THE BRIGHT SIDE OF A MONUMENT
Seeing this BBC Video this morning about Cent Quatre in Paris I found myself thinking once again the huge subject of how preexisting pieces of art and architecture in a city can influence and be integrated in contemporary proposals of uses or interventions. Coming from a country where preexistence in Architecture often ends up being a burden, this kind of ideas in a successful form give me hope! 
But most important, the video and the city of Paris, reminded me of a great experience I had last year there. It was last February, that I had the amazing chance to be in the Musee du Louvre for the first time in my life on a Friday night, and attend a dance performance by the Ballet National de Marseille, under the direction of Frederic Flamand, taking place in between the monuments of the Museum! Can you imagine the feeling of being able to walk in between some of the world’s greatest pieces of art, while the Museum was actually closed to the public, and at the same time watch contemporary dance performances taking place simultaneusly at different halls… The story was completed by the fact that the performaces where accompanied by a live Video session by Fabiano Spano ,a young architect from Italy and very good friend of mine. Dancers, projection and statues all at the same time. Amazing colours, music and the dynamic of bodies moving. I cannot imagine of a better way of making a monument take life!
and here you have a video on a previous work of Fabiano Spano combining video with dance.
