A Human-Centered Approach to Dance
At Z ART, inclusion is not a theme; it is a practice. Since 2013, the choreographer Giovanni Zazzera has been developing long-term artistic collaborations with performers with and without disabilities, exploring how difference can become a creative force. Through workshops, productions, and community-based encounters, Z ART cultivates spaces where every body, rhythm, and presence can contribute to a shared artistic language.
PRESSE
Inklusion in der Kultur
Profitanzkarriere: Das muss auch für Menschen mit Beeinträchtigungen gehen
MURMURES & FONDATION KRAIZBIERG
Current & Future Inclusive Projects
With its new creation MURMURES, Z ART opens a new chapter in its inclusive journey through a meaningful collaboration with Fondation Kräizbierg, an institution dedicated to supporting people with disabilities in their daily lives, education and artistic expression. This partnership extends the company’s long-standing commitment to creating artistic spaces where diverse bodies, voices and experiences can meet, resonate and transform one another.
As part of this collaboration, Z ART will develop a series of artistic encounters, workshops and shared creative moments inspired by the themes of MURMURES — memory, fragility, resilience, presence and the invisible threads that connect individuals. These encounters are designed not as parallel activities, but as integral components of the artistic process, allowing participants with and without disabilities to explore movement, imagination and sensory perception together.
The work with Fondation Kräizbierg emphasises reciprocity: the workshops are conceived as spaces where artistic knowledge circulates in both directions, where each participant contributes their own rhythm, sensitivity and embodied experience. Through guided improvisations, tactile explorations, collective compositions and moments of reflection, the project aims to cultivate a shared artistic language rooted in listening and mutual support.
Where Bodies Meet
Shared Spaces, Connected Bodies
Long-Term Inclusive Projects
blanContact — Mierscher Theater
(2013–2025)
Since 2013, Giovanni Zazzera has been an active dancer & choreographer within blanContact, the inclusive dance ensemble initiated by the Mierscher Kulturhaus (now Mierscher Theater). The ensemble brings together professional artists and dancers with and without disabilities, developing a unique choreographic language rooted in trust, presence, and collective listening.
In 2024, Giovanni co-choreographed the production ReVIvre, created at the Mierscher Theater and later presented at the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg. The piece is explicitly credited as a co-choreography by Annick Pütz and Giovanni Zazzera.
“La mise en scène imaginée par Annick Pütz… avec cette année Giovanni Zazzera à ses côtés pour la chorégraphie.”
— La Glaneuse
blanContact is recognised as one of Luxembourg’s pioneering inclusive dance initiatives, active since 2007 and supported by major cultural institutions such as Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg.
Community-Based Inclusive Creation
TROUWIESSEL — Dudelange 4.10.2025
As part of the large-scale participatory project TROUWIESSEL in Dudelange, Giovanni Zazzera collaborated with choreographer Sylvia Camarda, contributing to the design and implementation of the project’s inclusive component. TROUWIESSEL brought together residents, local associations, amateur performers and professional artists in a multidisciplinary artistic journey rooted in the city’s social fabric.
The inclusive dimension of TROUWIESSEL emphasised accessibility, shared authorship and the value of lived experience. Through guided improvisations, sensory explorations and group compositions, Giovanni & Sylvia encouraged participants to contribute their own movement vocabulary, transforming individual stories into a collective artistic expression. This approach aligned with the project’s broader intention: to weave together different voices and bodies into a shared performative landscape that reflects the community of Dudelange.
Giovanni’s involvement in TROUWIESSEL extends his long-standing commitment to inclusive artistic practices, reinforcing the idea that dance can become a place of encounter, empowerment and co-creation beyond traditional stage boundaries.
Networks & Collective Engagement
ASPRO Inclusion Group
Giovanni is an active member of the ASPRO inclusion group, contributing to discussions, training, and sector-wide initiatives aimed at improving accessibility and representation within the performing arts in Luxembourg.
MOSAIK – Kultur Inklusiv
Involved in MOSAIK – Kultur Inklusiv, a national network created by the Mierscher Theater and gathering 16 cultural and social institutions to promote inclusion in the arts. Giovanni is explicitly listed among the artists associated with the network.
MOSAIK is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry for Family, Integration and the Greater Region, and includes partners such as Fondation Kräizbierg, Info-Handicap, ASPRO, TROIS C-L, Casino Luxembourg, and others.
Workshops & Training
As part of its future development, Z ART aims to expand its inclusive practice by offering workshops designed for a wide range of participants and contexts. These workshops will be proposed in:
- CDI centres
- Specialised institutions
- Professional training environments
- Young audiences and mixed-ability groups
Each workshop will focus on movement, perception, imagination, and the creation of safe, accessible artistic environments. Through these encounters, Z ART seeks to cultivate spaces where diverse bodies and experiences can meet, explore and create together.
Within this framework, Giovanni developed movement-based workshops and inclusive creative sessions aimed at opening the artistic process to participants with diverse physical, cognitive and social backgrounds. His contribution focused on creating spaces where non-professional and professional bodies could meet on equal ground, exploring presence, rhythm, gesture and collective imagination.
Reimagining Tales — Koplabunz & Creative Europe
Upcoming Inclusive Collaboration (2026–2028)
Since 2017, Giovanni Zazzera has been an artistic collaborator with Koplabunz, contributing to the company’s choreographic identity and its commitment to inclusive, multilingual and community‑based creation. This long-term collaboration now expands into a new European dimension with Reimagining Tales: Inclusive Narratives in the European Performing Arts for Young Generations, a Creative Europe project running from February 2026 to January 2028.
Reimagining Tales addresses the persistent exclusion of marginalised children and young people, especially disabled, d/Deaf, neurodivergent, racialised and gender-diverse youth, from the performing arts and from the stories that shape cultural imagination.
Through artistic creation, research and training, the project aims to:
- Reimagine European children’s tales through anti‑ableist and intersectional perspectives
- Treat accessibility as an artistic and aesthetic choice, integrated from the very beginning of the creative process
- Share practical tools with artists, educators and cultural institutions across Europe
Project Partners
- ArteVOX Teatro (Italy) — Lead coordinator, specialising in visual and puppet theatre, with a strong focus on accessibility for neurodivergent and d/Deaf children
- Koplabunz (Luxembourg) — Interdisciplinary company blending music, dance and theatre, known for multilingual storytelling and inclusive community projects
- Dansema Dance Theatre (Lithuania) — Pioneer in contemporary dance for young audiences, specialising in sensory-friendly and movement-based performances for children with developmental and visual disabilities
What Will Happen in the Project?
Inclusive Artistic Residencies
Three artistic residencies in Italy, Luxembourg and Lithuania will bring together professional artists to create new performances for young audiences. A traditional children’s tale will be reimagined through disability-led, anti‑ableist and intersectional lenses.
As a choreographer, Giovanni will contribute to the movement research, inclusive methodologies and embodied dramaturgy that shape the creative process.