In 2021 she gave life to the Svista Dance project, the first dance school for the blind and now another great goal: to bring the popular technique in America founded by Lynn Simonson also in the dance schools of Brianza (and beyond).
It was April 9, 2021 when, on MBNews.it, we told you the story of Valentina Bertani, a blind dance teacher who together with two friends and colleagues, Virginia Fumagalli and Cinzia Manzoni, had given birth to an important project: Svista Dance , the first dance school for the blind in Monza.
A very successful goal and a springboard towards new adventures for Valentina Bertani who, thanks to Svista Dance, met Tereza Perez Ceccon, an American teacher specializing in Simonson Jazz dance. They first met online and then a year later live in Barcelona, Spain. This encounter led Valentina Bertani to conquer another great milestone: she is the first blind Italian to have participated and earned a certification in the Simonson Method of Teacher Training, mostly known and practiced in America, much less in Italy.
“The Simonson technique was conceived and developed by the North American, Lynn Simonson. It is an organic approach to movement preparing the body in an anatomically intelligent and conscious way - explains Valentina Bertani to MBNews - it is a very particular and body-friendly method. Each of us is made uniquely and the Simonson technique teaches you to dance accordingly by learning to be more conscious of your individuality in the body, without overstretching muscles and ligaments while respecting skeletal alignment. That's why it's a type of dance technique good for everyone, even if you're 99 years old! ".
A year of online classes, hours and hours of lessons until the final goal: the certification.
"Teresa Perez Ceccon was not only a teacher for me, but she immediately became a great friend. Something clicked between us, an incredible empathy and I burst with joy when after a long time online we were finally able to meet and hug each other in Barcelona, Spain ".
For Valentina Bertani, it is an important milestone and not only on a personal level. Obtaining the certificate in this dance technique (still not well known in Italy) is an important step in my life, but also in the career of the Arcorese: "The Svista Dance school was already born with the main objective of breaking down a gigantic taboo: that dance is not appropriate for the blind and that the blind cannot do certain things. Learning the Simonson technique online as a blind person was tricky because Teresa not only had to explain the movement to me in words, but also how I had to do it, what I had to convey through the movement, how I had to feel. A great test for her too, who for the first time ventured into certifying a blind person. Now my biggest dream is to be able to pass on everything I have learned to other dancers. Not only at Svista Dance but also in other dance schools: the Simonson Technique is fantastic and deserves to be known everywhere ".