In Italy, the three workshops organized by Residenza Idra had been lead by different artists – two directors and actors and one dancer/actress – and devoloped trough the medium of theatre, in one case coupled with dance.
The workshops gathered 20 people, mainly young women and man (aged between 20 and 35) from countries as diverse as Italy, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal and Somalia… Very diverse were also their academic background and professional situation, making the group a melting pot of different stories, with only few partecipants with previous artistic experience. Participation was facilitated by a tutor specialized in cultural mediation.
With the outbreak of Covid19 epidemic, the workshops had first to be paused for a while and later, in April, “moved online”… on zoom platform. The psychological effects of lockdown and isolation combined with some technical problems required particular care by the tutor and the trainers to keep partecipants involved.
Luckily, the end of emergency in May allowed all groups to reharse live and finally to perform in front of a real public in June.
Intimate Bridges performances brought to participants, trainers and audience the additional emotion and joy to be the first live performances in Brescia after almost four months void.