Bellanda is part of a Duet dance production called Il canto dell’assiolo a visceral Duet piece, which is based on love’s fragile threshold  between desire and control, tenderness and aggression, guidance and surrender. I have caught up with Bellanda to find out more ahead of them performing at the Edinburgh Fringe.

When and where are you performing at the Fringe this year?
You can find us from August 18th to August 30th, at Assembly @ DB1

What was the inspiration for your show?
It’s about relationships – relationships in life and in everyday interaction. It’s about our past, but one we believe is a shared, universal one: relationships that likely cross the path of every life at least once, which aren’t necessarily or exclusively ‘romantic’ in a sexual sense.
We all live through relationships between two people— “I, me, myself” in relation to “another, you”—and if we listen to what happens in these relationships, we realise that these are common dynamics. Not all of the latter are easy, and not all have a happy ending. That’s just normal life. There’s an Italian saying: “mal comune, mezzo gaudio” (a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved); to us, it means that something shared takes on a different weight. More generally, we believe that sharing is important: we watch and create shows to both share and feel part of something. Realising that the other person might be suffering just as much as we are helps bring us closer together. Compassion, in the sense of “suffering together” (com- meaning “with” or “together” and pati – meaning “to bear” or “suffer”), and empathy bring people closer.

The scops owl, mentioned in the title, is a small migratory bird of prey that arrives in our region [North East Italy] in spring and stays with us throughout the summer. Despite its small size, it has a very powerful call that, unwavering and constant, can be heard all night long. Every night. In ancient times, its cry was regarded by the people of our region as a warning of change, an omen. This is precisely the role its sound plays within our show: a subtle sound, coming from a source you can’t trace or see, but one that tells you something is changing, giving you precise coordinates of where you are and what you’re doing.
Yet, caught up in the daily rush, we don’t hear these sounds even if they are there, constantly present. Immersed in the sea of everyday life, we aren’t clear-headed or tuned in enough to hear them. And then, at night, when everything falls silent, if we listen, the sounds resurface.
The song of the scops owl, metaphorically speaking, is a small, constant sound telling you things are changing. It is the auditory representation of a signal you don’t want to hear, and you do everything you can to avoid listening to it.

Have you performed at any other Fringe Festival’s before embarking on Edinburgh?
It’s the first Fringe we’ve taken part in – we’re really looking forward to it!

Who or what inspired you to take to the stage?
We don’t know exactly what or who inspired us at the beginning; it wasn’t so much the stage itself, but rather the feelings you experience when you perform or take part in a battle (Giovanni comes from Breaking). So the decision to get on stage and create shows is probably a result of that. You start dancing just for fun, but then it gets more and more serious, and you drift further away from it being just a game.

Who is your target audience?
We don’t have a specific target audience; we think the show is for everyone. However, it’s probably not for children, but we think it’s suitable for everyone from teenagers and upwards.
Are you planning on seeing any shows this year? If so, do you have recommendations?
We’ll try to see as many shows as possible. The Fringe is certainly an excellent bellwether of current trends. And, anyway, learning comes from observing.

Recommendations?

Go see them all!

Photo credit Marta Mariotti.

https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/il-canto-dell-assiolo

https://compagniabellanda.com/