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Dancing to transform

I have a life-long performance art project called “the red dress project”. As part of this ongoing series of outdoor interventions all over the world, I dance in sites/landscapes to raise awareness of issues that I believe are important to myself and communities in the places I live and perform.

Woman in red dress dancing with a huge chain hanging from a boat

The Red Dress Project is a performance and photography project created by artist and choreographer Manuela Benini.  An evolving series of photographs featuring Benini’s choreographic movement interactions within natural, architectural and industrial landscapes.

The resulting collection of images are powerful evocation of gender, place and identity which address human rights issues and our impact on the environment.

With backdrops of dormant and active volcanoes, rubble, ashes, city centers, ice, waterfalls, rocks as her stage Manuela transforms everything around with her red dress. Acting as a catalyst to absorb the energy of the landscape, Manuela reclaims public spaces, dancing and responding to the environments with movement often that the camera fails to capture. Her ‘red’ muslin signifies her passion and the danger our Earth is in with a fragility yet with a strength of what humanity can do if it decides to tune in. The red dress forces us to listen.”

Woman in red dress dancing in a landscape

Woman in a beautiful red dress dancing in front to policeman

Woman in red dress dancing in a landscape

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“I dance in sites/landscapes to raise awareness of issues”