Creative expedition with grey whales

Pushed by the desire to see how whales breath, in February 2023, I have initiated a very precious journey to Baja California to see the grey whales. To feel how I feel close to them, to be there, with them.

And ... it happened!

Together with Pina and AnnSofia, two wonderful artists from Mexico, we organized a residency and creative expedition to spend time on the sea, with the whales. After the morning-journeys on the boat aimed to observe them, to touch them and be with them, we used to come back on shore, and process the encounter with these wonderful creatures.

Through dance and movement, writing, breathe, photo and video material, we embodied and articulated the encounter with the whales. These sensations are still impressed my body, deeply impressed in the dynamics of movement, in the emotions and the sound of the whales' respiration still echoing in my ears.

What I learnt: whales want to play with us!

They seem to know us, they seem to know our role on this planet, how we inhabit the world, our limits and our fears. Whales came to us very friendly, to show up, to play, to show us who we are, to equalize our human presence. Not to small, nor too big.

During this expedition I experienced a profound paradigm shift. Being in the presence of such powerful evolutionary forces, without moralizing or romanticizing, positioned me perfectly within the ecosystem—not greater or smaller, not villainous or saintly, but simply human. A human being on a boat, facing migrating whales and at the mercy of the waves, as it has always been: equal and ever-changing at the same time.

I felt the sense of evolution—not as a concept but as an intimate, somatic belonging.

Not to a specific place, nation, or culture, but to something that generated all these anthropic layers. It was a sense of closeness to life itself. My relationship with the whales awakened in me a profound joy for life, for breath, and a love for art. It gave me the determination to move forward in this direction: toward a relationship based on an unconditional force of belonging.

I have a deep and vivid interest in the relationship between humans and cetaceans, which I incorporate into my daily training and workshops. This practice allows me to develop a sensitivity toward dynamics that go beyond the conventional narrative of the five senses.

My research question became: how can I bring this sensation to the theater? And how can I share it—with audiences, with other artists, and with the world?

The encounter with the whales is a life-changing journey. It is a sign of trust, trust to life and to nature. Trusting that I am part of it, as whales, as the sea, I am active and integral part of the ecosystem. Trusting that I am nature.