The elegant whirlpool of two men dissolves all the barriers. All that remains – is the rhythm, the physical endurance, the significance of every movement, and the historical authenticity.

In the dance performance “Save the last dance for me” Alessandro Sciarroni works together with the dancers Gianmaria Borzillo and Giovanfrancesco Giannini on the steps of a Bolognese dance called Polka Chinata. It is a courtship dance originally performed by men only and dating back to the early 1900s: physically demanding, almost acrobatic, it requires that the dancers embrace each other whirl as they bend to their knees almost to the ground. The work was created in collaboration with Giancarlo Stagni, a Filuzziani dance master who revived this ancient tradition thanks to the rediscovery and study of some documentation videos dating back to the 1960s. Surprisingly, A. Sciarroni discovered this dance in 2018 when the dance was practiced in Italy only by five people. For this reason, the project consists of a performance performed by the two dancers and a series of workshops aimed at spreading and reviving this popular tradition in danger of extinction.

Alessandro Sciarroni is an Italian artist active in performing arts with several years of experience in visual arts and theater research. In 2019 he was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Dance by the Venice Biennial. He uses some techniques and experiences from dance and circus or sports in his works. In addition to the rigor, coherence, and clarity of each creation, he tries to uncover obsessions, fears, and fragilities of the act of performing through the repetition of practice to the limits of the physical endurance, a different dimension of time, and the relationship between the audience and the performers. His works have been performed worldwide: Europe, South and North America, Middle East, and Asia.