21st Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival - Greece

Α living system of ten dancers, pulsating and coordinating, attracting and repulsing, tracing orbits that follow the mechanisms of nature. Christos Papadopoulos, the new star of choreography rising in Europe, poses questions about the human nature on the Main Stage of Onassis Cultural Centre. We are all ions out there, electrically charged. Christos Papadopoulos’ minimalist, poetic, artistic universe is a place you may inhabit. Ion is a performance that focuses on the microphysics of motion, the volume of detail that can derive from a kinetic pattern allowing the eye to wander, to travel through the boundless field of human relations.

The flight of birds, the coordination of fireflies, a series of microphenomena that comprise the world of nature become a starting point for the kinetic research of Christos Papadopoulos.The choreographer does not merely represent the aforementioned enchanting coincidences; he moves on with a reductionist approach to kinetic patterns encountered all around us. In a minimalist language, a feature of his work, he looks for the mechanisms or the algorithm that lies behind the function of coordination. A living system of 10 dancers tests our powers of observation with imperceptible changes and noiseless transitions, in order to reveal the fragility of human relations that validate the pace of life, the natural order of things. So, while the title refers directly to the phenomenon of ionization, the performance tends to work by association, highlighting elements that transcend form, the mechanism of choreography, the rigor of a system. Besides, what fascinates the choreographer is not the Empire of Signs, but how they connect, creating a unique cosmos. The appeal of coordination lies in the brevity of the phenomenon, its transience, the impression of randomness and the expectation of recurrence.

With his new work, Ion, Christos Papadopoulos submits a multisensory experiment, which does not exhaust itself in easy attention-seeking mechanics. The choreography aims to foreground the minimal, the ecstatic serenity, like that crack through which light enters before the splendour of the skies is revealed to us. Christos Papadopoulos focuses on the repetitiveness of kinetic motifs, on stage space clarity formed by lighting and action. The choreographer relies on the primal elements composing his work: rhythm, movement, place and time. Still, the way he weaves the acts allows us to gradually discover the interaction of movement with other elements, light showcasing the movement of the bodies and the effect of music on the sound environment, which does not merely guide but also converses with the choreography.

Concept & Choreography: Christos Papadopoulos
Dramaturgy: Tassos Koukoutas
Music: Coti K
Lighting design: Tasos Palaioroutas
Costume design: Angelos Mentis
Set design: Evangelia Therianou
1st Assistant Choreographer: Katerina Spyropoulou
2nd Assistant Choreographer: Ioanna Antonarou
Production Coordination: Theodora Kapralou
Dancers: Maria Bregianni, Nontas Damopoulos, Nanti Gogoulou, Amalia Kosma, Hara Kotsali, Giorgos Kotsifakis, Dimitra Mertzani, Ethymis Moschopoulos, Ioanna Paraskevopoulou, Alexis Tsiamoglou

Produced by: Onassis Cultural Centre Athens
With the support of: Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, στο πλαίσιο του προγράμματος New Settings / Fondation d’entreprise Hermès within the framework of the New Settings programme
Co-production: Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), Le Lieu unique, Scène nationale de Nantes (Nantes)

In collaboration with: Dublin Dance Festival (Ireland)

Organisers: Ministry of Education and Culture – Rialto Theatre

Duration: 60'