After a little hiatus from posting (gypsy living and rehearsals can be very distracting), I found myself in Italy last week and witness to an ideal minute to relaunch with. I wandered upon these guys in front of Basilica dei Santi Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso. I think they are regulars.

After one of the performances in the Festival of Dance and Non-Verbal Theater, where most shows are seen in a castle, the Italian multimedia group BCAA, set up their interactive system, called Kilyka, to be played with. In the first video, Jean Abreu manipulates both the music and computer generated image in the background with his own movements. In the second video, you can see a little bit how it is done.

At every dance festival there is an after party. This Festival of Dance and Non-Verbal Theater, nestled in a castle town of 184 people in Croatia was no exception.

I came across these kids in a little demonstration of their contemporary dance training in the theater lobby of the Silesian Contemporary Dance Festival.

Joe Alter, Liam Clancy, and Eric Geiger (all based in San Diego, California) rehearse at a local school’s gym for “If it’s not one thing…”, which they performed the following night at the 15th annual Silesian Contemporary Dance Festival.

The first video is a play with improvisation by Domenico and Gilles and a bit of editing by me. The second video, is all about the locals. Once we realized we were being watched, Domenico gave them an opportunity to get involved…which went something like, “you walk, you dance, you walk again.” But in Italian, of course.

Technically, we were on vacation. But putting dancers on vacation with a camera in a picturesque town like this, and things will just happen. In these videos, Domenico Giustino and Gilles Fumba, both founding members of the Rabbit Hole Collective, have some fun with space and a local or two.

At the end of the season, the dancers at the Staatstheater get to choreograph and perform their own work. Here, Lillian Stillwell rehearses a piece she made with her husband, Fred Schmalz. She’s dancing with fellow dancer, Mats Terlongou, and you can follow along with Lily and Fred’s blog, called My Other Country, to see what their first year living in Germany has been like.

From the wings of Johannes Wieland’s latest production, new you. Isadora Wolfe dances with Eva Mohn on the mic.

Julia Woods at the controls of The Original Bimbo Three Ring Circus.