In Catania, Sicily —at the foot of Mount Etna— Roberto Zappalà established Compagnia Zappalà Danza in 1990. Since then, he has developed his own movement vocabulary, brought together under the term MoDem, an acronym for Movimento Democratico. It elaborates on questions as: how do you deepen existing knowledge of the body in its daily movement, through muscles and joints? How do you show that instinct, with all its apparent imperfection, adds value to movement? And how does a distinct movement vocabulary emerge from this?

Comparable to ICK, a meticulous study of a specific vocabulary became the guiding principle; a method was developed to train it; young dancers and, gradually, emerging makers were supported; and Scenario Pubblico became the company’s home base — a place for training, development, and research.

There are differences as well. Zappalà’s physical, collective approach operates within a different context from the impulse-driven dramaturgical language of Greco and Scholten. In L.A.V.A., these differences will remain tangible, and it is precisely this field of tension that becomes the ground for new connections.