8x8=64 is a performance based on the rhizomatic meaning of the number “8”. The performance is the result of the study with Prof. Sergio Raimondo, President of CAMPO DEL CINABRO, which represents in Italy the Chen Xiaowang Taijiquan Association-Italia, from this encounter it grew up the idea to work about the meanings of the number “8”. Since the ancient time the number 8 has been involved in different cultural activities, both in the Eastern and in the Occidental cultures: From the Religion to the Philosophy, from the mathematics to the Astronomy, from the discipline of Qigong to the western classical dance. The number 8 shapes both the structure of the choreography and the movements. On stage, there are four dancers and the performance is based on four moments (the half of 8).

 

 

The four moments depict four different meanings of the number: The Tai Chi cloud, the Qi gong stick, the eight winds, the infinity. Finally, the number 8 shapes all the movement sequences and the dancers' respiration. The respiration is at the core of the performance, it becomes sound, time and image on the stage. 8x8=64 starts with the action of a fan ( image of the breathing out), in the middle is present a big vacuum cleaner ( image of the breathing in), and it closes with the blowing of the performers against a “rain” of plumes (again the breathing out). For Dance Stages, Ritmi Sotterranei proposes a short version of this performance.

 

 

RITMI SOTTERRANEI is a contemporary dance company that works between choreography and performance. Founded by the choreographer Alessia Gatta, the company is characterized by meticulous attention to the synergy among motion, space, sound, and light, as well as the expressive qualities of the costumes. The care of detail and the study of the environment surrounding the performers, led [RITMI SOTTERRANEI] to work with important national and international stages and festivals, as the TEATRE OM (Ringk?binglast. Denmark) or the Busan International Dance Festival in South Korea.