choreography and direction Roberto Zappalà
original music (live) Puccio Castrogiovanni
dancers Adriano Coletta, Roberto Provenzano, Antoine Roux-Briffaud,
Fernando Roldan Ferrer, Salvatore Romania, Joel Walsham, Erik Zarcone
at the jew’s harp Puccio Castrogiovanni
drums Arnaldo Vacca
hang  Salvo Farruggio

text by Nello Calabrò
lights, set and costumes Roberto Zappalà

a coproduction by Scenario Pubblico/ Compagnia Zappalà Danza – Centro di Rilevante Interesse per la Danza and Orizzonti Festival Fondazione

Compagnia Zappalà Danza is supported by
Ministero della Cultura and Regione Siciliana Ass.to del Turismo, Sport e Spettacolo

‘Instrument Jam’ (2017) is the performance which assembles all the musical instruments used by Roberto Zappalà for his project ‘Instruments’. With this project the choreographer dedicated his attention to unusual instruments rarely used as solo instruments in stage, and brought them to be protagonists together with the dance.

The project has been developed along several years in three steps, each dedicated to a different instrument: the jew’s harp (Instrument 1 -2007 ),the hang (Instrument 2 la sofferenza del corpo -2008), the hand-made drums by Alfio Antico (Instrument 3: cage sculpture – 2009). Roberto Zappalà had this desire since the beginning of the project and it has been realized while the company reached the number of one hundred performances of ‘Instrument 1’, the production which toured the most in the world, celebrating 10 years from its creation.

And it’s on the choreographic construction of ‘Instrument 1’ that this new work has been developed. In this case the virtuoso Puccio Castrogiovanni and his jew’s harps collaborate with another extraordinary musician, Arnaldo Vacca with drums and Salvo Farruggio with another instrument, the hang. The ‘Instrument 1’ score has been articulated on more voices discovering original rhythms and sounds.

The piece is dedicated to the exploration of Sicilian habits and traditions, and also to the “marranzano” (jew’s harp), a typical Sicilian instrument often connected to the “mafia” and which evokes traditional Sicilian sounds. For this production the musician and composer Puccio Castrogiovanni together with choreographer made a deep research on the instrument which led to suggestive and original sounds and rhythms.

‘Instrument 1’ is also the first step of “re-mapping sicily”, a journey by Roberto Zappalà which aims at rereading Sicily through his choreographic language. On stage seven male dancers and the three musicians, performing with strength and arrogance a Sicily without boundaries, where tradition and modern meet, cross, blend.