The UNITANZ initiative launched by Giorgia Maddamma and Roman Arndt has brought together Folkwang teachers and students with around 30 Italian dance students in Lecce for a week. Young dance enthusiasts from all over Italy came to the southern Italian university town to spend six days from morning to night taking technique, composition and theory lessons from Folkwang icons such as Malou Airaudo, Henrietta Horn, Stephan Brinkmann, Giorgia Maddamma and Roman Arndt. What they have learned in this one week will now come together on this one evening in the Roman Theater in a joint performance by the whole group with Folkwang students and teachers.
The ancient Teatro Romano, right in the center of the enchanting Apulian baroque city and yet somewhat hidden between towering house walls and church towers, is often used for cultural events in these late summer days; this is another reason why everything has to be done at once on this one day until nightfall: the decisions on how to use the stage, but also the many picturesque niches and stairs; the entrances and exits of the dancers, the technical equipment, music, lighting and, and, and. Not all workshop participants have as much stage experience as the five Folkwang students who have come to Lecce and are now playing a key role in shaping the evening's performance with various solos. Many of Henrietta Horn and Stephan Brinkmann's English instructions have to be translated into Italian again by Giorgia in order to be understood by everyone.
But concentration grows - with every hour and every degree Celsius lower. The dress rehearsal in the most beautiful sunset atmosphere is momentarily thwarted by arguing firemen and lost passers-by, but it shows that the joint performance, in which group scenes, solos and duets alternate in various constellations, will not only succeed, it will also look great. The more the daylight darkens, the more atmospherically the sand-colored old stones of the Teatro Romano shine against the ever-darkening blue of the night sky. Folkwang graduates impress with great solos and there are also talents among the Italian performers who immediately catch the eye on stage.
There is Andrea, for example. Originally from Lecce, this young man with wild curls, an alert gaze and an expressive voice. He has been working in Milan for many years as a freelance actor in various theater companies. He is convinced that actors also need to use their bodies consciously and master their body language to do so. In Italy, however, this is precisely where Andrea sees room for improvement. Even if - in the truest sense of the word - things are slowly starting to move, not only is training still rather conventional and strongly focused on language and static acting; according to Andrea, even trained and experienced actors are often 'too lazy' to develop further in a physical practice. After 25 years in northern Italy, the professional actor, who is also a convincing dancer, wants to return to Lecce, at least temporarily, to build up something artistically here. He believes that the south is still underdeveloped when it comes to theater. What did he take away from the intensive workshop program at the Folkwang University? Mainly a lot of pain in his legs, he jokes. To then add in all seriousness: "An insane amount of inspiration, because there is nothing like Folkwang in Italy."
This is also confirmed by other workshop participants, such as Patrizia. The graceful forty-year-old teaches dance in Sicily and has come to Lecce for a week of workshops with four students from Studio Danza Due in Palermo. Dance training in Italy is very much oriented towards classical aesthetics, she says. Personal expression, individual design and reflection on one's own actions are less in demand and it is precisely these qualities that she and her students now find in the various classes that fill the whole day.
Chiara, a young psychologist from Lecce, is also inspired by the richness of the workshop program. "Here in the south, there aren't many opportunities to develop in the field of contemporary dance and dance theater," she says. This is the third time she has taken part in the Folkwang summer program in Lecce; she not only appreciates the gain in dance technique, but also the duet work and, above all, the moment when the entire group develops a shared energy and concentration for the performance.
The fact that a traditional and important German university like Folkwang in the south of Italy offers this intensive type of teaching is also seen by the psychologist as a great opportunity to further develop her own profession. The southern Italian discovers numerous parallels between the way dance is taught at Folkwang and the psychology Chiara practices. "You have to be yourself in every class. Even when dance technique is taught at Folkwang, the teachers challenge you as a person first and then as a dancer. That's exactly how I experience my work as a psychologist. I can use what I learn in the workshops to good effect. Because a frozen mind can often be revived through physical practice. Especially when working with young girls who have problems with their bodies, I often use elements that I have learned here in class so that the girls can bring their minds and bodies back into contact with each other."
According to organizer Giorgia Maddamma, the summer workshops offered by the UNITANZ initiative are not only aimed at interested Lecce residents, but are also intended to have a national appeal. Her plan - 'UNITANZ should not be a provincial initiative' - is working; in fact, the dancers come from all regions of Italy. And luckily for UNITANZ - the city of Lecce has recognized the potential of the event and is supporting it by letting them use the theater rent-free for a whole two weeks.
Gigi Coclite is actually a lawyer, but for many years he has also been responsible for culture in the conservative Lecce city government. With a bit of luck, you can meet the friendly, busy fifty-something for half an hour in his air-conditioned office in the middle of the old town. When asked why the city of Lecce supports an event like UNITANZ, Gigi Coclite answers in a sonorous voice: "You saw the answer last night at the theater - it was a great performance." In addition, a cultural administration is of course always interested in discovering and promoting dormant talent. "Perhaps some of this year's UNITANZ students will be the teachers and artists of the future. And for many young talents, UNITANZ is the only chance to get to know teachers like Henrietta Horn, Stefan Brinkmann and Malou Airaudo."
The fact that Lecce also has great appeal beyond UNITANZ is demonstrated by the tourists, who fortunately do not yet flock to the baroque city in huge numbers, but are much more numerous and quite rightly so than they were a few years ago. According to Gigi Coclite, this also applies to artists who have recognized the appeal of the Apulian beauty. Lecce is so self-confident when it comes to culture that it applied for the title of 'European Capital of Culture' in 2015 - and only just missed out. While Matera, a little further north, is now the European Capital of Culture, Lecce will be Italy's Capital of Culture in 2015. After all, Lecce - in contrast to neighboring industrial cities such as Bari and Brindisi - has always focused on culture, says Gigi Coclite - and increasingly on tourism, which his smart city government colleague, Mayor Paolo Perrone, confirms.
Both hope that local companies will become more involved in culture in the coming years. At the moment, companies from Lecce are still focusing on sport rather than investing in cultural events. Lecce's soccer club is known far beyond the borders of Apulia - and this is exactly what Paolo Perrone would like to achieve for Lecce's cultural reputation. And perhaps the city government of Lecce has found the right partner in this respect in Giorgia Maddamma. In any case, her ambitions are pretty high: "I've been thinking about high-quality contemporary dance training in Italy for many years - because it doesn't exist here! I haven't found any dancers for my projects here for a long time. I would like to offer a proper university education - but that is a very distant dream. What is not entirely unrealistic, however, is that UNITANZ could offer classes in technique and composition three or four times a year - with teachers from Folkwang." And Giorgia Maddamma has even more ideas, such as bringing together choreography master's students from different universities for a few weeks in Lecce so that they can develop a joint project here. This could then be shown not only in the local Teatro Romano, but also in the various institutes in Central and Northern Europe.
Admittedly: All this is still a long way off. But Lecce's rise to become a cultural hotspot in southern Italy has only just begun.
