14 NOVEMBER 2026, 7.30PM

Panzetti | Ticconi

ARA! ARA!

choreography, performance, visual conception Ginevra Panzetti / Enrico Ticconi

sound design, composition Demetrio Castellucci

As slipping out of the cloth of constantly fluttering flags, heraldic symbols take form and weight. Chimerical beings and oneiric figures appear, like leafing through an armorial or medieval bestiary. They seem to tell us stories of conflicts which took place in the well delimited perimeter of an emblematic battlefield.
In ancient times, graphic marks and color combinations showed up on the armors in response to the military need to identify opposite factions during fights. Thus arose coats of arms, systems of signs, shapes and colors organized in a form, often that of a shield. They were used to reveal, according to a precise sign alphabet, the identity of a person, a family, a whole community. In the form of vivid colors and fantastic beasts, those emblems hint at political tensions, expressions of belonging, dominance and power.
ARA! ARA! is the designation of a symbol. The symbol of a rising power that chooses a bird to represent itself. Not a majestic and fearsome raptor like the eagle, an animal often used as a heraldic symbol of power. On the contrary, a bird that communicates fun and quietness by becoming, according to a popular western look, an exotic icon: the parrot ARA. It was introduced to the circus for its acrobatic abilities which, together with the bright colours of its plumage and the ability to repeat sounds and words by imitation, made it a perfect animal for entertainment in captivity.
ARA! ARA! represents a seductive power for its friendly and festive appearance that, like the bird, imitates and repeats, bringing back patterns from the past, ignoring contents and effects.
Second part of a diptych started with AeReA, ARA! ARA! continues to investigate the symbolic power of the flag, drawing on the folkloristic tradition of flag waving.
Present in both titles, the word ARA reveals a second meaning that alludes to the ancient place of sacrifice, here meant as a mechanism generating death, inflicted as a gift to those who were recognized the highest power.

Ginevra Panzetti and Enrico Ticconi live between Berlin and Turin and have been working together as an artistic duo since 2008. Their work spans the fields of dance, performance, and visual art. By exploring themes related to the historical intertwining of communication, violence, and power, they draw on ancient imagery to create hybrid figures or images that bridge history and the contemporary.