La Porta d’Oriente

One way journey that ends in the apparent place of Departure

The Gate of the East – Calligraphic action and Butoh dance performance created in collaboration with master Giorgio Bulzi

When in the Lagoon the shadows lenghten and the air grows archaic, the simulacrea fall silent, the courtiers and their alphabets fade away. Between evening and night prayer, still without lights, the Invisible impressibly erupts, confusing the visible by commanding it to disappear. The East has completed its daily task and prepares fot the new rising, when it will again bring its languages, animals, foods, headgear, writings, and geometries, its scents, helmets, and swords. New fleets will arrive from near and far, from the Rising Sun and the Crescent Moon, completing the journey from where they had set sail. When in the Lagoon the day opens the threshold to the night, and the bacchae calm themselves preparing for the dark cries, it is the moment on the threshold to act by performing the RITE of summoning the Chthonic forces: ink and dance, space and time converge at the same point, the east and origin of the Manifest and the Unmanifest, the Visible and the Invisible.

The gate of the East is open to all, but only those who possess the vision can cross it.” Giorgio Bulzi

Perfomance: Veronica Vetrila, Giorgio Bulzi

Photography: Aldo Bianchi

Costume: Donna Carmela Santoro

Duration: 45 min

Campo de la Bragora, Venice – July 2023