Photo by John Eng
Giada Matteini
Founder, Artistic, and Executive Director
(She/Her/They/Them)
info@wadedance.org
Giada Matteini is an Italian performer, educator, choreographer, curator, and cultural producer based in New York City. She is the Founder and Director of WADE (Wandering Avian Dance Experience), a women-led, multidisciplinary performing arts organization working at the intersection of art and social justice and dedicated to supporting the voices and artistic expression of women and historically underrepresented artists. Through educational initiatives, community programs, and curated festivals in the United States and Europe, WADE creates multiple entry points into art-making, civic engagement, and activism.
Matteini is an Assistant Arts Professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she teaches in the Department of Dance. She has traveled internationally as a guest artist and educator, with engagements in Germany, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Spain, China, the Philippines, Mexico, and throughout the United States and Italy. For the past two years, she has collaborated with the Italian anti-violence center Rompi il Silenzio, facilitating movement and sound workshops for survivors of domestic violence and the center’s facilitators. As a producer and company director, she has facilitated and produced more than 80 residencies with internationally recognized artists across the United States and Europe.
Her 30-year research in ballet pedagogy challenges traditional notions of elitism within the art form, advocating for a broader appreciation of diverse bodies, identities, and gender expressions while fostering inclusive training environments for students who may feel marginalized in traditional studio settings.
Alongside this pedagogical work, Matteini conducts ongoing research on somatic practices and movement-based rehabilitation for individuals who have committed acts of violence, exploring how embodied awareness, accountability, and restorative practices can contribute to behavioral transformation and violence prevention. As part of this research, she is developing a companion book, On This Side of the Thin Line, which reflects on the personal, artistic, and ethical journey that led to the founding of WADE and her commitment to working at the intersection of art, trauma, and social change.
She is currently completing her first interactive series of artworks, Garden of the Taken, a multidisciplinary project confronting the realities of femicide in the United States in collaboration with artists across disciplines.
Subjects of interest: Jazz and records • Creative writing • Somatic practices • Inclusive ballet pedagogy • Social justice and dance • Critical race theory • Alternate solutions to gender-based violence • Being a mother • Making tiramisu • Repurposing old furniture • Italian espresso