Daniel Proietto - "Her Voice, a tribute to Nina Simone"

Conceived within the international artistic platform Know Nation, founded by Daniel Proietto, this project explores the role of art as a space for memory, awareness, and social dialogue. With Nina Simone’s impassioned voice as its guiding thread, the piece honors the legacy of an artist whose impact continues to resonate. For Daniel Proietto, Nina Simone is not merely a jazz icon. She embodies a rare artistic integrity—one that refuses to separate creation from social consciousness. This ethos also underpins the work developed within Know Nation, where artistic projects question the relationships between presence, memory, collective responsibility, and ethical engagement. Surrounded by a constellation of like-minded artists, Proietto pays tribute in a hybrid evening combining film, music, and dance. As a prelude, archival footage and interviews in the short film Nina allow the artist’s own words to be heard, recalling her fight for civil rights and her moral refusal to separate art from ethics. This is followed by four performances set to recordings of her most iconic songs: The Birds Are Leaving, an intense duet performed by the choreographer himself with Marion Barbeau, former soloist of the Paris Opera Ballet; then the deeply moving Feelings, created in collaboration with Norwegian-Kenyan artist Shelmith Øseth, performed by her on stage alongside pianist Maria Radutu; and finally Stars and Sinnerman, two solos by Alan Lucien Øyen, performed respectively by Marion Barbeau and Daniel Proietto to arrangements for piano, guitar, and drums. Each stage of this journey resonates as both a response to—and a contemporary continuation of—the struggles championed by Nina Simone, which remain as urgent as ever. Within this rich flow of contrasting emotions, her presence continues to radiate with undiminished force. Prelude: Documentary on Nina Simone (12 min) The Birds Are Leaving (12 min) Choreography and performance: Marion Barbeau & Daniel Proietto Feelings (12 min) Choreography: Daniel Proietto Performance: Shelmith Øseth Piano: Maria Radutu Stars (8 min) Choreography: Alan Lucien Øyen Performance: Marion Barbeau Piano: Maria Radutu Drums: Andreas Senn Sinnerman (11 min) Choreography: Alan Lucien Øyen Performance: Daniel Proietto Piano: Maria Radutu Drums: Andreas Senn Guitar: Andreas Erd