MSP 178: Alice Gosti

PODCAST 178: Alice Gosti

Release Date: 10.28.24

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Beyond the Stage: Alice Gosti on Time, Space, and Identity

Episode 178: Show Notes

What does it mean to create art that exists both within and beyond time and place? In this episode, we step into the world of Alice Gosti, an Italian-born, Seattle-based dance artist known for pushing the boundaries of performance. She is also a key collaborator of MALACARNE, an experimental dance and performance ensemble dedicated to co-creating transformative rituals that challenge limiting ideas about class, sexuality, gender, ability, and ethnicity. Raised in Italy with American roots, Alice’s multicultural identity informs her approach to choreography and her fascination with “non-places” like airports, where people share fleeting moments of connection. She reveals how these unconventional spaces inspire her work, why beauty and entertainment are consequences of her work rather than motivations, and shares her passion for durational performance and the powerful transformations that occur over hours-long art experiences. Whether she’s turning a museum into a stage or bringing choreography to the heart of an airport, Alice’s work invites us to reconsider how we experience movement and meaning in unexpected spaces. Tune in for her reflections on the intersections of time, space, and identity in art and consider new ways to see life as a creative artist!

Key Points From This Episode:

Alice’s beginnings in Perugia, Italy, and her introduction to dance at three years old.
Early dance influences, including her exposure to the Alwin Nikolais lineage.
Pressure Alice faced to pursue choreography over dance due to her appearance.
Her interest in integrating performance art and dance in nontraditional venues.
The distinction between makers and performers and which category she fits into.
Reflections on feeling like an “other” in both Italy and the United States.
Alice’s strong connection to Seattle and its artistic support.
Insight into her love for planes, airports, and creating dance pieces in “non-places.”
Perspectives on creating dance and choreography that isn’t driven by entertainment.
Engaging audiences not typically interested in dance through sensory experiences.
Alice’s exploration of durational performances, inspired by long-form theater.
Compassion for the audience in durational versus endurance performances.
The experimental dance and performance ensemble that she collaborates with.
What Alice is working on now and what audiences can expect from her in the future.

“It would make such a huge difference if – choreographers and dance artists – valued more critical thinking, autonomy, [and] possibility for conversation and observation.” — Alice Gosti

ABOUT Alice

Alice Gosti (she/her) is an Italian-American immigrant choreographer, facilitator, hybrid performance artist, DJ, curator, and architect of experiences, creating work across Duwamish and Coast Salish Land (Seattle) and Europe since 2008. Known for crafting immersive and transformative performances, Gosti blends movement, visual art, and sound to engage with pressing social, political, and ecological themes.

Gosti has received numerous awards, commissions, and residencies, including the 2021 Princess Grace Choreography Honoraria Award, 2013 Vilcek Creative Promise in Dance Award, 2012 ImPulsTanz danceWEB scholarship, and the inaugural Intiman Theatre’s Emerging Artist Program Director Award. She is a recipient of the Bossak/Heilbron Award, the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Award, multiple 4Culture grants, and Artist Trust’s GAP Grant and Fellowship. Her recognition extends to the 2016 NEFA National Dance Project Grant and prestigious residencies such as the 2022 Amazon Artist-in-Residence and McColl Center for Art + Innovation. Gosti has also been awarded by the Italian Council and was a two-time Cornish Artist Incubator Awardee, as well as an Artist-in-Residence at Velocity Dance Center, Seattle University, and the University of Washington.

Nationally, Gosti’s work has been commissioned and presented by institutions including On the Boards, Velocity Dance Center, FRYE Art Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery, Intiman Theatre, Jacob’s Pillow, the Vilcek Foundation at the Joyce Theater (NY), and ODC Theater (SF) as part of the SCUBA touring network. She has also been featured at the Risk/Reward Festival (PDX) and Performance Works Northwest (PDX). Internationally, her work has been shown in Italy at venues such as Associazione Culturale Dance Gallery, Teatro Stabile dell’Umbria, and Museo Civico di Palazzo della Penna, among others.

As a performer and collaborator, Gosti has worked with artists including Sara Shelton Mann, Keith Hennessy, Carolyn Carlson, and Mark Haim. She is the creative force behind MALACARNE, a performance group centering trans and nonbinary individuals, and their explorations challenge dominant narratives surrounding class, gender, and ethnicity.

Gosti’s expertise also extends to movement direction and choreography for theaters across the U.S., including the Merrimack Repertory Theater, Seattle Repertory Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Folger Theatre, ACT Theatre, and Seattle Shakespeare Company. She is an associate artist with upstart crow collective, continuing to bring innovative perspectives to the intersection of theater and dance.

photo: Michelle Smith-Lewis