25km in Critical Stages/Scènes critiques, The IATC journal/Revue de l'AICT – June/Juin 2024: Issue No 29
Maria Konomi (researcher, scenographer, visual artist and Αssistant Professor at the Department of Theatre Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) writes the article Situating Choreographies of the Real in Elefsina in which she discusses the site-specific promenade of Mystery 59 U(R)TOPIAS Academy of Choreography: dance MyS+eries / Season 2 as a notable example of socially engaged site-specific work in Elefsina, Greece. Featuring dance pieces in public space by six young choreographers and curated by Patricia Apergi and Aerites dance company, the performance explored an array of themes engaging with the physical, social and cultural landscapes of Elefsina.
25km was one of the six dance pieces that were presented at the site-specific promenade in conversation with the history of Elefsina, its people, buildings, neighborhoods and public space.
Concept - Choreography: Eliane Roumie. / Sound design: Manos Paterakis. / Set design: Stavros Balis. / Performance: Zoe Efstathiou, Nancy Nerantzi, Marina Tsapekou. / Cinematography: Konstantinos Kalavrezos / Photography: John Kouskoutis
25km Reviews
''It was inspired by the Eleusinian Mysteries Procession aiming at its conceptual and kinetic reinvention in a contemporary and polysemantic experiential form of walking practices and self-reflection.''
''The main spatial and kinetic influences of the piece were the collective and durational walking practices experienced and repeated by the three performers. These long hour walks yielded different conceptual and sensory stimuli and materialities encountered on the long walking route to Elefsina which in turn weaved the kinetic vocabulary of the piece. The piece sought to express these walking practices encompassing the experience of a long-lasting procession on foot, drawing stimulus and exploring the ways in which this collective experience can be translated into movement. The anticipation of departure, the ephemeral contact with nature, the need to purify the soul and body, and the prolonged arrival represent different aspects of kinetic research and constitute the building material for the composition of a contemporary collective ritual.''
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