Market of the body: auction of dancers and dances

Belly dancing, flamenco, African dance, krump-hip hop (a form of urban dance originating from LA’s Afro-American community), go-go dancing (or club dancing), European contemporary dance and traditional Japanese dance: 7 dances for 7 dancers auctioned by an exceptional auctioneer, the ironic and unique Rosanna Cancellieri.

Belly dancing, flamenco, African dance, krump-hip hop (a form of urban dance originating from LA’s Afro-American community), go-go dancing (or club dancing), European contemporary dance and traditional Japanese dance: 7 dances for 7 dancers auctioned by an exceptional auctioneer, the ironic and unique Rosanna Cancellieri, in the salon of a Venetian palace, Palazzo Contarini della Porta di Ferro, a hidden residence in the very heart of the city. Each dance will be given a brief outline and each dancer will be presented until, as at any other auction worth its salt, they are sold to the highest bidder in the audience. The dancer will then perform for the highest bidder in the intimacy of a hotel room. A choreographic game, but also a subtle psychological challenge in which both the dancer and the bidder are actors and protagonists, grappling with one of the variations on the festival theme: commercialisation as a code for human relationships.

The artist creates a piece, the producer acquires a space, the viewer pays for a ticket to be witness to a unique moment that takes place on the stage in the context of a collective participation of hundreds of voyeurs. It is the media that has developed communication in the form of voyeurism, starting with the so-called reality shows, such as Big Brother, which makes us spy on an intimacy that the protagonists reveal to the audience. On the other hand, some of the centuries-old traditions, such as Geerewol (the art of seduction) in Africa, the eastern art of belly dancing, the daily spectacle of revue dancing or lap dancing, the continuing tradition of the Geisha as a hostess and entertainer, consign the performer’s body to the sphere of art as merchandise.
Ismael Ivo