Giada Matteini born and raised in Florence-Italy, has worked as a performer, educator, choreographer, curator, producer and activist in New York City since 1998. In the past 15 years, as a company director she has produced and/or facilitated over 80 residencies with international choreographers both in Europe and the U.S. Today she is the Artistic Director of WADE, The Larger WE performance series, the Agropoli Danza Festival, and the Second Avenue Dance Company. Under the name WADEintoACTIVISM, she organizes a bi-yearly virtual event space dedicated to 16 days of activism inspired by UN Women for the month of November. The event presents the works of a multi-generational, multicultural group of women artists reflecting on VAWG (violence against women and girls) and conversations with male artists and feminists activists from around the globe who engage men and boys in the prevention of gender-based violence. She also produces the Agropoli Danza Festival on the same themes in July, in collaboration with the City of Agropoli and the center anti-violence for women “Il Volo delle Farfalle” presenting exclusively works of women artists. She is a Distinguished Teacher at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in NYC and has traveled as a guest artist to Germany, Sweden, Austria, China, The Philippines, Mexico and across the U.S. and Italy. Giada has most recently performed with JENNIFERCHINdance and Molissa Fenley and Company. She is also on faculty with the Limón Dance Foundation and works at the Amber Charter School with the Bronxville Ballet Not For Sale. www.wadedance.org
Ballet
This ballet class welcomes everyone and is anchored in inclusive pedagogy, supports gender fluidity and nurtures the appreciation of the many shapes and sizes of the moving body. Each class wants to challenge the value system that reinforces harmful body images and debunk the idea of ballet as an elitist art form. The barre will begin slowly and prepare for the intricate center work while warming up, focusing on proper alignment and efficiency of movement. We will explore concepts of space, speed, musicality, presence and joyous belonging through ballet vocabulary and contemporary sound.