Francesca Mariano (also Francesca Heart, Serpentine Dance) is a movement and sound artist, somatic practitioner, with volcanic and marine origins in Southern Italy. She trained in post-modern dance and dance movement therapy with Anna Halprin at Tamalpa Institute. Her practice developes through hydro-feminist research, mythological acoustics and landscape choreology.
She is the creatrix of the dance projects Invocations (Water Info Transmission) and Archaeo-Choreology. In 2020 she co-founded Nuova Atlantide. Since 2016 she runs Serpentine Dance Studio, a private studio in Milano & Online which works with movement and voice in their therapeutic potential. Alongside personal projects, she works on musical and choreographic compositions for documentaries, fashion and film. She is part of the selected Shape+ artist platform 2023/24.


Selected performances and collaborations

Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Museo MADRE, the University of California Santa Barbara, Istituto Svizzero, CTM Festival, Rewire Festival, de Young Museum, Nextones, the AA School of Architecture, Leaving Records, Palermo Living Pavillion, European Alternatives, Fondazione Lac O Le Mon, Officina Santa Maria Novella, Fodazione Sozzani, LOST Festival, C2C Festival, Studio Concreto, East Contemporary, Garbage Core, Hot House Series, Maison Margiela, Balenciaga, Valentino, NIKE, Trascendanza, Subtle Neutrality, Virgin & Martyr, Holistically, Combo, Adidas Women, Zuma Festival & more.


Education and Trainings

Tamalpa Institute (USA) - Movement, Dance & Expressive Arts Therapy / training with Anna Halprin, Daria Halprin, Dohee Lee

Silvestre Dance Technique (Brazil) - Contemporary Dance / training with Rosangela Silvestre and Vera Passos

Brighton School of Embodied Therapy (UK) / facilitator diploma

Reiki Usui Training (Italy) / facilitator diploma

University of Sussex (UK) - MA International Relations / Masters thesis on Eco-feminist critique of language and discourse in IR/