maqam
mk
A cross-cultural performance, maqam by Italian company mk is titled after an Arabic word which signifies, among other things, the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arab music, a musical improvisation technique used across the Middle East. Part concert and part dance performance, the work reinvent the performative framework: the entanglement of bodies in Michele Di Stefano’s choreography intersects with the live music arranged by the electronic composer Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch and the singing of Amir ElSaffar, distinguished figure of contemporary jazz and Iraqui maquam virtuoso.
One of the liveliest dance ensembles of the Italian scene, mk was established in 2000 by Michele Di Stefano – Triennale Milano Teatro’s Associate Artist for the period 2022-2024. Their research interrogates the ambiguity of bodily states and their alterations. The ensemble tours across the world and most recently in Indonesia, USA, Japan, Peru, Germany, France, Hungary, Spain, Portugal. The latest productions by mk propose different formats and performative environments in collaborations with other artists: Veduta (2016-17) is an immersive performance investigating the urban landscape; Bermudas (2017-18 Danza&Danza Award for best Italian production and Ubu Prize 2019) is a choreographic system, for a variable and interchangeable number of performers who support the idea of perpetual motion ruled by an organic order; Parete Nord, dedicated to the mountain, is an international project co-produced by Torinodanza 2018, EDEN (Special Award Danza&Danza) is a 2020 commission by Bolzano Danza/Tanz Bozen with choreographies by Carolyn Carlson, Michele Di Stefano and Rachid Ouramdane. From 2010 mk has been supported by MiBAC – Italian Ministry of Culture.