San Pancrazio

[This Nun’s Blog posting by JuliaCesare.]

Calvi’s San Pancrazio Festival was an important moment. At least in my mind, it represented something of a debut for our little team. San Pancrazio, I should explain, is the patron saint of Calvi. Once a year, around his feast day of May 12th, Calvi dell’ Umbria turns itself upside down with parties, ceremonies, and general medieval style merry-making. The festival, by the way, goes all the way back to the 13th Century.

What the Calvese have done, and the passion with which they organize and enjoy these days, is a beautiful sight to see. The first evening I was able to attend was the “Tavolate” basically giant feasts set out for free around town. They are each hosted by a different group. For example each year, when boys are born here, they register their names, and each year four twelve year old signorini are chosen to represent San Pancrazio (who was martyred as an adolescent). So, each signorino’s (little man’s) family, is responsible for putting on a feast. Then there is the table of the dame (the women) and the various others. All in all, there are seven or eight giant feasts which all have to be “opened” by a marching band. Before the band passes, you may not eat, but everyone visits each table, to scope them out, and hopefully to be invited…that’s the other part, is that you have to be invited to eat. Each Tavolata features porchetta (giant roast pigs) and cheese and fruit and wine and fava beans and many more things that I can’t remember, probably due to the fact that each tavolata also featured a few kegs of wine. And this is just one night, people.

Other festivities include a mass for San Pancrazio, featuring the prized relic of his arm. There is a ritual in the piazza in which the four signorini ride horses all around. When it’s time to put the flags back in the church, there are four pairs of men who run sequentially into the church, in full medieval regalia, shouting “e viva san pancraziooo!” In fact, full medieval regalia and shouting eehviva san pancrazio was common throughout the week. Not to mention the fireworks.

It was not only our first time participating in this venerable festa, but we were presenting a Vespers for the Feast of San Pancrazio and “Tra Quercia e Ulivo” a Duncan Dance and Medieval Music new work. To do this, we were packing the artists into the Casa del Popolo. YouJeans, world class Gregorian chant expert, conductor, composer, and Belgian foodie, was sharing my normal cubby with PadreMartini, another Gregorian chant expert and PhD candidate. In the back room was I, Dishy, one of my dance colleagues from New York and erstwhile best friend, BenVenuto and SistaFlav, and Little Orphan Annie. Mystophur and La Presidentessa were in their normal hideaway, and good sports La Tedesca and Meyer were tenting it in the back yard.

The Vespers went off quite well on Tuesday, the church had quite a good crowd. It was really interesting to see a Vespers produced as art… or ritual… or art… or… it inspired a lot of conversation between Dishy and I, actually, on the relationship between art and religion and their specific goals…Anyway, the singing was beautiful, the moment inspiring. We followed that up with a dinner at the local Taverna, made completely unforgettable by the group of 20 or so young Calvesi playing a traditional Pancrazio drinking game at the next table, which involved regular shouting and banging of mugs on the table. I for one, kind of enjoyed the spectacle although it made conversation next to impossible.

My experience of the rest of the week was a bit myopic, completely dance focused. It was great to be able to concentrate on art for the first time in a long time, although the difficulties inherent in trying to be both artist and organizer became abundantly clear, mostly in my elevated stress level.

On Thursday night, Dishy and I danced at the Amadeo Modigliani Institut in Rome, a gig that the always fabulous DJ Franky hooked me up with. We were performing in a beautiful little room in front of three real Cariatide by Amedeo himself, quite a treat and a bit scary at the same time (my last piece involved a lot of spinning very near them, and I don’t have to remind you they’re worth more than my life).

Saturday was “tra Quercia e Ulivo” in a piazza in Calvi. Dishy and I had done a workshop with the kids on Wednesday morning, since we’d decided to include them in the performance. That too was a good decision, they had fun and so did we, and they were certainly some of the most enthusiastic kids I’ve ever worked with, and well behaved. We had a few dicey moments cause it rained right before we had to dance, and actually during my solo. I was just hoping that my beige tunic didn’t become completely scandalous.

But La Tedesca has a beautiful voice, and Little Orphan Annie is a strong musician, working together was really great. Dishy and I agreed that it was exciting to work together, especially to pair Duncan dance with medieval music and to construct a whole piece together with the musicians.

The same night, Christopher sang in the choir with the Calvesi, in full medieval regalia. (photo here) The next day, everyone left. Everyone pretty much crashed, and got ready to head out to the US….

Mystophur with the Vice-Mayor’s brother[This Nun’s Blog posting by JuliaCesare.]

Calvi’s San Pancrazio Festival was an important moment. At least in my mind, it represented something of a debut for our little team. San Pancrazio, I should explain, is the patron saint of Calvi. Once a year, around his feast day of May 12th, Calvi dell’ Umbria turns itself upside down with parties, ceremonies, and general medieval style merry-making. The festival, by the way, goes all the way back to the 13th Century.

What the Calvese have done, and the passion with which they organize and enjoy these days, is a beautiful sight to see. The first evening I was able to attend was the “Tavolate” basically giant feasts set out for free around town. They are each hosted by a different group. For example each year, when boys are born here, they register their names, and each year four twelve year old signorini are chosen to represent San Pancrazio (who was martyred as an adolescent). So, each signorino’s (little man’s) family, is responsible for putting on a feast. Then there is the table of the dame (the women) and the various others. All in all, there are seven or eight giant feasts which all have to be “opened” by a marching band. Before the band passes, you may not eat, but everyone visits each table, to scope them out, and hopefully to be invited…that’s the other part, is that you have to be invited to eat. Each Tavolata features porchetta (giant roast pigs) and cheese and fruit and wine and fava beans and many more things that I can’t remember, probably due to the fact that each tavolata also featured a few kegs of wine. And this is just one night, people.

Other festivities include a mass for San Pancrazio, featuring the prized relic of his arm. There is a ritual in the piazza in which the four signorini ride horses all around. When it’s time to put the flags back in the church, there are four pairs of men who run sequentially into the church, in full medieval regalia, shouting “e viva san pancraziooo!” In fact, full medieval regalia and shouting eehviva san pancrazio was common throughout the week. Not to mention the fireworks.

It was not only our first time participating in this venerable festa, but we were presenting a Vespers for the Feast of San Pancrazio and “Tra Quercia e Ulivo” a Duncan Dance and Medieval Music new work. To do this, we were packing the artists into the Casa del Popolo. YouJeans, world class Gregorian chant expert, conductor, composer, and Belgian foodie, was sharing my normal cubby with PadreMartini, another Gregorian chant expert and PhD candidate. In the back room was I, Dishy, one of my dance colleagues from New York and erstwhile best friend, BenVenuto and SistaFlav, and Little Orphan Annie. Mystophur and La Presidentessa were in their normal hideaway, and good sports La Tedesca and Meyer were tenting it in the back yard.

The Vespers went off quite well on Tuesday, the church had quite a good crowd. It was really interesting to see a Vespers produced as art… or ritual… or art… or… it inspired a lot of conversation between Dishy and I, actually, on the relationship between art and religion and their specific goals…Anyway, the singing was beautiful, the moment inspiring. We followed that up with a dinner at the local Taverna, made completely unforgettable by the group of 20 or so young Calvesi playing a traditional Pancrazio drinking game at the next table, which involved regular shouting and banging of mugs on the table. I for one, kind of enjoyed the spectacle although it made conversation next to impossible.

My experience of the rest of the week was a bit myopic, completely dance focused. It was great to be able to concentrate on art for the first time in a long time, although the difficulties inherent in trying to be both artist and organizer became abundantly clear, mostly in my elevated stress level.

On Thursday night, Dishy and I danced at the Amadeo Modigliani Institut in Rome, a gig that the always fabulous DJ Franky hooked me up with. We were performing in a beautiful little room in front of three real Cariatide by Amedeo himself, quite a treat and a bit scary at the same time (my last piece involved a lot of spinning very near them, and I don’t have to remind you they’re worth more than my life).

Saturday was “tra Quercia e Ulivo” in a piazza in Calvi. Dishy and I had done a workshop with the kids on Wednesday morning, since we’d decided to include them in the performance. That too was a good decision, they had fun and so did we, and they were certainly some of the most enthusiastic kids I’ve ever worked with, and well behaved. We had a few dicey moments cause it rained right before we had to dance, and actually during my solo. I was just hoping that my beige tunic didn’t become completely scandalous.

But La Tedesca has a beautiful voice, and Little Orphan Annie is a strong musician, working together was really great. Dishy and I agreed that it was exciting to work together, especially to pair Duncan dance with medieval music and to construct a whole piece together with the musicians.

The same night, Christopher sang in the choir with the Calvesi, in full medieval regalia. (photo here) The next day, everyone left. Everyone pretty much crashed, and got ready to head out to the US….

Mystophur with the Vice-Mayor’s brother