CUMULUS
Two dancers meet and unit their need to express themselves and communicate via the art form they have dedicated themselves to for years. Athanasia Kanellopoulou and Georgia Petrali ‘marry’ elements of their own personal work and re-combine them into a new show called CUmULuS.
This is a performance inspired by Shel Silverstein’s books ‘The missing piece meets the big O’, Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem ‘The lady of Shallot’ and the paintings of John William Waterhouse. Observing the outer world via a mirror, people are unable to see reality face to face. Life goes on inside that mirror as a reflection of a microcosmic truth. The desire for release is always there along with a fear of change. Seeing an insect metamorphose, man wants to release himself from the blessing/curse he has created for himself.
The insect is not afraid. It is wholly in the here and now. It receives salvation from death in life by following the path from darkness towards light. Everything is one. The intense, spasmodic movements are nothing more than the insect’s struggle to release itself from the previous situation and move to the next one. It is a normal, organic development.
Man wants to escape from the tower of his own shadows. Just as the insect accepts its fate and the evolutionary development nature offers it, man will also need to shatter the images in his imagination and the constructs of his mind in order to manage to see reality through his own eyes. Man seeks his very own moment of metamorphosis.
It is a journey from earth to sky, from darkness to light, from life to death and back to life again; rebirth. Death contains within it a new life. The search for oneself, the effort involved and the sense of wholeness achieved via personal development by following one’s inner voice and outer signs are nothing more than the thread of life for each of us.
Cumulus... What image is more intense than that of large, fat, white clouds which either hang patiently in the sky or constantly change shape and form on the easel of the horizon? The wind moves the clouds and thoughts are allowed to travel. Metamorphosis occurs within dreams...
Duration of Performance: 50΄MOMENTS OF METAMORPHOSIS
In 2010 Fysalida Dance Company is producing the dance theatre pieces Cumulus and Moments of Metamorphosis.
The performance Moments of Metamorphosis will be held from 4 to 7 June 2010 at the Tamiolaki Winery in the village of Houdetsi on Crete. The location where the performance is to take place will be laid out so that it embraces all the special features and innovations of this specific production, by transforming the winery into a theatre. The succession of natural and artificial light combines the natural beauty of the landscape with the special features of the indoor space. The performance is inspired by Shel Silverstein’s book ‘The missing piece meets the big O’ and deals with the need for wholeness via our interpersonal relationships using various art forms such as dance, music, theatre, photography, poetry, video art, installations and interaction with the audience.
The work takes the spectator within the space and seeks to bring him close to concepts and truths which are every-day yet profound at the same time. The meaning of the book, the search for one’s self, the attempt, and the achievement of wholeness through one’s personal journey by following one’s inner voice and outer signs cannot be anything else but a thread of life for any of us.
Moments of Metamorphosis is a work inspired by life itself, by the simplicity and magic of love; the desire for wholeness. It is a journey from earth to sky, from darkness to light, from life to death and back to life again; rebirth. Crystal-clear moments; death contains within it a new life. Man perceives this development as an imposition, like death and is unable to be present at the moment of his own metamorphosis. The insect is not afraid of its journey from pupa to larva. It accepts its fate and its organic development and evolution which nature offers it. It receives salvation from death in life by following the path from darkness towards light. The intense, spasmodic movements of the dancer are nothing more than the insect’s struggle to release itself from the previous situation and move to the next one.
Every moment of awareness results in the birth of a truth and the death of a fear. The importance of accepting the relationship between life and death, via the movement and words of the performers, expresses the tragicomic nature of our personal fears. The conflict of our own desires, our ‘wants’ and ‘musts’, is nothing else but our personal need for freedom and love. The need to advance through awareness of our own metamorphosis, through the flow referred in the book to as ‘rolling’ rather than ‘crawling’.
Duration of Performance: 75΄INSECT
In 2009 Fysalida produced the solo performance and video art piece Insect which together first appeared in Amorgos town on 10.4.2010 as part of the 8th International Culture and Tourism Conference ‘Yperia 2010’ on Amorgos. Insect describes the process of metamorphosis of an insect from pupa to larva. It is a journey from earth to sky, from darkness to light, from life to death and back to life again; rebirth. Death contains within it a new life. The insect does not fear its metamorphosis. It accepts its fate and the development and evolution nature offers it.
Man perceives this development as an imposition, like death and is unable to be present at the moment of his own metamorphosis. The insect is not afraid. It is wholly in the here and now. It receives salvation from death in life by following the path from darkness towards light. Everything is one.
The intense, spasmodic movements of the dancer are nothing more than the insect’s struggle to release itself from the previous situation and move to the next one. It is a normal, organic development. It may exist in every moment just like every moment brings death and life. Earth and sky. Light and darkness.
THE 7 DEADLIES IN A RELATIONSHIP
In 2009 Fysalida also produced the video art piece the 7 deadlies in a relationship which was created for the Booze Cooperativa festival in the summer of 2009 on the subject of the 7 deadly sins. The 7 deadlies in a relationship is nothing more than a surrealistic impression of a love affair. The meeting, the evolution of the relationship with its ups and downs and high and low points, the inhibitive–defining factor of the ‘3 Fortunes’ and its ‘happy end’.
Duration of video art: 5΄WRINKLES AND DREAMS
In 2008 Fysalida produced the film Wrinkles and Dreams. The film is based on an original idea of Georgia Petrali and was implemented in the context of the programme entitled ‘Actions of promote the intervention area-Crete Regional Operational Programme 2000-2006’ in collaboration with the Heraklion Old Town Office.
In 2009 and 2010 the film Wrinkles and Dreams took part in various festivals in Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki, Drama, Heraklion, Kilkis, Rethymnon, etc.) and abroad (Japan, Italy, Portugal, Bulgaria, Hungary and Jordan, etc.). In May 2009 the film won the prize in the ‘Personal Travel’ category at the Art & Tur Film Festival in Poland and in April 2010 won the 2nd prize at the 8th International Culture and Tourism Conference ‘Yperia 2010’ on Amorgos. The main character in the film in Agia Triada, an area of Heraklion town on Crete. A resident of this picturesque area wanders the narrow lanes of the neighbourhood where he grew up, recalling memories of past times, and this lost childhood love, who takes form again via his nostalgic wanderings. The film is a walk-around filled with memories, in the form of a dance documentary.
The film is original since it contains aspects of scenario, documentary, lyric narration and video-art. All scenes were shot outdoors and the camera places emphasis on local architecture. The background music which was especially composed for the piece, and the choreography weave themselves into the action. A collage of choreographed images brings life back to historic monuments, buildings and key locations in the neighbourhood. The filming involved 120 professional and amateur dancers and residents of Agia Triada aged 4 to 74. All these people were brought together through community dance. This is a form of dance which seeks to mobilise a group to create a professional, creative result through movement, expression and contact with the art of dance.
Duration of film: 30΄FLOCK
In 2007 the Fysalida dance company produced the solo-performance Flock the stargazer and the video art piece Flock, the glass fish and Flock, the stargazer, which were presented from 10 to 13 November 2007 at the Pagopoieion Theatre-1st floor, in Heraklion Crete. The video art piece Flock, the star gazer was also screened at Booze Cooperativa in Athens.
Flock and its characters are an alternative artistic insight into what is happening around us and what roles we play every day. Our fear of saying no to the theory of the flock. The traps which swallow up whole any stimulus-hook presented to us. Insecurity intensifying our senses, destroying above all the images which it demanded that we portray.
Duration of Performance: 30΄ROOMS
In 2006 Fysalida Dance Company produced the installation performance Rooms in collaboration with 4Ground Art Group. The performance was held at the Pagopoieion Theatre-1st floor, in Heraklion Crete on 11.9.2006. Material from the performance was later used in the video art piece Rooms.
The above dance installation dealt with man’s need for personal refuge. A house made of teabags, a bedroom of nails and a kitchen of tar featured in the work. The performer sought quietude and calm. Along the way he became lost in the eerie rooms of the soul. Solitariness became loneliness and the need for quietude became isolation, hysteria, madness and in the end autism. A short trip from the dreamscape to nightmare that one’s personal surroundings can provide.
Duration of Performance: 25΄
Duration of video art: 10΄
Concept/Stage Direction/Choreography: Georgia Petrali
Performance: Georgia Petrali
Music for video art: Emmanouil Sgouridis
Music/Violin: Julian Knight
Operator: Dimitris Moskofidis
Video art: Maria-Ioanna Antoniadi
Installation artists: 4Ground Art Group (Urania Gialitaki, Klio Christaki, Maria Katsaveli, Maria Christaki)
