Cani Lunari takes its name from a fascinating optical phenomenon: small luminous arcs that can appear on either side of the full moon during winter months, caused by the refraction of moonlight through ice crystals in the troposphere. In popular tradition, these celestial signs were seen as omens of impending bad weather; it was said that by counting the stars within the halo, one could predict the storm’s duration. Drawing from this connection between the moon and the symbolic realm of magic, the performance explores the figure of the witch, the healer, the magiara—a marginal yet ever-present figure throughout history and across cultures. Inspired by the reflections of scholars such as Carlo Ginzburg and Ernesto De Martino, Cani Lunari examines magic as an alternative form of knowledge—a ritual system that allows us to navigate uncertainty and fear, challenging the idea that empirical science is the only valid path to understanding. The imagery of the Sabbath—the nocturnal gathering of witches, ecstatic flight, and transformation into animals—is reinterpreted here through dance and sound, investigating altered states of consciousness and communication with the afterlife. Each performer carries a stuffed crow, symbolizing the detachment of the soul from the body, while choreographic movement fosters a relationship of empathy and deep connection with this alter ego. The voice whispers magical formulas from Italian folk traditions, recovered through ethnographic research and transformed into evocative electronic soundscapes.
Francesco Marilungo frequents the Atelier of Teatrodanza at the Scuola d’Arte Drammatica Paolo Grassi in Milan. He continued his training as a performer through the IFA – Inteatro course. Since 2010, he has collaborated with internationally renowned dancers and choreographers, including Lisa Kraus and Elena Demyanenko (Trisha Brown Dance Company), Julie Anne Stanzak, Juliana Neves, and Quan Bui Ngoc (Les Ballets C de la B), Masaki Iwana, Gabriela Carrizo (Peeping Tom), Yasmine Hugonnet, Jan Fabre, Gisele Vienne, and Romeo Castellucci. Over the years, he has worked as a performer for Enzo Cosimi, Mara Cassiani, Antonio Marras, Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion, and Alessandro Sciarroni. In parallel to his work as a dancer, he started out on his own authorial path. With his first solo Emily he won the Salicedoro Out d’Autore International Dance Competition, and in 2014 he was selected by the Anticorpi XL network for the Vetrina della Giovane Danza d’Autore with Siegfried. His work Paradise, winner of the NEXT 2015/2016 grant from the Lombardy region, premiered at the Danae Festival in 2015 and was selected by the Anticorpi XL network for the Vetrina della Giovane Danza d’Autore 2016. New Horizon, a project supported by the European network Open Latitudes, had its world premiere at the Danae Festival in 2016. Love Souvenir, winner of grants from Inteatro Festival and the NEXT 2017/18 program of the Lombardy region, premiered at Inteatro Festival 2018. His work Party Girl won the Prospettiva Danza 2020 award and the CROSS Award 2020 and was selected for the Nid New Italian Dance Platform 2021. His project Stuporosa was presented at CROSS Festival 2024.
Ph. Credits: Luca del Pia
A journey into the aura of key practices and figures of spirituality and performance art between body, gesture and vision.
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A journey into the aura of key practices and figures of spirituality and performance art between body, gesture and vision.
