Movement Research Masterclass with Elisa Zuppini
De.sy.re. (Decentralized Systems of Relations)" by Elisa Zuppini:
"De.sy.re. (Decentralized Systems of Relation)" is a movement practice that investigates the body as a self-organizing system without a fixed center, continuously reshaped by subtle micro-signals and internal currents that guide its sensory and spatial responses.
Setting aside the functional hierarchies of traditional anatomy, with the head as the commanding center and a dominant vertical axis, the workshop explores a decentralized neuro-architecture, in which the body responds to multiple, distributed centers both within and beyond its surface. In this sense, proprioception expands and contracts, redefining the interplay between body and space, as well as its virtual dimensions.
The workshop also engages with notions such as micro- and reverse-gravity, using them as tools for inhabiting emergent systems of relation.
At HEALIVE., Zuppini will guide an in-depth masterclass of 3 hours, sharing the principles of her practice from its bases, and introducing multiple tools for navigating the principles of De.sy.re.Day & Time:
15th of May, Friday
17.00-20.00
Fees:
Early bird - until the 3rd of May: 60,80 Euro
After Early bird: 75,80 Euro
Art Student: 55,80 Euro
About:
Elisa Zuppini (IT/NL) is a choreographer and dancer based in Amsterdam. Her practice explores the intersection of movement, systems thinking, and contemporary philosophy. She approaches choreography as a form of relational and affective architecture, where spatial and temporal elements interact dynamically, generating meaning.
Her work has been presented at a wide range of international festivals and institutions, including the Holland Festival, Frascati Theatre, Dansehallerne (DK), BASE Milano (FAROUT Festival), Theater Rotterdam (Feeling Curious? Festival), Julidans Festival, FLAM Festival, GAMeC Modern and Contemporary Art Museum Bergamo, among others. She has been awarded residencies such as CAMPUS (PT), Veem House for Performance (NL), and Lavanderia a Vapore (IT).
She created commissioned work for the academies SNDO – School for New Dance Development and ECD – Expanded Contemporary Dance, as well as for the experimental dance platform WhyNot and for the Premio Lorenzo Bonaldi per l’Arte winner’s exhibition, curated by Panos Giannikopoulos.
In May 2025, her latest large-group work, Disambiguation, featuring 15 performers, premiered at Frascati Theatre in Amsterdam. The work deepens her research into collective perception, libidinal economies, and altered states shaped by contemporary nocturnal culture, while exploring how ambiguity functions as a dynamic force in reorganizing collective experience.
Zuppini graduated from the SNDO – School for New Dance Development. Early in her career, she was recognised with the Young Talent in Choreography award from OPEN FLR (IT) in 2016 and received a scholarship for the danceWEB program (Life Long Burning) at ImPulsTanz (AT) in 2018. Since 2019, she has been part of Jakoozi, a convergence of Amsterdam-based choreographers who act as a fluid support structure for one another and as a host body for a multitude of movement practices and performance-related events.
As an educator and artistic advisor, she worked at institutions such as SNDO, ECD, University of the Arts), DAS Choreography, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Rietveld Academy, DT Danseteater Copenhagen, ArtEZ University of the Arts, Fontys Academy, OTH Nomadic School in the Alps, and the University of Pennsylvania.