An Athlete of the Heart

Through kathakali the actor-dancer Mario Barzaghi “expresses visible poetry”. The epic of history coincides with the epic character of the actor-dancer’s training. 

An Athlete of the Heart is the title chosen by Mario Barzaghi for his fascinating demonstration-show. Borrowing a phrase from Artaud, “the actor is an athlete of the heart”, Franco Ruffini emphasizes the analogy between the athlete – the master of muscles, the poet – the master of words, and the actor – the master of the heart. In a meeting that leads from Kathakali to Michelangelo’s images to Dante, Mario Barzaghi seems to fuse all these characters. An actor in equilibrium. A highly expressive body with segments of arms, hands, legs and feet. Searching for a poetic synthesis [...], giving his effort with communicative lightness to the audience.

Valeria Ottolenghi