GOOD VIBES ONLY (BETA TEST) | INTERPLAY 26

concept and performance Francesca Santamaria
Codeduomo Company
dramaturgical collaboration Pietro Angelini
sound design Ramingo
voice Michela De Rossi
movement coaching Beatrice Pozzi
external eye Daniele Ninarello
project collaboration Rossella Piazzese
costumes Elena Luca
software engineering Nazario Santamaria, Lorenzo Augelli
special thanks to Mario Russo
executive production CODEDUOMO ETS
co-production FDE Festival Danza Estate, MILANoLTRE Festival, Festival Più che Danza
in collaboration with TIR Danza
with the support of Porto Simpatica
Developed within the framework of the CIMD Incubator for Future Choreographers

Performance selected for Aerowaves #Twenty26, Vetrina della giovane danza d’autore eXtra 2025 – Network Anticorpi XL, Teatri Riflessi 10 – International Short Performance Festival and winner of Danza Urbana XL 2025 – Network Anticorpi XL.

REGIONAL PREMIERE
duration 20′

GOOD VIBES ONLY (beta test) is a satirical and witty choreography that examines the concept of scrolling and, borrowing the structure of a free trial, explores the relationship between performativity and consumption. Choreographer and dancer Francesca Santamaria performs viral TikTok dances that have become catchphrases for millions of followers, suggesting with irony that contemporary dance as we appreciate it is for a select few: it no longer fills theatres and perhaps is no longer able to speak to a wide audience. Today, the dance that captures the world’s attention conveys positive and superficial sensations; ‘content’ is a big word. The minimalist stage set, inspired by social media, transforms the stage into a laboratory that reflects ironically on visibility, consumption and performativity in the digital age, but also and above all on the limits and future scenarios of contemporary dance. As in a perverse jukebox game, an off-screen voice tells the performer which dance routine to perform. The action proceeds according to a logic of accumulation and crescendo, the same that drives artistic production on social media, until the performer is transformed into a QR code, offering the audience the opportunity to interact, leave a tip or support charitable causes.

Francesca Santamaria is an emerging artist in the performing arts, with a multidisciplinary practice focused on the logic of performance. Her career as a creator began in 2021 with SHIFTING TOOLS, a dance video that has been presented and awarded at numerous international festivals. In 2022, she took part in the CIMD Incubator for Future Choreographers and graduated from Sapienza University of Rome with a thesis on the dramaturgy of dance. In 2024, she made her debut with COME SOPRAVVIVERE IN CASO DI DANNI PERMANENTI, co-produced by Operaestate and presented at B.Motion. At the Milan hub, she developed the macro-project GOOD VIBES ONLY: the first chapter (beta test) was co-produced by MILANoLTRE, Più che Danza and FDE Festival Danza Estate and was selected for Danza Urbana XL 2025 – Network Anticorpi XL and for the European platform Aerowaves 2026. The second chapter (the great effort), co-produced by Romaeuropa Festival and realised with TIR Danza, premieres at Romaeuropa Festival 2025. His works have been presented at the Vetrina della giovane danza d’autore in 2023 and 2025, B.Motion – Operaestate, Romaeuropa, Bolzano Danza, Contemporanea, MILANoLTRE and Danza in Rete.