WAGNER COLLEGE DANCE PROGRAM EXPLORES ITALIAN TANTARISM
Wagner College Dance presents MORSO D’AMORE in Stage One in conjunction with the Dance Education major's final SLC presentations.
Morso D’Amore, a ballet powerful for its use of confrontation and subterfuge, is the culmination of a month-long opportunity for a select group of students to work with Caterina Rago, investigating the cultural and social aspects of the Italian phenomenon known as Tantarism. Upending the classic tarantella —a dance rooted in the traditions of Southern Italy during the 15th to 17th centuries, Morso D’Amore is a contemporary work that speaks to the uncertainties and anxieties of our time. Morso D’Amore is based on the tarantella’s history as a curative dance meant to rid the body of the tarantula’s poisonous bite. It was said that three or four days of dancing in a trance-like state relieves the body of physical and psychological trauma. In Morso D’Amore the dance is imagined as a state of ecstasy or rebellion, recalling a strange imprisonment. A cycle of capture and release is at hand in this complex work that crosses global cultures to examine personal and political crises and the desire to hunt for a cure.
Caterina Rago is the Founder, Artistic Director, Choreographer and principal Dance of CRDANCE COMPANY, LLC as well as the Artistic Director and Founder of Tecniche Di Danza Moderna (TDM). A native of Italy, she holds an MFA from l’Accademia Nazionale di Danza in Rome. She completed the Professional Training Program at the Martha Graham Dance Center in NYC. Caterina has received commissions from Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation, Accademia Nazionale di Danza, Alvin Ailey/Fordham and Peridance Capezio Dance Center. Rago teaches at the Joffrey Ballet School, the Martha Graham School, and was named Emerging Choreographer for MET Dance Company (Houston).
Student Dance Education Major Choreographers
Meliti Efthymiou
Francesca Mandry
Sabrina Conte
Micah Hale
PERFORMANCES
December 8 & 9 at 7:30PM
December 10 at 2:00PM
All performances will be in Wagner College Theatre’s Stage One.
TICKETING
For more information and tickets visit the Theatre Box Office which is open 12:00PM - 4:00PM Monday through Friday. Tickets for this event are free, continuing our commitment to offer valuable community experiences.