Performance Archaeologies: The Tracing House
Excavating the Benaki Museum Athens – A choreographic proposition for architectural space.
Performance Archaeologies is an experimental performance event which navigates the Benaki Museum of Modern Art, Athens. A promenade performance journey invites the spectator to excavate the hidden architecture of the site. A polyphonic narrative weaves the historical memories of the building, revealing the invisible architecture in the design and in our bodies. A Tracing House of the museum takes place in the atrium where the journey culminates, inviting the spectator to explore a performance map of the architecture. Constructed by the six-twelve performers, a live artwork is generated through movement, bodily imprints, and mark-making.
Artistic Director, Choreography & Concept: Vicky Spanovangelis
Spatial Direction & Dramaturgy: Evangelos Papadakis
Devised in Collaboration with Performers:
Performer-Narrator: Marios Sougioutzoglou
Assistant to Choreographer: Olga Spiraki
Dancers: Olga Spiraki, Loukiani Papadaki, Eleonora Ilia, Vasilis Skarmoutsos, Vicky Spanovangelis.
Dance Students of the BA Contemporary Dance, Deree, ACG: Demi Papathanasiou, Eryfili Drakopoulou, Konstantinos Anastasiadis, Niki Dialyna
The production is made possible with support of the Benaki Museum Athens, The Out-Topias Curatorial Team, The BA Contemporary Dance, ACG; the Duncan Dance Research Centre, Athens, Greece. The project was an invitation by the Out-Topias Curatorial Team, in collaboration with the Professional team of artists and my role as a resident artist in collaboration with the BA Contemporary Dance course with student participation. Thank you to all the participants mentioned above and to my collaborative professional artists Miss Ana Sanchez-Colberg and Mr Thanos Vovolis; to Miss Penelope Iliaskou for kind support of the rehearsal space; Miss Olga Spiraki my assistant choreographer for her support and engagement in co-ordination of the professional dance team; Mr Evangelos Papadakis for artistic collaboration on the dramaturgy and spatial direction of the event, and Mr Marios Sougioutzoglou as our engaging narrator performer artist who transported us to the world of Benaki.