We know nothing about the Unicorn. Its origins got lost generation after generation of inattentive human beings. Maybe it’s only the result of a misunderstanding, of a wrong interpretation of Indian artifacts from the Bronze Age. What happens when a semi-mythological figure appears in the collective imagination without a myth at its origin to explain and motivate its existence? A symbol is born. Fragile. Without roots. The ideal sacrificial victim for those who want to fill it of meanings.
I, Chiara Bersani, 98 cm tall, I self-proclaim the flesh, muscles and bones of the unicorn. As I don’t know its heart, I’ll try to give it my breath, my eyes. I will take its image and will make a costume out of it, will turn it into an armour first and then into skin. In the dialogue between my form as it acts and its form as it appears, we’ll discover our moves kisses, greetings, yawns. I, Chiara Bersani, 32 years old, I take on the responsibility of accepting its centuries-old bewilderment. I declare to give voice to the universal questions that crossed its mind: “Why do I exist?” “Where do I come from?” “What would you think if you found me in your backyard tomorrow morning?” “Am I good or bad?” “Do I believe in God or am I God?” and still “Where is my love?” “Who killed it?” “Now that I’m old and in the most humiliating situation of being only a horned horse with rainbows coming out of its bum, why can’t I decide to die?”—Chiara Bersani
Seeking Unicorns is a version of Gente Unicorn, Chiara Bersani’s artistic manifesto, for non-theatrical venues. The site-specific soundscape enhances our ability to hear as well as all our senses. Our vision becomes sharper as we see in a new light places that needs to be inhabited. The Unicorn embodies the concept of Political Body, pivotal in Bersani’s research, according to which the body no longer testimonies to the story lived by someone but to a political entity made so by the meeting/clash with society.
Chiara Bersani is a performer, author and director/choreographer active in the fields of performing arts, theatre and contemporary dance. Her research as an interpreter and author is based on the concept of the “Political Body” and the creation of practices aimed at testing the limits of attention and presence. Her performance Gentle Unicorn is part of the Aerowaves circuit.
In 2018 she was awarded with the UBU Prize for Best New Actress/Performer under 35”. In August 2019 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Gentle Unicorn also won first prize in the dance category of the Total Theatre Awards. Chiara Bersani will be supported by Apap – Advancing Performing arts project – Feminist Future until 2024.
concept, creation and performance Chiara Bersani
music F. De Isabella
technical direction Paolo Tizianel
dramaturgical support Luca Poncetta
dramaturg Gaia Clotilde Chernetich
coach Marta Ciappina
mentoring Alessandro Sciarroni
external eye Marco D’Agostin
organization Eleonora Cavallo
communication and promotion Giulia Traversi
administrative support Chiara Fava
production Associazione Culturale Corpoceleste_C.C.00#
co-production Santarcangelo Festival, CSC – Centro per la Scena Contemporanea (Bassano del Grappa)
artistic residencies Centrale FIES (Dro, Trento), Graner (Barcellona), Carrozzerie | n.o.t (Roma), Gender Bender Festival (Bologna), CapoTrave/Kilowatt (Sansepolcro)
Chiara Bersani is among the seven artists supported by the project ResiDance XL – luoghi e progetti di residenza per creazioni coreografiche azione della Rete Anticorpi XL – Network Giovane Danza D’autore for the 2018, coordinated by L’arboreto – Teatro Dimora di Mondaino
ph. Aivars Ivbulis
