Biennale Danza Preview: The Herds
“The Herds” arrives in Venice as part of Biennale Danza
Life-size animals made of cardboard and wood move through the city, marking the arrival of a large-scale public artwork that reflects on the climate crisis.
“The Herds”, a preview of Biennale Danza directed by Sir Wayne McGregor, makes a stop in Venice on 17 June from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. The procession departs from the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale (Campo della Tana) and arrives at the gates of Biennale Architettura. This travelling public artwork employs life-size puppet animals to address the global climate crisis. Conceived by director Amir Nizar Zuabi, it represents a large-scale, moving performance that traverses cities across Africa and Europe, from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle, forming a symbolic migration that expands at each stop.
From April through August 2025, herds of animals constructed from recycled cardboard and supported by movable wooden frameworks make their way through city centres – from Kinshasa to the northernmost tip of Norway – covering a 20,000 km route that symbolises their escape from climate-related habitat destruction. The puppets are created and animated by a 35-member team comprising designers, technicians and trainers, including the South African Ukwanda Puppetry and Designs Art Collective.
At the Arsenale in Venice, Biennale College Danza joins “The Herds” with sixteen selected dancers and two choreographers. Together with them, hip-hop artist Anthony Matsena stages a bespoke choreographic intervention.
Anthony Matsena describes the project as “an unparalleled experience of dance-theatre, a collision between movement, music and myth that will flood the streets and canals of Venice with the wild rhythm of nature. Awe-inspiring life-size puppets (lions, elephants and gorillas) move not as simple reproductions, but as living creatures. Their bodies, personified by remarkable performers, tell an ancient and contemporary story. We invite you into a world in which the boundary between human, animal and spiritual is not only blurred, but marvellously intertwined. The herds of animals become precipitous flight, a whisper, a mating call, a cry for help. Each step, each breath is filled with meaning. ‘The Herds’ dares to tell the truth without the burden of factual precision. It says something deeper, something spiritual, emotional, undeniable. This is nature taking back its stage. The final echo of a world we are losing.”
