Anne Simon, pictured in 2019, wants to use her residency at the Academia Belgica in Rome,  to connect with the academic world and deepen her knowledge of Agrippina. NADER GHAVAMI

Anne Simon, pictured in 2019, wants to use her residency at the Academia Belgica in Rome,  to connect with the academic world and deepen her knowledge of Agrippina. NADER GHAVAMI

The Luxembourg arts council has awarded a residency in Berlin’ Uferstudios to choreographer Saeed Hani, while playwright and director Anne Simon will head to Rome’s Academia Belgica.

Following calls for applications in December 2021 by Kultur | lx, the Luxembourg arts council, two juries met to decide which projects were best suited to residencies abroad.

The choreography jury, comprised of Neimënster director Ainhoa Achutegui, choreographer and 2021 residency laureate William Cardoso, TROIS C-L’s Mathis Junet and Escher Theater director Carole Lorang, were unanimous in their choice of Saeed Hani for his project entitled Inlet for the Berlin residency. Created with the cultural service at the Embassy of Luxembourg in Berlin, the six-week residency at Uferstudios will allow  Hani to immerse himself in the Berlin art scene and build a network that should contribute to the long-term development of his career.

Born and raised in Syria, Hani joined the prestigious Caracalla Dance company in Beirut, Lebanon and toured throughout the Middle East, Asia and Europe. After a sojourn in Trier, where he founded his own company, he moved to Luxembourg in 2021 and became a member of the TROIS C-L  contemporary dance centre. “He essentially explores concepts such as power, dynamism, spirit and mind by using tools such as nude art, contemporary dance and visual art,” says a Kultur | lx biographical note.

Well-behaved Women Seldom make History

Anne Simon, well-known to the Luxembourg theatre community for superbly staged productions such as , and , has won a residency in Rome after a second jury, comprising Prof. Florian Hertweck from the  University of Luxembourg, Claude Kremer from the Centre national de littérature and playwright and director Christine Muller (who was the 2021 laureate) chose her project Well-behaved Women Seldom make History.

The project takes a look at how the story of Agrippina ,the mother of Nero and wife of the Emperor Claudius, was written by men and the influence that has on her portrayal in collective history as a 'difficult', incestuous and murderous woman. Simon says she wants to use her residency in Rome, at the Academia Belgica, to connect both with the academic world--to deepen her knowledge on her chosen topic--and with the world of live performance.