In 2025, the Chilean leg of the international project Beyond Borders took place in October, consolidating a collaborative process initiated in previous years with Chilean partners: the Festival Internacional de Teatro Itinerante (FITICH) in Ciloè and the Festival Internacional de Teatro y Danza FINTDAZ in Iquique.
The Chilean leg of the project combined processes of shared creation, circulation, and public restitution, confirming the project’s distinctive characteristics as a eutopian space encompassing experimentation with languages and the connection of territories and artistic communities, a place where each leg generates new layers and leaves traces destined to evolve over time.
The Chilean leg focuses on the performances of Fronteras#Chile, a creation born within the Beyond Borders project in 2024 and developed as a co-production with the Capanegra Association. Featuring a cast of six young actresses and dancers from the Chiloé archipelago and Nicola Pianzola, the longtime performer of the Instabili Vaganti company, the show has become a true tool for intercultural, interdisciplinary, and intergenerational dialogue, allowing the artists involved to enhance their skills on various fronts. Nicola Pianzola worked closely with an all-female group, a collaboration that enriched his approach and refined his sensitivity to gender-sensitive language. He also honed his Spanish language skills in both writing and performing.
The process allowed the artists involved to refine the existing performance structure through a few days of residency, inheriting and transforming it through new artistic materials, gestures, voices, and imagery deeply rooted in the insular context of southern Chile. The border thus becomes a porous space, a place of encounter and resonance, capable of embracing multiple identities and shared memories.
The public performances of Fronteras#Chile took place within the FITICH Festival and the Mercado MACHI, a vibrant space for exchange between Chilean and international artists, creators, and cultural practitioners. The show was presented on October 13, 2025, at the Centro Cultural de Castro and on October 15, 2025, at the Empormontt – Port of Castro, ferrying spectators aboard the Naviera Austral, a ferry ready to set sail, where the audience joined in the performance’s final dance.
Nicola Pianzola also participated as a practitioner at the Mercado MACHI, connecting with practitioners from South America, Australia, and Europe.
The project thus developed in direct dialogue with the public and local communities, in a context that fostered the intersection of artistic practices, territories, and knowledge.
Fronteras#Chile – Centro Cultural de Castro – Chiloé – Ph. Tami Llanquileo
The Chilean leg then continued in the north of the country, with the presentation of Fronteras#Chile as part of the International Theatre and Dance Festival (FINTDAZ). Performances were held on October 25, 2025, at the Centro de Artes Escénicas de Pozo Almonte and on October 26, 2025, at the Teatro Municipal de Iquique.
This tour helped expand the project’s network, fostering new connections between distant artistic communities united by a shared vision. Michele Persici, who collaborated with Pianzola, was responsible for communication and promotion of the tour, creating content that would showcase the tour’s many stops and promote the mission of the Beyond Borders project.
The Chilean leg confirms Beyond Borders as an ongoing process, capable of adapting to contexts and regenerating itself through encounters.
A project that goes beyond the production of works, but builds temporary artistic communities, founded on exchange, trust, and the opportunity to jointly imagine new geographies of artistic creation.
The activities were carried out by Instabili Vaganti in partnership with the ATER Foundation and with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute of Santiago, Chile.
The following artists and operators were involved in this phase of the project:
Anna Dora Dorno – director and actress, Nicola Pianzola – performer, Michele Persici – organizer, Karla Vera – dancer, Evelyn Francisca Melo Hurtado – performer, Catalina Ignacia Caniumir Ortiz – performer, Nediel Paz Muñoz Olivera – performer, Pía Catalina Marin Garcia – performer, Eva Francisca Arevalo Nahuelpan – performer, Simone Yanise Casandra Espejo Campusano – performer, Javiera Larraín – performer