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about
Dandelion II
SPACE 1880
Matters of Rhythm
once upon a time
The Voice
DST
stretch

workshops
cv
press

privacy policy / imprint
   rita mazza

rita mazza
visual sign choreographer, performance artist and actor

Rita Mazza (they/she) is a Visual Sign Choreographer and performance artist based in Berlin. They work within contemporary dance, sign languages and visual poetry as well as an actor and sign language interpreter/ performer. As a native signer from a Deaf family, sign language has always been at the center of their identity and artistic expression. Born in Turin, Italy, their first language is Italian Sign Language (LIS). They are furthermore fluent in German (DGS) and International Sign Language (IS) and have good knowledge of French (LSF).

“My strength lies in molding sign language movement into choreography. I love to experiment with layering as well as combining signs and hand shapes. I use movement, rhythm and repetition to naturally let something take form that has a melody of its own. I do feel like a composer in this process, albeit a visual one and hence call my practice Visual Sign Choreography.”...

Their path of professionalization began at the University of Music, Performing Arts, Cinema and New Media in Turin and was further shaped by the various works in festivals, performances and collaborations across Europe. In 2015 their leading role in the award-winning play Children of a Lesser God directed by Marco Mattolini, successfully introduced them to professional (hearing) theaters. From 2018 to 2020 they were invited to join the Festival del Silenzio in Milan as artistic director.  

In 2021 Mazza was an artist-in-residence at the Berlin hub Making a Difference and deepened their explorations in sign language and dance, leading to their first solo work Dandelion II (2021). Their following creation Space 1880 (2021) was presented at the Sophiensæle Berlin. In 2024 their work Matters of Rhythm (2023–24) was presented at the Tanzplattform Deutschland, which showcases the most innovative and remarkable works in contemporary dance. Their current project, The Voice (2024–26), premiered at the renowned Tanz im August Festival in Berlin and continues to tour internationally.  

As a performer they draw a strong stage presence from their acting background and have collaborated with various artists such as: Saša Asentić, Perel, Sophia Neises and Jefta van Dinther. Furthermore, they have shared and developed work internationally with Riksteatern Crea and Skånes Dansteater in Sweden.  

Alongside their own artistic works, Mazza is an active consultant and curator for sign language access in the performing arts and served as a guest curator for the international Festival Theaterformen in 2023. They also offer workshops about their practice of Visual Sign Choreography and Aesthetics of Access in which they focus on sign language as an integral artistic part and process of the creation.  



Photo by Yichen Liao


rita mazza
ritamaz@gmail.com
Instagram
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2022–2025
Video Performance
in collaboration with artist Anton Kats for the video work After Hope Exhibition 
Premiere on October 30, 2025, 
SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin
Performance & Workshop
Matters of Rhythm within Unrenewable Energies, organized by Making a Difference Performances on September 25 & 26, 2025, 
Uferstudios, Berlin
Performance 
(in creation / research phase)
BioFuck by Sophia Neises 
April 2025 – ongoing
Premiere on December 2025, 
Ballhaus Ost, Berlin 
and shows at Brut Wien in January 2026
Talk / Discourse participant
ZTB e.V. Zukunftswerkstatt feat. Performance Situation Room: #5 Scarcity Within Tanztage Berlin, January 2025
Workshop & Talk
The Beauty of Sign Language(s) and Aesthetic of Access
Onassis Stegi, Athens (Greece), 
January 2025 – supported by the Onassis Foundation
Dance & Performance 
(in creation / research phase)
Mercury Rising by Jefta van Dinther
March 2024 – ongoing
Premiere November 2025, HAU, Berlin
Artist Workshop
Hacking Lights, Junge Theaterwerkstatt am Zoo, 
Frankfurt am Main October 2024 – organized by Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm
Visual Performer
Natural Acts by Perel HAU
 April – September 2024,
Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin
Access Consultancy
Sign language interpretation & captioning for Songs of the Wayfarer by Claire Cunningham
September 2024,
HZT Berlin
Concept, Choreography & Performance
The Voice
March – August 2024, 
Premiere August 28, 2024 at SOPHIENSÆLE within Tanz im August Festival
February 2025 at Kampnagel (Hamburg)
November 2025 at Mousonturm (Frankfurt am Main) 
January 2026 at Tanzquartier Wien

Performance
Matters of Rhythm at Tanzplattform Deutschland 2024, Freiburg February 2024, Theater im Marienbad

Dance Performance25 Years of Tanznacht
September 2023 
Tanzfabrik / Uferstudios, Berlin
Concept, Choreography & Performance
Matters of Rhythm March
May 2023
Uferstudios Berlin
A production by Rita Mazza, funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Europe (Berlin)
Artistic Residency
Within the exhibition program UNBOUND, CLB Berlin February – July 2023 
Guest Curator
A Sign for the Future
January – July 2023
Festival Theaterformen, Hannover
Curated two pieces for the festival program and led the Deaf Only Lab for Deaf artists
Artistic Collaborator & Performer
Dis Contact – Project Pieces of Change Performances at Festsaal / Sophiensaele, Berlin October 2022 – February 2023
Accessibility Consultant
For Deaf audiences – Infinity Rug, 
Hošek Contemporary, Berlin 
October 2022, part of Weaving Restorative, Queer Urban Spaces
Video Presentation
As visual sign choreographer and performer in Queering the Crip – Cripping the Queer Schwules Museum, Berlin, 
September 2022 – May 2023 
Video performance Dandelion II and visual sign poetry Space 1880
Concept, Choreography & Performance by Rita Mazza
Outside Eye / Dramaturgy / Accessibility Consultancy
For Deaf audiences in the project I’m a Lie That Tells the Truth by Xenia Taniko Dwertmann 
Ada Studio, Berlin, 
July – October 2022
Dance / Visual Sign Performance
Dandelion II – 52nd Santarcangelo Festival, Italy 
July 2022
performed at Teatrino della Collegiata, Piazza (Santarcangelo di Romagna) 
Guest Speaker
Tanzplattform Deutschland 2022
Panel Dance and Society March 2022, 
TAK Theater im Aufbau Kreuzberg, Berlin
Dance / Visual Sign Performance
Dandelion II
Tanztage Berlin 2022