what BURNS NEVER RETURNS
Concept, Research, Choreography, Performance |
Alessandro Carboni
Dancers & Performers | Federica Lazzarini, Marc Saad, Nick Lawson, Petra Soor, Pepa Ubera, Barbara Pereyra, Long Yunna, Mou Xiao Feng, Luo Yue Bing, Zhu Xiao Yan
Song Nan, King Sau Cheung, Ivy Tsui Yik Chit, Tong Wai Chun Mayson
Collaborators | Elena Morando (choreography assistant), Danilo Casti (soundscape), Riccardo Mantelli (generative code, research, explorations), Lorenzo Tripodi (urban trajectories), Cinzia Nieddu (light),
Simone Lecca & Paolo Saracino (collaborators, Prato),Viviana Gravano, Enrico Pitozzi (guests), He Xin Xin (documentation), Dickson Dee (music, Hong Kong).
Research Contributors (Hong Kong) | Wallace Chang (CUHK, Architecture), Choi Yan Chi (1a space), Tse Yin Mo (Art Product Promotion), Anthony Siu Kwok-Kin (China History, Dept. of Chinese), Wing Sze Blake (Community Development), Leung Sik-Lun (Nga Tsin Wai community).
Production & Co-production |
Associazione Culturale Ouroboros (Italy), Fabbrica Europa – Ente Promozione Danza, Festival Santarcangelo dei Teatri (Santarcangelo), Giardino Chiuso / Teatro dei Leggieri (San Gimignano), Officina Giovani / Cantieri Culturali ex Macelli (Prato), Comune di Prato – Assessorato alla Cultura, Festival Contemporanea 08 – Museo Pecci (Prato), Central Saint Martin’s – University of Art and Design (London), Guangdong Modern Dance Company & Festival, Guangdong Xinghai Performing Arts Group (China), 1a Space Gallery Hong Kong (Presenter), City Contemporary Dance Company – CCDC (Programme Partner, Hong Kong).
What burns never returns unfolds across three interconnected fields of inquiry: choreography, urban geography and visual art, and communication technologies. Together, these practices form an emergent space of research focused on the relationship between the human body, the city, and generative code. Alessandro Carboni began the project in Asia, where the rapid pace of urban transformation is most evident. His research took him to the Pearl River Delta — including Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen — as well as to Guangxi, Sichuan, Henan, Tibet, and Beijing. Here, he investigated processes of “high-speed urbanization” and the fragmented forms of urban density reshaping the landscape. Following this first stage, Carboni extended the project to Europe, activating collaborative platforms that brought together urban researchers, media artists, theorists, and software programmers. These contributions expanded his artistic and technical approaches, allowing the project to evolve into both a performance production and a theoretical exploration of contemporary urban transformation.