Who we are??
Photo Miky Carnimeo
Germana Siciliani and Franco Zita founded the association “Kronopios” with the goal of spreading the culture of contemporary dance organizing educational program and international festivals (performance, videodance events) in Bari and the area of southern Italy, where they live.
Germana is graduated in Philosophy and has a Doctorate in Theory and Critics of Art, she has been exploring and researching in many fields, form visual art to video, martial arts and theatre... Franco is a mover and performer, he teaches Tai Chi and he's a cranio-sacral therapist.
Casina Settarte is the house-research center where they mainly realize the different activities of the association. It is strategically located in the suggestive country of Itria Valley with the aim of creating an inspiring space for collaboration of dancers and performers coming from different country of the world. Many projects on the different techniques and practices of improvisation have been realized in this context: contact improvisation, physical theater, action theater, martial arts, bodywork, meditation. For his action in this experimental field, for facilitating the participation of the audience to open classes and performance and the collaboration with local musicians they are receiving support from local government of Apulia (Regione Puglia, settore attivitŕ culturali) from 2003.
In Casina Settarte teachers like Ingmar Lindh, director of Institutet för Scenkonst (Sweden), Brigitte Cirla, ethnic poliphonic voice(Francia); Ornella D'agostino, dance, voice, perception (Cagliari-Italy), Franck Dinet, clown training (Francia) have been organizing, in the period 1993-1998, periods of research and rehearsal.
Form 1999 the activity of organization in Casina Settarte started to focus more on contact improvisation: workshops, jams and research period were leaded by pioneer of this practice such Didier Silhol (F), Kirstie Simson (UK), K.J. Holmes (USA), David Zambrano (NL), Nancy Stark Smith & Mike Vargas (USA), Frey Faust (USA), Patricia Kuypers & Franck Beaubois (Be), Ruth Zaporah (USA). Performances in open space and lectures have been organizing for an open audience.