World premiere on March 5, 2025,  at Teatro Kismet in Bari,

as part of the ResExtensa – Porta d’Oriente / Puglia Culture program.

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Wolf Spider

"Wolf Spider" is a choreographic journey that weaves together myth, tradition, and modernity, drawing inspiration from the ancient Southern Italian ritual of tarantism. This phenomenon—where the symbolic bite of the tarantula triggered a trance-like state only cured through music and dance—is reimagined here as a universal metaphor for inner struggle, suffering, and rebirth.

The dancers embody the tarantata, the iconic figure afflicted by the spider’s bite, through obsessive, rhythmic movements that express both torment and liberation. But tarantism is only one thread of a wider tapestry: the performance is infused with imagery and symbols deeply rooted in the cultural and physical landscape of Puglia. The stage, shaped by stark contrasts of shadow and light, evokes the region’s dying olive trees—an emblem of decay and regeneration, and a metaphor for resilience.

The original score, inspired by the traditional pizzica, builds into a hypnotic crescendo that guides the performers into a ritual trance. The pulsing tambourine marks a cathartic path, as the battle against the spider transforms into a dance of exorcism and metamorphosis.

Echoing the ecstatic energy of Dionysian rites and the healing power of musical therapy, Wolf Spider explores the ancestral potency of the body in motion. It celebrates cultural heritage by transforming it into a contemporary language, bringing folklore from the past into the present stage. In an increasingly globalized world, this work invites us to reconnect with our roots as a way to move into the future with strength and a renewed sense of belonging.

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DURATION: 30 min

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ARTISTIC TEAM:

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ARTISTIC DIRECTION: Mattia Russo & Antonio de Rosa

CHOREOGRAPHY: Mattia Russo & Antonio de Rosa, in collaboration with the dancers 

ORIGINAL MUSIC: Alejandro Da Rocha

VOCALS: Enza Pagliara

PERCUSSION: Elisa Barucchieri, Enza Pagliara
PERFORMERS: Martina Aniciello, Giacomo Bertoni, Edoardo Brovardi, Moreno Guadalupi, Julien Guiborg, Fabiana Mangialardi, Giulia Pagnotta, Alice Zucconi

SET & LIGHT DESIGN: Mattia Russo & Antonio de Rosa

COSTUME DESIGN: Luca Guarini

PRODUCTION: Resextensa

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