Nestled amidst breathtaking natural landscapes, Orsolina28 Art Foundation, an international dance hub near Moncalvo in the Monferrato hills of Piedmont, is a place that defies easy description. It must be experienced. Each return, the second or third time, deepens the enchantment with the surrounding natural beauty and the venue’s hospitality.
Founded and driven by the passionate Simony Monteiro – whose contagious enthusiasm, vision, and energy create spaces, opportunities, and communities – Orsolina28 is a sanctuary where time slows down, fostering ideal conditions for creativity and the birth of new works. Among its many spacious studios hosting residencies for established choreographers and companies worldwide, a particularly special space is The Eye. This oval-shaped structure features a central circular area with seating for the audience on the sides. Here, preview performances and open rehearsals of works that will later premiere across Europe and beyond are regularly presented to select groups.
Witnessing the creative process, the choreographer’s journey toward a completed work, is a compelling experience. This is precisely what we encountered in late March, observing rehearsals for Canadian-American choreographer Aszure Barton‘s new creation for Gauthier Dance. The company returned to Orsolina this year to develop a diptych titled Luck/Unluck. These two distinct choreographic visions engage in dialogue: one exploring the randomness of fortune, the other its darker counterpart, misfortune. The first piece, Luck, is entrusted to Barton; the second, Unluck, is slated for June with choreography by Hofesh Shechter during his residency at Orsolina. The complete work will have its world premiere on June 26, 2026, at Theaterhaus Stuttgart.
What we witnessed was not merely a performance but an authentic glimpse into a work in progress, a rare access to what usually remains hidden: the time, the attempts, the revisions, the uncertainties. «I believe it’s important to share this as well—not just the final result, but everything that makes it possible. The dancers will be on stage while the piece continues to transform. They have gone through an intense process of continuous change, with great patience and dedication,» Barton explained at the beginning of the rehearsal.
Between dance sequences, paused for corrections or further development, Barton shared insights—even during moments of audience interaction and questions—about the creative process behind her interpretation of the theme. She clarified: «Regarding the final structure of the piece, I don’t have an answer yet. It’s still evolving. I will return in June, and that’s when the theatrical elements will begin to take shape alongside Hofesh’s. We will have ten days on stage, and much will emerge right there.»
Meanwhile, she introduced the initial stages of the project. «It began with a simple yet profound gesture: collecting images, materials, music that evoke the future… and then letting them go. An act of listening and openness, rather than control. Even before arriving in Stuttgart (home of Gauthier Dance), I felt the need to connect with the dancers: I emailed them asking what fortune means to each of them, in their own bodies. The responses were surprising, intimate, beautiful. It was at that moment that something shifted: I set aside my ego, my preconceived ideas, and began to truly respond to what the dancers offered. The work became a living dialogue. Working with me, however, isn’t always easy: I am intense, at times wild, obsessive, constantly changing. I transform, dismantle, and reassemble the work without pause. But it is precisely in this unstable movement that the creative process takes shape.»
«In the past, my spirit was more rebellious: I couldn’t stand being told what to do. Today, however, I appreciate having a structure, a framework within which to be free. Freedom, I’ve discovered, can exist even within a rule—especially when there is trust. Working with company directors who trust completely, who provide space without wanting to control, is what gives me energy. In places where control prevails, and expectations stifle the process, I no longer wish to return. Because that is precisely where it becomes easy to fail. Here, however, at Orsolina, the climate is different: there is trust, enthusiasm, freedom. I don’t need filters. I can be fully myself.»
«When I work with my own company, Aszure Barton & Artists, everything takes on a different dimension. It’s a community built over the last twenty years, made of encounters, relationships, returns. Many of my dancers are now forty; we have shared time, experiences, growth. With them, I can delve deeply, research without haste. It’s like having a home, a root. This research then becomes something I bring into the world when I work with other companies. It’s a necessary balance: I love working externally, learning from other contexts, but I need that original place to return to. My company is this: a research center, a continuous flow. With them, we can spend years creating a work. In other contexts, however, the time is shorter, more intense. These are two different, yet equally necessary, modes. Artistic relationships also move this way: some people enter, leave, return. When I meet someone with whom an authentic connection is born, I try to cultivate it over time. It is something precious, which I hope will continue in the future.»
When finally asked what fortune means to her, Barton replies: «For me, it is not a virtue, nor a gift. It is not something one deserves. It is rather a feeling: that of being alive. Something simple and mysterious at the same time, like a child who stumbles, who makes a mistake, and in that very error finds something that falls from the sky—unexpected, gratuitous, full of grace. For me, the very probability of being alive is already a form of fortune. And perhaps this is the true fortune: having a space to create, together.»
The open rehearsal of Luck also provided an opportunity to unveil the program for Orsolina28 Art Foundation’s 2026 season, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. The calendar features 25 events, carefully curated by Artistic Director Simony Monteiro, spanning contemporary dance to jazz music, with a focus on innovation and talent. As a unifying theme, the Foundation returns to its origins: in an increasingly fragmented world, dominated by conflicts, the advent of new technologies, and the threat of global warming, Orsolina28’s season directs attention to what makes us human.
The full and detailed program can be consulted here. Performances are open to the public free of charge, with the option to offer a voluntary contribution, in line with the Foundation’s values of inclusion and accessibility.
