal, her
vision of costume, her thoughts, and the influence she has left in the
present day.
«The costumes of the Tanztheater are interesting as they present the dancers mainly as normal people - in dresses, suits, high heels and everyday shoes - as opposed to those who perform in traditional tights and dancers.»
Using choreography, costumes, music and location the film could highlight the ways in which fashion influenced Pina Bausch and vice versa. It could also deepen the cultural and social significance of fashion in dance, from traditional folk dances to contemporary styles. In the end, this video could inspire audiences to consider the role of fashion in dance and the impact it has on our world.
My name is Veronica Scanferla and I come from Venice, Italy.
I’m currently working with Stadttheater Bremerhaven as an internship position to complete my Bachelor in Contemporary dance in Zurich University Of The Arts. I did my first education in Milan at Accademia Kataklò where I had the chance to grow blending dance and acrobatic skills at the same time. As a dancer I like to be challenged with different qualities of movement and also combining my acrobatic background with wide and flowing movements.
DIPLOMA PROJECT
«COSMOS WITHIN CHAOS»
The contrast between chaos and cosmos. The way our society moves in our daily life. People walking on the street, running towards the bus, rushing through a tight schedule. And while we all move through our daily lives, we are creating movement-systems that continuously, consistently and repetitively keeps our society in motion. But how can we find stillness/the sense of cosmos within that structure of constant speed and rush/chaos?