What to see in Venice

From June 8-24 Venice, the perfect labyrinth for lovers and a city of art, will also become the city of movement. Movement of the heart and of the body. The contemporary dance festival Awakenings, which takes place in Venice every two years, will gather many international artists in June.

Contemprary dance is the dance form born after the Second World War that combines classical ballet and modern dance styles. In this style, the freedom of the movement is a key concept. As the director of the festival Ismael Ivo wrote “Movement is life. The heart provides the rhythm and the body moves a step.”

The coreographers that made an important contribution to the evolution of this kind of dance and shaped its basis and essence are Marta Graham, Merce Cunningham, and Pina Bausch.

Venice Awakenings will dedicate a tribute to Pina, “Moving with Pina” by Cristiana Morganti, a historic dancer in the Tanztheater Wuppertal, the company of Pina Bausch.

The festival also includes performances of other different companies (The Forsythe Company, Virgilio Sieni, Erna Ómarsdóttir, and many more), workshops, meetings and lectures that will take place all over the city.

There will be also space for new works. The “Marathon of the Unexpected” is is the Biennale’s open space where brand new pieces of a maximum of 15 minutes will be presented.

For the last day of the festival (24th of june) a party is planned, Awakenings Dance Party, that will be a chance to celebrate dance and to share this passion with other participants and visitors.

If you want to take a journey not only to Venice, but also into the world of feelings, fantasy and passion you should not miss this event.

For more information: http://www.labiennale.org/en/dance/festival/index.html

Author: Chiara Galvani

Rent one of the apartments in Venice to dive into the world of feelings, fantasy and passion.

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There are many different natural, and chemical aphrodisiacs we can use to increase our libido levels. From pills with bizarre side affects, to chocolate, thousands of things can get us excited. But there is still nothing quite like using an aphrodisiac to bring to pleasure to ourselves.

One clear example of a natural aphrodisiac is dance. There few things in this world more beautiful than dancing to the rhythm of the music – whether it is to a slow, romantic melody, or fast and furious rock. Dancing unlocks changes within our bodies which are directly linked to sexual excitement and pleasure. Which is why the more we dance, the more turned on we become.

At the University of Frankfurt, a researcher concluded that tango dancers have higher levels of the testosterone hormone, and less cortisol, which is the hormone responsible for stress. Which makes dance a natural aphrodisiac.

The results of the investigation were published in the magazine “Music and Medicine” and although they were only in reference to tango, they can easily be applied to any kind of dance and music. The reason why dance functions as an aphrodisiac is simple: the music inside of us acts as a kind of tranquilliser, reducing levels of cortisol in the blood stream, whilst the movement, and friction of the body as it dances heightens the sex hormones, creating higher levels of excitement.

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One day you can try out the hot dance of salsa and another the romance of the ballads – the main thing is the connection created by the music and the two dancers. If you want to feel the effects of music on your body, rent apartments in Venice the city of music and love.

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Translated by: Poppy
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“Make art not war” says a poster with blue capital letters that hangs from a wall in my house. It is to be sent to Bice Curiger, the curator of the Venice Biennial 2011, who asks: “If art were a country, what would its constitution state?” This year the 83 invited artists to the International Exhibition of Art in Venice exhibit under the title ILLUMinations and demonstrate why this event is “one of the most important forums for knowledge and illumination of the new developments in international art”, says Curiger. From June the 4^th until November the 27^th, art, architecture, cinema, dance, music and theater will inundate the city of canals.

Every two years, the cats that come to the public park Giardini in Venice have to share their territory. Besides the Arsenal and other places in the city, this space is transformed into an exhibition stage to install new national pavilions, in addition to the 29 permanent ones. The 54^th edition welcomes new countries like Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Haiti and Andorra. Other countries will participate again after many years of absence, such as India, Cuba, South Africa, Costa Rica, Iraq or Zimbabwe. If art were a country, its constitution would value the gender equality: this year 32 women will participate. And that country called Art would have as a motto “Youth is future”: 32 young artists, born after the year 1975, will participate in this edition as well. The program also highlights the organization of 37 events. Nothing will be missing to be illuminated.

Imitating Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the last crusade”, the lovers of the Seventh Art usually take pictures of themselves in front of the church that appears in the movie, located in Campo San Barnaba. It is even better to enjoy the 68^th edition of the Venice International Film Festival, which takes place from August the 31^st to September the 10^th in Lido, an island located 10 minutes from the city by vaporetto. As Cannes’, Berlin’s or San Sebastian’s, the Venice Film Festival is one of the most prestigious in the world. Every year it awards the best film production with the Golden Lion, won in 2010 by Sofia Coppola for her drama “Somewhere”.

The Venice Biennial is also about dance. The Arsenale della Danza or International Contemporary Dance Festival (from May the 11^th to June the 25^th) is the perfect opportunity to discover the most innovative works of current choreographers. The artistic menu is complete: you will be able to choose between the International Architecture Exhibition, the Contemporary Music Festival and the Theater Festival program organized by the Catalan artist Alex Rigola. Since 1895 the gondolas, St Mark’s Square or the charming narrow streets of Venice have remained in the background during several months. Instead, the workshops, performances, pavilions, bookshops and awards have made the city a destiny where innovation prevails.

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All in all, this is an ideal event to make a tour for the Venice landmarks and discover every facet of the international artistic production. Rent apartments in Venice and enjoy a unique stay!

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Translated by: Hans
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Until the 25^th of June, we will be able to attend the Venice Dance Biennial. Among its notable activities is the Arsenale della Danza, which will present its shows at theater Piccolo Arsenale and theater Calibran.

The Dance Biennial is one of the activities taking place within the framework of the Venice Biennale, and it is meant to blend plasticity, creation and music together to represent it through dance performances. The Arsenale della Danza was created to enhance dance performances at Biennale. It is a laboratory, which brings together world-class choreographers, young dancers and artists from many disciplines to create performances of great aesthetic value.

Despite the economic crisis, which has reduced the biennial budget in recent years, the Arsenale laboratory has strengthened and become a professional school for young dancers from around the world. During five weeks, these young dancers receive and share their knowledge and experiences with internationally recognized teachers. Nowadays, the school reaches a capacity of 25 students from all over the world.

The poetic metaphor and aesthetics of Arsenale della Danza is based on the need to generate new proposals inspired on diversity. To meet this objective, experiences from different worlds and backgrounds are brought together, while integrating new concepts, which go hand in hand with art in its entirety. Among these manifestations, we find dance performances, which deconstruct movements and sounds interpreting shows without trial or motion planning, where the concept is freedom of creation.

In this poetic metaphor, Arsenale has developed an active collaboration with children from the Brazilian favelas, who make interesting dance workshops to enhance skills that will serve as tools for life. Along with these workshops, they carried out activities to rescue the lost values of their communities.

The artistic director of the Biennale and Arsenale, Ismael Ivo, is one of the creative minds of this great proposal. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, his modernist project integrates dance and theater, as a synthesis of his long artistic experience, which has led to interesting changes in the dance that are applied and refined in the laboratory of Arsenale.

The Biennale of Dance will close with a flourish, the program will include first-line shows created by well-known choreographers, who are considered the most important in the dance scene: Ismael Ivo, the Rotterdam Dance Academy, Xavier Le Roy, Michele Di Stefano and Lia Rodrigues among others. We will also have the opportunity to appreciate the presentation of Brilliant Corners by Emanuel Gat, which will be presented for the first on the last night of the Biennale.

For more information www.labiennale.org/it/danza/

Nancy Guzman

Venice is a wonderful place to live during the summer, so if you are on vacation in apartments in Venice you must come to the theaters Piccolo and Calibran to outstanding dance performances at Arsenale della Danza.

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Translated by: Hans
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Doing a striptease isn´t as easy as it looks and requires a little practice for it to come out perfect and natural. Not every day is suitable for performing a show for your partner, but when he or she is on holidays, enjoying a beautiful trip to a beautiful city, surely you will find the moment to create an exciting environment and spend together a night of passion once the “homemade striptease” has been completed.

Any man or women can sensually dance for their partner while the take off their clothes, but if they follow these small tips it will be much easier. The first thing you must take into account is your personal attitude. When one is ready to eroticize another person, he must be ready and accept that they will look at you with desirable eyes, they will applaud your dance moves and basically will make you fell good , so you must fell comfortable and confident about yourself and your body even if you don´t have the worlds nicest body because nobody does. Self confidence is absolutely essential, if you lack it, don´t try it, you won´t cause a good impression

If you are  women, once you are mentally prepared, choose the adequate clothes, No kind of footwear that has laces to be undone like sneakers, tight boots might look sexy but will ruin the striptease if they are too difficult to remove.. The best idea is to use clothing that can be removed with ease, like a butonless shirts, stockings, elastic pants, etc.  Don´t forger accessories such as hats, necklaces and bracelets which are very important, remove them slowly, slow is the word you must have present at all times

The secret is to dance smoothly to soft music surrounded by the perfect environment, candle light is a must and perhaps a small stick of incense will add a touch of exoticism  Remember to buy sexy undergarments that match the moment, because until you are completely naked, your lover will have to see your undergarments and there is nothing as exciting than seeing a women in a thong with garterbelt and a chemise being slowly removed.

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To enjoy a special evening like and perfprm a striptease for your partner, rent apartments in Venice and discover the city of love.

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Translated by: Marc
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From the 25^th February until the 8^th March, Europe’s most famous carnival takes place in Venice. Known for its use of masks to tell the story of the canalled city, the Venice Carnival has become a symbol of transgression and decadence. The 2011 edition of the festival will be placing special emphasis on culture, under the artistic direction of Davide Rampello, approaching on 19^th century themes and ideas from a Venetian perspective – such as the unification of Italy, and Woman’s Day – during which there will be screenings of City of Women by Federico Fellini and Senso by Luchino Visconti.

The carnival was declared an official festival by the senate of the republic of Venice in the 13^th century. The start and finish of the carnival is determined by Lent and Holy Week – which is why each year the date changes; since it must finish on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday – always starting two weeks before that.

Though the festival was initially organised by the young nobility, it soon came to be defined by transgression. Their identities hidden behind masks, the nobles and plebs where able to abandon themselves to a game of passionate freedom, intoxicated by alcohol and dancing without fear of the rigid class divisions – transforming the festival into a place for subverting order, being free, and breaking with the prevailing morality. The men were allowed to dress as women, and indulge in prohibited pleasures, and the women could break away from the atavistic regulations of virginity, and for this one time, enjoy sexual pleasure without guilt.

The carnival was and still is, a time for the city’s inhabitant to take over – it’s not a time for the rule of politics. In 1797 the fall of the Republic of Venice, and the subsequent occupation of the city by the Austrians, who incorporated the city into the Austrian Empire, the carnival was suspended for many years. The same thing happened when Mussolini rose to power in the 1930s.

This year, the carnival wants to centre the discussion around the cultural influence of Venetians through history. Also, to pay homage to the directors Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti with the screening of two classic films.

Fellini’s City of Women, which will mark Women’s Day, recounts the dreams of the ageing protagonist – played by Marcelo Mastroianni – who is married, and struggling to accept his decline as a seducer. Through the story, Fellini examines the complexity of a woman in a process of transformation, in search of power and equal rights.

Senso, by Luchino Visconti is a masterful portrait of human passion in Venice at the time of the Austrian occupation. The film, about the latent homosexuality hidden by a gigolo, tells of the exploitation of an older woman by young, opportunistic lovers without scruples.

Nancy Guzman

Venice is not just all about canals and paths – but culture and history too. If you want to relive it´s story, and discover the true essence of Venice Carnival, find yourself a mask to hide behind, and see who can find for some uninhibited fun in apartments in Venice

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Translated by: Poppy
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