Fantasmata: Astanza of the Dance

Abstract

The word fantasmata, used by Domenico di Piacenza in De arte et saltandi choreas ducendi, has been investigated by many scholars and raised many debates. We could summarize the concept of fantasmata in that moment of suspension, full of energy and emotion, between movement and stasis, between the power and the act, which has many references to classical culture. Another word extremely complex is created by Cesare Brandi to describe an aesthetic phase of the perception of the work of art: the astanza. When the art is manifested to consciousness, condenses it into an image, it create a suspension of existence. Investigating the different meanings and connotations of the concepts of fantasmata and astanza, there are three issues that return strongly: image (with deep connections to the memory), time and space.