"Exploring his movement methodology alongside learning the repertoire not only helped me find new depth in my moving body but fundamentally challenged the preconceived ideas that were held within it" @ivan_tocchetti
Etay Axelroad Dance Project is excited to present the return of Ivan to the coming project on June 6th, performing LED & A_MeN at the Nuit Blanche Paris 2026.
"My name is Ivan Tocchetti, I am a 25 year-old freelance dance and performance artist. I grew up in northern Italy, though my dance training brought me to move to different cities, including New York City (US) and later Rotterdam (NL) where I graduated from Codarts University for the arts. The choice to freelance came after a successful internship year at Luzerner Theater (CH). Through discovering my values and priorities, I came to realize that freelancing would be the right fit for me and the chapter of life I am in right now. I also couldn't be more grateful that this decision indirectly gave me the possibility to connect, collaborate, and later deepen my relationship with Etay Axelroad.
Etay is, to me, personally, a great artist and source of inspiration. Exploring his movement methodology alongside learning the repertoire not only helped me find new depth in my moving body but fundamentally challenged the preconceived ideas that were held within it, furthering my interpersonal connection with my own sense of self. All while being able to fully rely on my values as a person, also thanks to the safe space held by Etay."
Photographers credit:
Video by @_ba.dido_ Ido Toledano The first photo was taken by Zacharie Lewertoff @zacharielewertoff
Second by Julia Smith-Eppsteiner @juliasmitheppsteiner
A love reminded by the sun and clear skies
For the first time I heard emptiness
I got to know peace and shook her hand,
barely acquaintances.
Loud screams of once
my hollow bones
Enraging
my ears,
turning them purple.
What good was it, if now there is too much space?
I have never been one for ghost stories,
Now I hear one in the night,
'Cut your hair' it says
so I keep cutting it;
I never see myself in the mirror anymore,
Just another version of my own expectations
Whispered by a tongue that was never mine.
After making acquaintance with ghosts,
came the uneasiness brought by their absence.
At the same beach, where I showed you the mould that my roots left behind,
I was swimming in deep emerald green waters,
wishing that one would show up and scream at me,
And I laughing like an old friend,
letting myself go and drown.
Because now, pain is the one thing that is truly mine.
Presented with the fragility of existence
,to be or not to be,
who would choose to flesh their woe?
In the right mind, to live is a blessing;
But when the grey matter of your brain becomes but food for maggots,
rather than fostering thoughts,
Best is not to be.
After all Love is a macabre dance,
To Love is to die.
An act of holding / An act of carrying / An act of falling / An act of lifting up.
Performative research for project
'Degrees of Autonomy' by Alex
Avgud @avgud
Heyy!!
So LED is coming back later this season. Guess where?
Excited to share with you !
In the meantime, a glimpse into our shared process with @ivan_tocchetti & @etayaxelroad
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@_ba.dido_ our multitalented master of camera
Special thanks to @mousonturm
Grooving with the chilling energy of an empty space and the feeling of somebody watchin'. Y lo que no hice en vida, lo hacéis en mi muerte.
(Yes I'm turning into a Rosalia fan account.)
