Simonetta Rotundo ANTIGONE’S PRIDE – PERFORMING SOCIETY April 2023 Spain

Simonetta Rotundo ANTIGONE’S PRIDE – PERFORMING SOCIETY April 2023 Spain

On the road to La Alberca, different types of landscapes through my eyes.

I can see stones rocks, green or yellow fields, 
cows, sheeps and horses eating in the meadows, a little eagle passing by.

Then beautiful and high trees conduct us to the village, we arrived at 12 (more or less). The village is so little and so precious…
we are a group of 25 people.

How can we get closer to this village, to the community?
How not be the usual and boring tourist that comes and goes and forget? 

We had lunch and then at 4.30 pm we started this new path.
Where will Antigone bring no one knows yet.

Fabio had a little presentation of the work and of the participants before to start the training. 
We are from many different part of the world, and from many different experiences, this is a richness.

Antigone is not a character is a myth…a myth that speaks always for today, for here and now.

We make Pa Tuan Cin everbody is concentrate, I can feel the energy flowing inside my breath.

I want to give you my energy, my entire body, to share the same beating.

After we did Separates Water to connect deeply our body to our movements. 
There is always the problem of maintaining the circle and relese the tensions but this come with the time.

The good quality of the time allow us to enter deeper in the work.

We sang together:

– well, well, well there is a calling-

a little light is coming…just welcome it, embrace it.

Then in circle Fabio asked for a memory of abandonment.

The meaning is free,
don’t hide yourself.

Simonetta Rotundo

Today we had the conference in the municipal theatre of La Alberca. It is a very small theatre (100seats) but it’s very original and well done.

Fabio and Luis explained more about the project and the work we are going to do, especially the relationship that we have to create with the community of the village.

We mustn’t be like tourist in the work.

In the afternoon we met at 3pm to start again the physical work.
We made Pa Tuan Cin and then the basic movement of the tiger and we have started to see also the dance of the tiger.
We must feel the tiger inside us, we are animals too, we can give more.
We can ask more to ourselves.

Find the risk, don’t stay in comfort zones, in the ordinary life…
we can use this time to transform our reality. 
To improve.

We sat in circle Fabio spoke a little about the memories that we have written.
The memory is made from images, we have to find our images, to dig deeper inside.

At 5pm we stop the work to have a silent walk in the park were,maybe, we will do our final work. 
Fabio asked us not to speak during the walkin but to be in relation with the environment and to find very little images on the path.

The nature was so impressive.

The sounds of birds, the sound of the river, the sound of our steps in the woods.
The wind was moving the foliage, it seemed like an ancient song, a song that we have forgotten.
A song for Antigone, a song for the deaths, a song for whom is alive. A song for desire.

Simonetta Rotundo

Today we had a full day of work, I’m happy.
We started at 10 am with Pa Tuan Cin, then tiger base and tiger dance.
We arrived at the end of the tiger dance…now that the sequence is more or less clear we have to focus on the positions and details.

Little by little.

After, in circle Fabio asked for the paintings that we have chosen, mine is Ophelia of John Millais (1851-1852).

Fabio talked about the importance of the balance between visible and invisible. It is something that I continuosly questioning to myself…
Then we had to say a keyword for our memory of abandonement

roses – rose

After always in circle we sang together Fabio asked a song to each one of us, I started to sing and then I realized of how much this song was connected to my memory…I was touched by it surprisingly.

In the afternoon we did training also with Carola, Sofia, Silvia and Jarek.
We did the movement in the space, it was quite good and I hope the girls could had an idea of what we are trying to do every day.

Training is a way to open a door.

Coming back to the village I saw this woman “la dama de las almas” I was surprised a lot…

I can see in her Antigone and Euridice too.

A woman that call the souls.
In the middle between light and dark (you can see her only at sunset), between life and death.

Fabio asked to us to find some word of a poem, I chose Adonis.

“in una foresta in cui ombra e luce si uniscono
erigerò in tuo ricordo un tempio del silenzio”

Simonetta Rotundo

Today was an important day.
We finally reached the point to go through what is an action.

An action is an action.
A concrete action.

We had to combine all the materials we chose to build it: memory, painting, song.

It is always so incredible how everything, even the more different thing, can fit so deep.
It is because, as Fabio says always, WE are the thing in common with all the materials we choose.

In the morning Carla teaches us a song.
It was so beautiful and then we discovered it was so important.

She wrote it for her grandmother that is no more. Cat-eye.

I thought about mine…
Her eyes, grey-pearled eyes.

It was a gift.
This work in theatre is a gift.

We can always sing and dance and speak with our beloved ones that are no more with us.

Dear grandma, my beautiful pearled eyes, I will continue to give water to your roses.

It’s a promise.
I want to buy a bell.

Simonetta Rotundo

There were days full of everything.
We made our actions, developping them…

Stay in movement.

Fabio talked about the conflict.
We live in a global conflict era.
It is so difficult to understand what is happening in the world.
It is so difficult to understand what is happening in the world.
Sometimes I feel shy to ask to people about their stories and their lands… it’s something so delicate and I have to find a way to enter slowly, to not hurt.

25 of April passed too.
I wanted to sing a song for the Liberation day. 
It’s a very important day in Italy and more in general for the freedom of everyone.

Yesterday in the morning we went to the forest of castanos, don’t know if I write good the name, we tried there our actions.

I think that we must get in contact more with that space, with the sounds and the reactions of the forest.

In the afternoon Fabio gave to us some words…

‘Since how long does this water flows?’

I really want to be like water, always in movement…
So strong.

In the night we went to Las Batuecas to do the ‘night wake’
That place is so damn beautiful…

We supposed to have a little exchange of different arts, but some people decided to go far on the mountain and after 1 hour they were not with us… we got so much worried. 
Finally they came but it was late…

We didn’t sing. 

I felt not respected. I have no other words.

I have no other words.

Simonetta Rotundo