Morocco – When the Italian holding the duff starts singing a folkloric song in good Arabic, the trainees are astonished by his passion and energy. Andrea Benaglio is an Italian director, actor and choreographer, who studied popular Egyptian dance from 2002 to 2004. He also learned Arabic rhythms played on the darbuka and duff and ethnic chant. “I always want to learn, even if I am the teacher. I believe I can learn from everybody. There is always something new,” said Benaglio, a political science graduate from Milan University, who has also done a thesis on ‘body sociology' entitled ‘Poetiche coroporee fraociologia e pratica'. Benaglio has created an independent theatre research project entitled ‘AteliercuncheoN', which aims to establish a connection between the training of the actor and the dramatic construction of the action, relying on the specific techniques coming from Islamic culture. “Directing the work of AteliercuncheoN does not mean indulging in a fleeting desire for exoticism; rather the director must be certain of the importance of this research. “He must scrutinise the actor's training and performances, both in the theatre and al fresco,” he explained. “This is why the ‘AteliercuncheoN' project has initially focused on the use of the body and voice in relation to the space, the rhythm and the music, as well as the musical instruments and props that are used.” Benaglio has visited several Arab countries promoting his project via workshops with Arabs and working with them on their own folkloric music, songs, texts and stories, in order to create a final performance that collects all these materials together. His latest visit was to Tangier in Morocco, where he held a workshop as part of the ‘International Performing Transformations Conference'. “I believe that there is no difference between Arabs and Italians, when it comes to work. In my opinion, what differentiates one person and another is not talent but desire and being serious. “People must believe in what they are doing. From working with Arabs, I am impressed by their great energy and creativity,” he told the Egyptian Mail. In his opinion, the style of producing arts will change in the near future, with more focus on body language. “I think there will be an explosion or renaissance, but I urge artists to take care of their traditions. If they understand what they already have, they will be able to develop and create new techniques, “ he said. “Italian theatre depends more on body movement and dance, but in Arab theatre, they speak. It depends more on voice. I like it when we mix the two styles. That's what I do in my workshops,” added Benaglio, who has yet to visit Egypt but hopes to do so in the near future. “We are in touch with Egyptian cultural institutions, as want to go to Egypt in the near future to do a workshop there. I really hope so.”
