Thollem/D'andrea
One musician and one dancer in spontaneous collaborations.

Rebecca Marta D’Andrea was born in the International Artistic Community of
Bussana Vecchia, in 1983. She studied ballet, modern dance and music from the
age of four. Growing up she developed her interest in Butoh, Physical Theatre
and Contact Improvisation, studying and working as an apprentice with theatre
companies (Collettivo di Ricerca Teatrale, Teatro Artigiano, Living Theatre) and
starting a deeper research into the connection between body and mind in the
performing arts and the creative process.

Since 2000 she took part in the activities of the Cultural Association Deposito Bagagli,
working in cross art collaborations, teaching and performing theatre and dance in
schools, hospitals, mental health institutions and theatres. She graduated with a
BA (Hons) in Choreography at Dartington College of Arts in 2006, with the
dissertation “The Audience and Performer Relationship in Improvised Performance”,
having spent a period as a guest student at SNDO (Amsterdam) in 2005 as part of
her Contextual Enquiry Project. In Italy she took part in IFA 07 (Inteatro Festival
Academy in 07) a tutored residency for young artists developing the video-dance
project ‘You Are My Home’, presented as an installation in the Splash section of
Inteatro Festival 07. The project was developed into a second video 'You are my
home-skin' and showed in Bussana Sensuale 's Festival 2007. In the same year
she performed for choreographer Laura Moro, at Fenice Theatre in Venice with
the Ensemble 'Il Corpo Pensante'.

In 2008/2009 she moved back to the UK and collaborated in dance community
projects with dance artists Cleo Lake of Bristol Fusion Dance and working at the
community short-movie project Night in Easton. In May 2009 she started to
study with the company Milon Mela, following them in a residential study
programme at the Theatre House in Shantiniketan (West Bengal), studying
among other disciplines Kalaripayattu martial art. . Together with Movimento
Denso she started a Cross Art Improvisation Collective called the ‘Moving Sound
Ensemble’, performing in Italy and Uk. In the same year she performed for
H2 dance Company, Stefania Mylona, Donald Hutera in Touchwood Festival in
London and took part in many residencies and performance of Opeaestate Festival,
performing for Freddi Opoku Addaie, Laura Moro, Emio Greco's Accademia Mobile
and studying with many dance artists like Nigel Charnock,Yasmeen Godder, Stian
Danielsen, Emio Greco and others.



In 2010 she was finalist in the choreographic competition GD'A Veneto with
the performance Disbitata/Dresshead.The piece investigates the creative
possibilities given by subverting the use of a common object like a dress, and
finding an access discovering different body forces (emotional and physical). The
piece has been performed also in Urban Dance Festival and lately reworked
and developed in collaboration with the Movimento Denso during two main artistic
residencies in Turin as part of Inside Off Festival 2010, and in March 2011 as part
of Dies Project at Officine Caos of Stalker Teatro, and developing into a open
workshop for dancers. The piece has been invited to The Creative Forum of
Independent Theatre of Alexandria of Egypt winning the Movin'Up Bursary for
young artists 2011.



In collaboration with Movimento Denso, she is now developing the project
PuntidiSvista-PointsofViews which has had its first residency at Lago Film
Festival 2011 as part of the Open Space for young artists.In Bristol
she is taking part to Danceroom Spectroscopy Science and Art Collaboration
Project. She now lives in between Italy and the Uk, combining dance practice,
with teaching and collaborating with different artists and performing in a variety
of contexts.The theme of travel, points of view and the body as a connector of
places is a thread line of her practice.

Upcoming Performances

Mar. 8 at Bombanella Soundscapes Modena, Italia
Mar. 9 at Crypt 747 Torino, Italia
Mar.10 at La Giraffa Vittorio Veneto, Italia
Mar. 11 at La Mela Di Newton Padova, Italia
Mar. 12 at Spazio Luce Milano, Italia

"Thollem McDonas è invece un girovago genio della tastiera. Un raffinatissimo
improvvisatore che riesce ad imbastire in maniera del tutto non convenzionale
sonorità classiche e d'avanguardia. Terry Riley ha detto di lui che "sembra sempre
giusto fresco e soddisfacente indipendentemente dal tipo di esplorazione timbrica
che compie". La grande padronanza dello strumento, la velocità e l'eleganza
insieme alla sua aria informale, al suo aspetto bonario che tra una brano e l'altro
non disdegna una pinta di birra irlandese bevuta alla salute del suo pubblico lo
rendono assolutamente unico e contagioso. Vive continuamente in tour e si esibisce
in ogni contesto, dal grande teatro ai club, gallerie d'arte, biblioteche, magazzini e
strade, sfoderando a 360° la sua poliedricità e il suo indiscusso talento".
- Distorsioni

Thollem tours perpetually as a solo pianist, vocalist and collaborator regularly covering
much of North America and Europe playing his own very unique brand of piano music he often calls hyphenated music, post-classical and of course free improvisation. In the past
6 years, he has added 23 albums to his discography on 10 different vanguard record
labels in 4 different countries. His musical experiences are extremely diverse and his
ever expanding variety of approaches to making music result in dramatically new and different outcomes. He plays in punk clubs, museums, concert halls and riots. He works
regularly with film makers, dancers, poets and painters as well as a wide array of
divergent musicians. He has won numerous awards and is the founding director of
Estamos Ensemble, a Mexican-American cross border ensemble
for musical exchange.



Not long after birth, Thollem began studying the keyboard repertoire from the medieval
to the 20th century. After graduating with degrees in both piano performance and composition, he dedicated his time for years in grassroots political and ecological
movements before eventually returning to his own music with his full focus. He
is currently touring perpetually as a soloist, in collaboration with many other
individuals and groups, as well as leading large ensemble free improvisation
workshops.



Thollem performs in theaters, art galleries, universities, elementary schools, concert
halls, jazz clubs, rock clubs, festivals, warehouses, house concerts, streets, prisons,
forests, riots and on television, radio and the internet. He has performed piano
concertos with symphonies, played in West African drumming troupes, Javanese
gamelan ensembles, punk bands, free improv ensembles, and regularly collaborates
as a comproviser for film and modern dance.

Some of Thollem's many musical collaborators include:
Stefano Scodanibbio, Pauline Oliveros, Edoardo Ricci, Jacopo Andreini, Tatsuya
Nakatani, William Parker, Nels Cline, Lukas Ligeti, Mike Watt, Arrington de
Dionyso, Stefano Giust and Edoardo Marraffa, Amy Denio, Jad Fair, Gino Robair, John Butcher, Greg Saunier, Alex Cline, Damo Suzuki

Film makers:
Martha Colburn, Matthew Barney, Peter Sparling, Tuia Cherici, Carlos Sandoval
and David Latreille

Dancers (dance companies):
Germaul Barnes (Bitahkiz Ayeli), Gary Masters, Peter Sparling, Viewsic Expressions,
Black Bones, San José Cleveland Ballet, Limón Dance Company