Dansehallerne is so proud to present the award-winning Chiara Bersani during OPENINGS, our new expansive festival for dance. OPENINGS is the very first event in Dansehallerne’s brand-new venue in the Carlsberg City District.  

With the performance Seeking Unicorns, Itali­an cho­reo­graph­er and dan­cer Chiara Ber­sani explores the fant­ast­ic­al fig­ure of the uni­corn, offering a delicate and subtle reflection on the body and otherness.  

The unicorn is unique in the sense that it is a mythological creature without a myth to found and justify its existence. It serves as a blank canvas onto which we can pro­ject all man­ner of mean­ings and emotions. Drawing a strong parallel with the notion of the body politic – the idea that individuals shape the world’s perception of themselves – Chiara Bersani aims to give a love, a history, and a choice to a creature that humans have used and abused: Over the cen­tur­ies, the unicorn has changed form, origin (from pagan creature to sym­bol of the pope), and mean­ing (magic­al heal­er, guard­i­an of girls’ chastity, defend­er of Cath­ol­ic ideology) until becoming a con­tem­por­ary pop icon.  

In Seeking Unicorns, Chiara Ber­sani, 98 cm tall, pro­claims her­self the flesh, muscles and bones of the uni­corn, giv­ing it breath and eyes. In doing so, she gives voice to the essen­tial questions that run through the uni­corn: Why do I exist? Am I good or bad? If you found me in your garden tomor­row, what would you do? Chiara Bersani’s pres­ence on stage, deployed in a series of simple move­ments and ges­tures, is a delicate and subtle first response. 

OPENINGS

OPENINGS is Dansehallerne’s new, expansive festival for dance. With the festival, we open up for top-class international performances and strong national talents. For a wide spectrum of dancing bodies: older bodies, smaller bodies, bodies of different shapes and colors. For the iconic and the surprising. For other perspectives. OPENINGS celebrates the joy of dance and makes dance accessible to everyone. 

Annual pass holders and members have limited ticket capacity and thus booking for OPENINGS. As always, ticket booking is on a first-come, first-served basis.