«Vangelo Secondo Matteo» english version

At the mesmerizing sound of a pizzicato cello, played live by a young girl who also gently sings from one corner of the white square traced on the black carpet floor, four old women perform a neat and hypnotic ritual, passing from hand to hand a small piece of lacework. In this episode titled «Magi» appears a clear and simple gesture, the unmistakable mark of Virgilio Sieni's aesthetics.

The Italian choreographer is presenting some «notes» of his forthcoming piece, «Vangelo Secondo Matteo», a selection of eight scenes out of the twenty-seven that will premiere in Venice from 1 to 18 July. Yet, this is far from a conventional «open rehearsal», it rather looks like an «injection» of dance into a different environment: the 14th Architecture Biennale, directed by the Dutch «archistar» Rem Kolhaas. Under the title «Fundamentals», the massive event has opened at the Arsenale and Giardini on June 7, after a two-day vernissage in which the special pavilion «Monditalia», committed to draw a global portrait of Italy throughout the XX and XXI centuries, has hosted contributions from the other sectors of the Biennale: Theatre, Music, Cinema, and Dance.

A system of interconnected corridors ...