25km is a site-specific project of an artistic documentary, an artistic map and a dance performance inspired by the city of Eleusis. Four women follow the steps of Ancient Greeks and walk in silence for 25 kilometers in search of new personal and collective meanings.

Eliane Roumié started her artistic research into the concept of the Ritual by wandering through the city of Eleusis, a place historically linked to the elevation of the spirit as well as the destruction of nature.

At this very place, thousands of years ago, ancient Greeks celebrated the Eleusinian Mysteries in honor of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. Although the Mysteries were one of the most prestigious religious ceremonies in Ancient Greece, their focus was not the Gods but humans. A notable part of the Mysteries was the Procession of nearly 10.000 people who walked the Sacred Way from Athens to Eleusis to pursue a new, enriched life devoid of fear.

Bearing in mind the ancient Procession, as well as today’s landscape, Eliane decided to experiment with the concept of the Ritual through walking the long route of 25 kilometers from Athens to Eleusis and exploring ways in which such a practice can be translated into dance.

The emotion of anticipation felt at the starting point, the ephemeral contact with nature, the need for catharsis, and the prolonged anticipation of arrival, all represent aspects of the dancers’ inner experience and form the basis for the composition of 25km’s collective ritual.