Silvia Gribaudi

DOWNTIME - interviews with dance artists & arts leaders, talking about dance & the arts

Lou talked with Italian choreographer and performer Silvia Gibraudi, sometimes referred to as ‘the prophet of the free body’, in December 2022.

Silvia talked about her journey of trying to find joy and grace, and bring them to people’s lives, to theatres and to people in the street.

She explained how her show Graces explores questions like ‘what is beauty?’ and ‘what does it mean to be perfect?’ in a playful, pleasurable but political way, by placing Silvia, her clown-like character and her ‘curved body’ alongside the bodies of young male virtuosic dancers.

They spoke of clowning and the importance of having no fourth wall, of shame, of the joys of working with older and younger dancers, and of how, in her next show, Silvia will be exploring how to bring the inclusive feeling of a fete in a square to her audiences.

Silvia also explained how in some ways she is tired of these conversations about the body, but that it seems there is still a need for it to be addressed, so address it she shall!
Silvia Gribaudi is an Italian choreographer who also specialises in performing arts in general.

Since 2004 she has focused her research on the social impact of bodies, having set at the centre of her choreographic language the comic element and the relationship between audience and performers.

Award-winner of the Premio Giovane Danza D’Autore with her piece “A CORPO LIBERO”(2009), finalist at the Premio UBU for best dance show and finalist at the Premio Rete Critica award with R.OSA (2017), winner of the Premio CollaborAction#4 2018-2019, finalist at the Premio Rete Critica 2019, winner of the Premio DANZA&DANZA 2019 for best Italian production with the piece GRACES and Premio Histryo Corpo a Corpo 2021.

She has taken part in several artistic research projects, including:

CHOREOROAM (2011), TRIPTYCH (2013), ACT YOUR AGE (2014) – an EU project about active ageing through the art of dance, which inspired the performance WHAT AGE ARE YOU ACTING?, as well as the community project OVER 60; PERFORMING GENDER (2015); CORPO LINKS CLUSTER (2019/2020), where the connection of dance, the mountains, and the mountain community gave life to the site specific project TREKKING COREOGRAFICO (choreographic trekking) and to the piece MONJOUR (2021), produced by Torinodanza Festival in collaboration with Teatro Stabile del Veneto and Brussels’s Les Halles de Schaerbeek.

In 2021 she has been a guest choreographer at “Danser Encore, 30 solos pour 30 danseurs”, a project for the Opéra de Lyon and in June 2023 her new production will be premiered: WHERE DOES A BALLET END? (provisional title) a coproduction by MM Contemporary Dance Company (IT), La Biennale de Lyon (FR), Théâtre de la Ville (FR), Rum för Dans (SE), Torinodanza Festival (IT), International Dance Festival TANEC PRAHA (CZ), Zodiak – Side Step Festival (FIN) and the international network Big Pulse Dance Alliance.

Her shows have been featured in a number of national and international festivals and are the result of a creative process that focuses on dialogue and on the poetic encounter with other artists, dance companies, and communities.