Gentle Unicorn

Chiara Bersani IT

Belgian Premiere
Chapel
45'
Tri-frontal

Like A Fairy Tale

“I am not who you think I am.” These are the words of Chiara Bersani, but they could also be those of the unicorn. The unicorn, a legendary creature with no clear history, has been associated with a wide variety of symbolism and iconography. Bersani, an Italian choreographer and dancer with an extraordinary physique – she is 98 cm tall – has seen how her disability has shaped the discourse about her and her art.

With the audience close to the stage, she enters the space as if stepping into a clearing. She takes in the atmosphere, savouring every flavour. Her steps are slow. Every movement stretches from the depths of her flesh to the tips of her eyelashes. Attentive to the rustling of the audience around her, she gazes into their eyes. An intimacy emerges. She makes her audience her own, like a deeply transformative human encounter. With Gentle Unicorn, Chiara Bersani creates a reverie about the unusual, an extremely sensitive manifesto for otherness.

"Chiara Bersani knowingly works magic on us. Her diminutive figure: half fur-clad princess, half My-Little-Pony personified, enchants us. Her outsized eyes bathe us in tenderness as she pads around the space, ever so slowly, on knees and knuckles. She’s so near we could reach out and stroke her: she’s inviting us into her world by claiming our hearts. Her gentle candor makes us feel very safe: banished is our childhood fear of admonishments not to stare. We marvel at her fairytale form until she tosses her ponytail and switches her gaze just at the right moment, avoiding all awkwardness. This is an artist whose skill has us eating out of her hand."

springbackmagazine.com I Oonagh Duckworth

Parlant d’image, vous dites de Gentle Unicorn qu’elle est votre portrait et votre passeport. Quel lien y a-t-il entre vous et une licorne ?

"(...) Au fond, elle est comme moi : tout le monde projette sur elle ce qui lui plaît sans jamais lui demander qui elle est, comment elle va ou ce qu’elle veut. Parfois, je pense que je fais la même chose en choisissant de la mettre au cœur de ma recherche et de lui faire porter mes questionnements, mais j’ai voulu lui donner la capacité de choisir et je l’aime vraiment. (....)"

Excerpt from an interview with Chiara Bersani I Festival TransAmériques

Performances

Wed. 11 Mar 2026
20:30
Past
Thu. 12 Mar 2026
14:00
Past
Fri. 13 Mar 2026
20:30
Past

Rencontre avec les artistes après la représentation

Sat. 14 Mar 2026
19:00
Past

Creation, Action Chiara Bersani
Sound Design F. De Isabella
Technical Direction Valeria Foti
Stage Management Paolo Tizianel
Dramaturgical Advices Luca Poncetta, Gaia Clotilde Chernetih
Movement Coach Marta Ciappina
Artistic advices Marco D’Agostin
Styling Elisa Orlandini
Production Eleonora Cavallo
Administrative advices Chiara Fava
Distribution, Care Giulia Traversi
Press Relation, Communication Dalila D’Amico

Production Associazione. Culturale Corpoceleste_C.C.00#
Coproduction Santarcangelo Festival, CSC – Centro per la Scena Contemporanea (Bassano del Grappa)
Supported by Centrale FIES, Graner, Carrozzerie | N.o.T., CapoTrave/Kilowatt, ResiDance XL – luoghi e progetti di residenza per creazioni coreografiche, azione della Rete Anticorpi XL – Network Giovane Danza D’autore coordinata da L’arboreto – Teatro Dimora di Mondaino

You may also like

Lightbox
Gentle Unicorn
© Alice Brazzit
Lightbox
Gentle Unicorn
© Alice Brazzit