ALTERED STATES
This year the catalogue of the 17. 17th International Festival of Contemporary Dance has a double life: Side A is dedicated to the rich line-up of performances in the programme, while Side B illustrates the installations, the Biennale College Danza performances, the Masterclasses held by international choreographers and the cycle of films dedicated to the world of Dance.
Side A may be recognized by the cover that serves as an introduction to the small “exhibition” with the images of Ravi Deepres, followed by a presentation by Roberto Cicutto, President of La Biennale di Venezia.
Featured next is the essay States of Alteration: The Varieties of Conscience by Anil Seth, professor of Cognitive and Computational Neurosciences at the University of Sussex, co-director of the Brain, Mind & Consciousness Programme of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and advanced investigator of the European Research Council, who reflects upon the concept of Altered States in relation to states of consciousness.
The catalogue continues with a series of interviews by Uzma Hameed to the TAO Dance Theater, Lucy Guerin, Pontus Lidberg and Andrea Peña, and by Sarah Crompton who spoke with the Golden Lion Simone Forti.
An exhibition curated by the Museum of Contemporary Art of Los Angeles is dedicated to Simone Forti, and the catalogue features images that review the sixty-year career of the Italian-born naturalised American performer and artist.
The catalogue then presents the performances of the Silver Lion TAO Dance Theater, followed by the complete programme of the 17th International Festival of Contemporary Dance.
The performances are illustrated and described with photographs, detailed credits, directors’ notes and the biographies of the artists. Furthermore, each performer was invited to answer two questions about the concept of Altered States in their own experience and in dance. Alluding to the relationship between the “inner” and “outer” world of dance, illustrations reminiscent of atoms, molecules and chemical reactions enrich the pages and accompany the texts.
The book also illustrates the performances of Luna Cenere and Andrea Peña, the young choreographers who won the calls for new choreographies by Italian and foreign artists under 35.
At the end of part one of the catalogue, the Day by Day programme of the 17th International Festival of Contemporary Dance and the photo credits occupy the middle section of the book.
The second side opens with the text by Wayne McGregor that illustrates and presents the companies and performances in the Festival, followed by the essay Eternal Alteration by Australian writer Jennifer Higgie.
Following is the section dedicated to the Installations that enrich the programme of the Biennale Danza 2023.
A particularly important part of the Biennale Danza is the Biennale College Danza programme,in which young dancers, winners of the Biennale College Danza – Dancers call, will take on the choreographic work Dance Constructions by Simone Forti, brought to Venice by Sarah Swenson, as well as an extended version of William Forsythe’s famous Duo, and the new work by Xie Xin commissioned by La Biennale di Venezia titled When I am Facing U. The catalogue also presents the two productions by the choreographers Hai-Wen HSU and Scott Elstermann and the young winners of the Biennale College Danza – Choreographers call.
The catalogue contains the synopses of the films dedicated to Dance in the programme and notes on the programme of Masterclasses held by international choreographers.
The books ends with general information about the Festival.

The graphic design and layout are by Studio Headline, Rovereto.