curated by Giulia Mastropietro
in collaboration with Vito Di Bernardi and Aleksandra Jovićević
within the project On Vulnerability promoted by the PhD program in Music and Performing Arts, Department SARAS – Sapienza University of Rome, in collaboration with the Academia Belgica and supported by the General Representation of Flanders in Italy.
28 maggio 2025, ore 10-12, Nuovo Teatro Ateneo, Città Universitaria Sapienza (P.le Aldo Moro, 5); ore 16-18, Academia Belgica (via Omero, 8) - 29 maggio 2025, ore 10-14, Nuovo Teatro Ateneo, Città Universitaria Sapienza (P.le Aldo Moro, 5)
Ciclo “Teatro Performance Danza. Storia Visioni Memoria Ricerca” - IV Edizione
PROGRAM | May 28–29, 2025
Wednesday, May 28
10:00am–12:00pm – Nuovo Teatro Ateneo (Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5) - workshop
4:00pm–6:00pm – Academia Belgica (via Omero, 8) - lecture
Thursday, May 29
10:00am–2:00pm – Nuovo Teatro Ateneo - workshop
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The masterclass led by renowned Belgian choreographer Jan Martens, curated by Giulia Mastropietro, PhD candidate in Music and Performing Arts, in collaboration with Prof. Vito Di Bernardi and Prof. Aleksandra Jovićević, is part of the interdisciplinary project On Vulnerability promoted by the PhD program in Music and Performing Arts at the Department SARAS – Sapienza University of Rome, in collaboration with Academia Belgica and supported by the General Representation of Flanders in Italy.
In Jan Martens’ work, vulnerability of non-conforming bodies is not merely a theme but an embedded artistic practice that problematizes dominant dance aesthetics and subverts its logic from within. Martens consistently challenges the paradigms of dancing techniques through creating choreographic spaces enabling intimacy, dissonance, and fragility to emerge.
His recent works, such as VOICE NOISE and CANCEL BERTHA, demonstrate an ongoing commitment to exploring vocality and collective identity. His approach to collective work extends beyond thematic concerns and includes production structures, as demonstrated by the shared leadership model adopted in 2023 within GRIP, the dance organization he co-founded in 2014. These aspects are deeply connected to the contemporary discourses on decentralizing authorship, embodied politics, and curatorial practices within the performative context.
During the masterclass, Martens will present his choreographic practice, founded on a fundamental principle: that every body has something to communicate. In his works — including any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones and VOICE NOISE — non-conforming bodies dance not despite their vulnerability, but through it.
The stage ceases to be a space for virtuosity and becomes a territory for radical expression. where the voice — whether recorded, shouted, broken, always embodied — and gesture — repeated, hesitant, intimate — shape a common language. Addressing the vulnerability of non-conforming bodies in Martens’ work means recognizing that dance’s power lies not in perfection, but in openness, risk, failure, and the capacity to reveal what is usually silenced or excluded.
This practical workshop is open to everyone, to dancers as well as to non-professionals, and will include exercises on improvisation, movement, and choreographic composition, inspired especially by VOICE NOISE, a piece built on a sonic collage of thirteen unknown or forgotten female voices of the past hundred years.
Bio:
Jan Martens (b. 1984, Belgium) studied at Fontys Dance Academy and graduated in 2006 from the Artesis Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. Since 2010, he has developed a distinctive choreographic practice centered on the expressive potential of every body, emphasizing direct, transparent communication and recontextualizing existing movement idioms. His works explore the relationship between performer and audience, like in I CAN RIDE A HORSE WHILST JUGGLING SO MARRY ME (2010), SWEAT BABY SWEAT (2011), and THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER (2014). Martens frequently collaborates with different performers and artists, blending dance with theatre and social experimentation. He was recently awarded the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres of French Republic and currently serves as co-artistic director of GRIP and is also an Associate Artist at the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen. His recent works include VOICE NOISE (2024) and the upcoming CANCEL BERTHA (2025) for Carte Blanche, the Norwegian contemporary dance company.