
PILOT 2025
Movement FOR Survivors
Description
The Movement Practice for DV survivors program is a community-based educational initiative designed to offer trauma-informed, culturally resonant, and survivor-centered support for individuals impacted by domestic violence. Developed by WADE in collaboration with the Rompi il Silenzio Anti-Violence Center in Rimini, Italy, and the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma and Mental Health (NCDVTMH) in the US, the program emphasizes healing through movement and sound. It is structured around a 3-part training process, including sessions in New York City and Rimini, focusing on experiential learning and developing a one-of-a-kind movement practice for survivors.
The program is designed with joy and compassion at its core and integrates expertise from trained professionals to create a holistic healing environment.

Meet the Facilitators
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Giada Matteini
FOUNDER
Giada Matteini is an Italian performer, educator, choreographer, and cultural producer based in New York City. She is the Founder and Director of WADE (Wandering Avian Dance Experience), a women-led multifaceted performing arts company working at the intersection with social justice and focused on supporting the voices and artistic expressions of women and historically underrepresented artists. Giada is also an Assistant Arts Professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and the Principal Investigator of an NYU funded research project investigating somatic movement rehabilitation models for perpetrators of gender-based violence. They have traveled as a guest artist to Germany, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Spain, China, The Philippines, Mexico and across the U.S. and Italy.
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Ai Isshiki
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Ai Isshiki is a NYC-based, classically trained, experimental musician. Her works as a composer and pianist have been found in various media, including dances, feature and short films, and concerts cross-bordering genres. Ai has been working with Giada Matteini at the Tisch School of Art of New York University for over 10 years, where Ai works as a dance accompanist. Her main passion is to help people utilizing resources within each self through sounds and music. Ai is also in her master’s program in music therapy at Montclair State University to become a board-certified music therapist. She was born in Germany, grew up in Japan, and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, with her 5-year-old daughter, Uta.
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Lou Sydel
CHOREOGRAPHER
Lou Sydel is a choreographer who draws from the study of gesture and queerness. He is the artistic director of Gesture Theater, a trans-led movement company that connects clowning, mask, puppetry, improvisation, linguistics, and more. Lou is a founding member of NYC’s first ever Physical Theater festival, PhysFest, at Stella Adler. His curatorial work can also be found at WestFest Top Floor and Dance Parade. He is the company manager for Jody Oberfelder Projects. Past performances: NYLA with Ellen Robbins, Celebration Barn Theater, Triskelion Arts, The Tank, La MaMa Puppet Slam, Brooklyn Art Haus, The Center at West Park, Edinburgh Fringe, Bowdoin College, Sokolow Theater / Dance Ensemble, Accademia Dell’Arte, and the International Society for Gesture Studies.
Meet the 2025 Cohort
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Chiara Pretelli
New York and Rimini
Assistant to the Founder
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Adia Edmondson
New York and Rimini
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Alisha Khatwani
New York and Rimini
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Natalia Nitikin
New York and Rimini
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Kaitlyn Posada
New York and Rimini
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Madeline Jafari
New York
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Noa Kamiya
New York
Schedule and Fundraising
Part 1
TRAINING IN NEW YORK CITY
The cohort will take a 24 hour trauma informed course: An experiential and pedagogical introduction to movement as a healing process for DV survivors designed around the ACRTI framework (Accessible, Culturally Responsive, and Trauma informed) created by the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma and Mental Health. The training is part of Module 1 and 2 of the Core Curriculum on Creating Accessible, Culturally Responsive and Trauma-Informed Services (A Capacity Building Training for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Programs).
Instructors: Giada Matteini (movement) and Ai Isshiki (sound)
NCDVTMH trainer: Victoria Wynecoop
Guest Lecturer: Sakiko Mori
Choreographer: Lou Sydel
WE ARE RAISING $2000 FOR THE INSTRUCTORS & THE CHOREOGRAPHER’S FEES PLUS TRAINING MATERIALS
Part 2
TRAINING IN RIMINI
The cohort will continue the training in Rimini for an additional 12 hours to create a one-of-a-kind workshop structure for Rompi il Silenzio. They will also rehearse Lou Sydel’s choreography to be performed as a site specific work at the center.
Instructors: Giada Matteini (movement) and Ai Isshiki (sound)
Assistant to the Instructors: Chiara Pretelli
Rompi il Silenzio Representative: Valeria Guagnelli
WE ARE RAISING $1500 FOR THE INSTRUCTORS’S FEE AND THE STUDIO RENTAL
Part 3
WORKSHOPS IN RIMINI
The cohort and facilitators will lead 2 (two) events for the clients of Rompi il Silenzio, who are victims and survivors of domestic violence. The events will include a movement workshop with live music, a performance and a community dinner.
Facilitators: Giada Matteini (movement) and Ai Isshiki (sound), Chiara Pretelli, Adia Edmondson, Alisha Khatwani, Natalia Nitikin and Kaitlyn Posada.
Rompi il Silenzio Representative: Valeria Guagnelli
WE ARE RAISING $500 FOR TRANSPORTATION FEES AND PER DIEMS FOR THE COHORT.