Mimmo Miccolis and Gloria Benedikt - Photo by Morgan Marinoni
GROWTH is an artistic investigation into the meaning and function of ‘growth’ in our time.
GROWTH
World Premiere — The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. | 2014
ABOUT THE WORK
Growth is a multidisciplinary choreographic exploration of one of the defining questions of our time: What does it truly mean to grow?
In a world where growth is predominantly measured through economic expansion, productivity, and material progress, Gloria Benedikt and Mimmo Miccolis challenge conventional definitions by turning to the body as a space for investigation.
Through contemporary dance, film, and original music, Growth examines the relationship between human evolution, societal values, competition, and interdependence.
Moving between instinctive, mechanical, and deeply interconnected physical states, the work questions the narratives that shape our understanding of progress and explores the possibility of a different future — one in which growth is defined not only by what we accumulate, but by how we relate, connect, and evolve together.
SYNOPSIS
PART I — EVOLUTION
A short film exploring the evolution of Homo sapiens.
The performance opens with a cinematic reflection on human evolution, tracing the journey from our earliest origins to the complexities of contemporary civilization.
This visual prologue introduces a central question: Does technological and economic advancement necessarily mean human progress?
PART II — OLD NARRATIVE
What happens when a civilization begins to measure everything through external values — wealth, productivity, competition, and material success?
Does this understanding of growth represent genuine evolution, or does it risk bringing humanity back to a more primitive state, where survival and individual advantage dominate?
Through a physical language that shifts between mechanical precision and animalistic instinct, Benedikt and Miccolis investigate the impact of these values on human behavior.
Bodies become machines, movements turn into impulses, and human interactions reflect the tensions of a system driven by competition.
The section culminates in a choreographic interpretation of the hand signals used in open-outcry financial trading, transforming the gestures of global markets into a striking physical expression of contemporary society.
PART III — NEW NARRATIVE
In an increasingly interconnected world, individual actions have consequences that extend far beyond geographical and cultural boundaries.
The belief that progress depends on competition — that one person must lose for another to succeed — is challenged by the growing necessity for cooperation, collective responsibility, and mutual awareness.
Benedikt and Miccolis translate this perspective into a choreographic experiment built around a single condition: two bodies must remain physically connected throughout the entire duet.
What initially appears to be a limitation becomes the foundation for an evolving movement language.
Every action demands negotiation. Every shift of weight requires trust. Balance becomes a shared responsibility, and individual freedom emerges through constant awareness of the other.
The duet unfolds through moments of tension, vulnerability, risk, and unexpected possibility, revealing how connection can become a source of creativity rather than constraint.
Growth ultimately proposes a different way of imagining progress — not as an endless pursuit of individual achievement, but as an ongoing process of adaptation, awareness, and collective transformation.
ARTISTIC CREDITS
World Premiere
July 22, 2014
The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., USA
Choreography & Concept
Mimmo Miccolis & Gloria Benedikt
Performance
Gloria Benedikt & Mimmo Miccolis
Original Music Composition
Francesco Germini
Violin
Caterina Vannucci
Videography
Morgan Marinoni
Photography
Jeff Malet
