ORIENTEERING – SIMONE LORENZO BENINI

Orienteering is a practice that requires full concentration and physical commitment. It enables, through reading a topographical map, to navigate unfamiliar natural and urban environments also deepenening the over all spacial awarness. As a solitary activity, it challenges both mental and physical capacities, sharpening perception and activating the senses in order to stay oriented within varied and changing terrain. To put it in a nice way as an old Finnish saying recite: "In orienteering if you get lost, you die."
 
In this course we will spend time outdoors developing and revisiting practical skills. We will learn how to interpret maps in relation to the landscape, make route choices, manage direction, and move through unknown areas without relying on technology.  Working in close contact with the natural environment, we will practice attention, spatial awareness, and decision making under physical effort. Side by side the solitary core of orienteering, there is also a focus of "doing it together" in a rigorous and fun way. The workshop ends in an orienteering event where the students are teaming up for the beautiful mess of solidarity and victory.

Simone Lorenzo Benini (b. 1992 in the hills of Monticello Brianza in northern Italy), forced by his sportive parents, he started to practice Orienteering at a very early age. After surviving the first years, alone in the forest, he became part of the youth Italian national team of Orienteering. He represented Italy in both youth European championships and Students World Cup. He holds an Italian championship title, in his category, in individual competition and in relay. Since 2010 he is a certified Orienteering instructor.

Simone enjoys bringing humor to his classes and keeping a challenging but flexile frame for his teachings. He also enjoys the unforgiving nature of Orienteering as a practice, where concentration and commitment are keys to enjoyment.
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Alongside his interest in topography and forests, Simone is a dancer and choreographer, he graduated at SEAD dance academy of Salzburg. His latest choreographic works has been shown in several international festival such as Bolzano Danza (IT), MACRO museum of contemporary art in Rome, KIOSK (SK), ImageTanz brut (AT) and others.