Born in Naples, Italy, is a performer, Butoh dancer, Noguchi Taiso facilitator, and dance therapist. Butoh dance, in her view, represents a profound exploration of the self, an instrument that translates into gesture all the vast material—both tangible and intangible—by which we are moved. She therefore seeks a dialogue between conscious and unconscious realms by questioning the meaning of body memory and the emotional unconscious. Butoh dance has allowed her to deepen certain aspects of movement, such as the way through which to achieve increasingly conscious states of presence. Alessia has thus developed kinesthetic and proprioceptive training, based on the importance given to that contact space—between the inner and outer world—where the foot touches the ground and a resonance wave is generated.

In alignment with her research trajectory, Alessia pursued a Master’s degree in Dance Anthropology at Paris V – Sorbonne and Nanterre Université (Paris, France), culminating in a thesis focused on the sensorial elements capable of inducing trance states, undertaken in collaboration with the Universidade Federal do Parà – UFPA (Belèm do Parà, Brazil).

Alessia also practices as a dance therapist, guiding individuals on journeys of self-discovery. Her interdisciplinary approach include the study of the I Ching, reflecting her fascination with Asian culture and philosophy. Through personalized readings, she offers insights gleaned from this ancient text.

Alessia facilitates classes of Butoh and Noguchi Taiso, two different and complementary movement techniques that both originated in Japan in the last century.

Noguchi Taiso training characteristics are:

• Experiencing the weight of the body
• Release muscular tension and free the body from rigid, predetermined patterns of behavior
• Regain the flexibility and fluidity of water in one’s movement

Noguchi Taiso is for these reasons a valuable preparation to dance Butoh. In fact, it prepares the body for a state of muscular relaxation, and unintentional movements, in which it is possible to reach deep layers of the self. And in those spaces, to be moved rather than to move, to be surprised by every single movement of one’s body, even the most subtle, the most imperceptible.

To Alessia, in fact, Butoh is a mean to explore inner spaces. As with many Eastern performative traditions, Butoh has transformative potential: material is discovered in the darkness of the invisible and by journeying through deep meditative and dreamlike states, this darkness can be brought to light. 

With her training we explore:

• the close relationship between mind and body
• outdoor sensory practices and site-specific explorations
• creative aspects of dance (the disposition to rediscover and reexamine one’s own body; moving images; resonance with objects, words, and outside world; presence on the stage)

Alessia’s workshops are open to everyone, to dancers, to movers, to free movement explorers. All that is required is a strong motivation to get involved.