NYMPHS, MAENADS, BACCHANTS. SOLSTICE RITES

An immersive path of study and development of techniques for voice, dance, and patterns of Mediterranean rhythms on the frame drum, working on increasing the skills that are the basis of a 'Greek choir': harmonization of voices, rhythmic combinations of sound and movement, dynamics of interaction between the participants and between soloist and choir. A mix of sound, physical and expressive experiences that will lead to a polyrhythmic whole between voices, movement and percussion.
The workshop will focus on the traditions and rites linked to the summer solstice, waters and herbs, and on the figure of the guardians of the thresholds.

The meeting will be introduced by telling the story of the first tambourine players and mourners - the first shaman-percussionist documented in the history of the ancient Mediterranean - who lives on the threshold of the Underworld and guards the entrance: like Kore-Persephone and the nymph/source Cyane, or the Sibyl and her Lilibetan cave: teachers of wisdom for human midwives and mourners, figures who preside over rites of passage such as birth, entry into adulthood, pregnancy and childbirth, death.

In the WORKSHOP we will work:
- on physical perception and the use of movement as a producer of rhythmic sound, and on the body as a means of connection and communication;
- on breathing and the ability to vocally produce vibrations and articulated, melodic and rhythmic sounds;
- on the bases of the techniques on the frame drum: timbre, rhythm, posture, use of the hands;
- on percussive, vocal and movement polyrhythms;
- on choral sound-movement techniques.
Frame drums from the music school will be provided to those who do not have any.

*** TIMETABLES ***
WEDNESDAY 18 June
Arci Tavola Tonda | Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa - 19-22
THURSDAY 19 June
Arci Tavola Tonda | Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa
10.30 -13.30 / 4.30pm-8.30pm
FRIDAY 20 June
Sacred waters tour - Palermo - 10.30 -13.30
Arci Tavola Tonda | Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa - 5-8.30pm
SATURDAY 21 June
Tour of the percussionists - Palermo - 10.30 -13.30
Palermo Pride (afternoon, times to be defined)
SUNDAY 22 June
10.30am-7pm Solstice Rites, Palermo

 

COST
€230 per participant.
The contribution includes the 5 days of workshops, entrance fees to the sites during guided tours, and shared meals (one per day).
EARLY BIRD:
Anyone who registers by March 31st (by paying an advance of €50) will pay a discounted cost of €180. The advance is refunded only if the seminar does not take place.

 

HOSPITALITY
Possibility of accommodation in a hostel a few minutes from Tavola Tonda – Cantieri Culturali, or inside the Ballarò market (historic centre).

 

INFO and RESERVATIONS
write to:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or on whatsapp
+39 3272976973

 

BARBARA CRESCIMANNO
Independent researcher in ethnomusicology and anthropology of the sacred; teacher of dance, percussive techniques and choral practices at the Arci Tavola Tonda School of Music and Traditional Dance; editor for Sicily of the "Preistoria in Italia" website; coordinates the ethnochoreutic research group TrizziRiDonna and conducts a research path on the relationship between music, dance and the sacred feminine, coordinating various training projects.