Damiano Fina
The purpose of the FÜYA method is to re-establish a point of balance with the world. Its success lies in how it can positively change the way we live our lives.
I began my path of contemplation by taking piano lessons in middle school. When I played Chopin’s Prelude 1, Opus 28, something in and around me would light up. In 2004, I encountered Zen meditation. Meditating was a way to connect with what I felt was bigger than myself and was interested in investigating for that reason.
In 2014 I encountered butō dance, studying with my teacher Atsushi Takenouchi, and meeting Yoshito Ohno in 2019. Dancing from then to now, I have performed in various cities in Europe and beyond: Paris, Berlin, Vienna, London, New York, Japan and various Italian festivals. Before long, I also began teaching butō dance in Vicenza and developing the FÜYA method, based on the five-body technique (physical, emotional, spiritual, remote, alchemical) and described in the book Dance and Alchemy.
In 2017, while studying at the Master’s program in Pedagogy of Expression in Rome, I connected queer theory with butoh dance in its project for a queer pedagogy, publishing the book The Dance of Eros and Thanatos for a Queer Pedagogy.
In 2021, I radically changed its philosophical orientation by encountering the thought of Emanuele Severino and deepening his thought and studies on death and dying by attending a master’s program in Death Studies in Padua in 2023. I am a lecturer at the Erica Poli Academy and lead regular dance classes. I am currently studying philosophy and writing a new book.
My experience over the years
2022-2024
— Delicate Things, film (TBA)
— Ianvs, performance
— Ecate: eight steps into eternity, performance & film
— Ecate, performance, Vienna Butoh Fest
— Poison Moon (nuova versione)
— La via del fiore, Insilva (Camprogrosso, Valtrigona, Cansiglio)
— Hanami, Este in Fiore
2019-2021
— Not the right name, New York Queer Butoh Festival
— Far emergere, nonostante, En Chair Et En Son Paris Butoh Festival
— FÜYA Requiem, Teatro San Marco, Vicenza.
— Bythos/Aphros, with Thomas Bradley, Thessaloniki Queer Arts Festival, Greece.
— November, with Marie Takahashi, Fabrik Potsdam and Berlin, Germany.
— La danza di Eros e Thanatos, Mantova.
2016-2018
— Radiance, En Chair Et En Son Festival Acousmatic and Butoh Festival, Paris, France.
— Poison Moon, Hokkaido Butoh Festival, Sapporo, Japan and La Voce Del Corpo Festival, Osnago.
— The Presage of The Phoenix, performance, Teatro Civico, Schio.
— Wildflower Chant, performance, Villa Thiene, Vicenza.
— The Chant, LaMama Open Programme, Spoleto Festival.
— I am NOT tino sehgal, a concept by Francesco Bonami, Nahmad Projects Gallery, London.
— The Presage, public performance, Loggia del Capitaniato, Vicenza.
Curriculum
Studies
I study the original meaning of eternity through philosophy and butō dance. I hold a master’s degree in Death Studies (2023), a master’s degree in Pedagogy of Expression (2017), a master’s degree in Arts Management (2014) and am completing a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. I am an external lecturer for Erica Poli’s IGEA method master’s program in Milan. Since 2004, my artistic research has been influenced by meditation, contemplation techniques and a passion for art history. In 2014 I encountered butō dance, studying with Atsushi Takenouchi and meeting Yoshito Ohno in Japan. Since 2015, I have developed the FÜYA method, based on the five-body technique: physical, emotional, spiritual, remote and alchemical.
Publications
— Letters to my mom, 2024 (TBA)
— Dance and Alchemy: FÜYA Method, 2020 (independent publication)
— The dance of Eros and Thanatos for a Queer Pedagogy, 2020 (independent publication)
— Lo slancio: etica e design delle esperienze di storytelling, 2015 (independent publication)
— Perturbazione, Ossigeno Sintetico, Alba Sinottica, Meditazioni Riflesse: independent publications from 2009 to 2014
Books with my participation:
— Favero P., Perdere l’equilibrio: viaggio attraverso gli squilibri dell’anotropocene, CIERRE Edizioni, 2023
— Capuzzo A., Sogno dunque sono. Performance di danza butoh di Damiano Fina e appunti di prosa poetica, CLEUP, 2018
Do you want to cooperate with me?
I propose a space and time to stop and explore with contemplation exercises. I lead theoretical and practical courses on my artistic research. I have danced in Italy and abroad. My latest book is titled “Dance and Alchemy.”
Contact me
Strada dei Pizzolati, 14
36100 Vicenza
Italy
+39 3334877666
press@damianofina.it