The City as a Score: Dialoguing with the Ex-Ghetto Ebraico of Bologna through Museum Research and Choreographic Practice

Abstract

This study, written collaboratively by a choreographer and a dance scholar, shifts between theoretical and practical discussion to explore the ex-ghetto ebraico di Bologna as an urban space of exchange. With embodiment as a foundational concept, our research encompasses archival and danced-based exploration, at the Museo Ebraico di Bologna and within the dance studio, resulting in a choreographic work. Rather than absolutely confining, the borders of the ghetto have been considered spaces of negotiation, involving exchange between inside and outside, private and public, and Catholic and Jewish aspects of city life. In discussing this process, we integrate broader cultural studies frameworks on maps and borders, examining the city's ‘body’ as a choreographic score in itself and the museum’s  documentation center as a means to reactivate it. From the use of contact improvisation technique, to the joint creation of the musical score, to the integration of multiple mapping strategies, each element of this choreographic work is influenced by exchange. The choice to write collaboratively also responds to this underlying theme. Through this study, we aim to contribute to wider discussions of how choreographic practice offers possibilities for understanding local histories and contemporary uses of urban space.