Signs of Light within Greek Dance

As the 6th Dance Festival of Greece was coming to its end, it presented samples of remarkable creative inspiration, which shows that through the friction between hard rocks of “work and good perception”, something positive finally pops out. Therefore, ART Dance Theater stood out once again with one of its best performances, called Light Traces by the choreographer Artemis Ignatiou, founder of the company (2004), presented at Sigxrono Theatro Athinas (2-5 May).

The axis of the work is the inexhaustible energy of the constantly regenerated existence, which emanates from the light of the life-giving sun and is transferred to the conscience of this very existence: man, who as a receiver reflects it like a mirror to the driving force of life. The choreographer, without losing herself along diatonic and chromatic scales of the essence’s semitones, she uses instead the bodies of the four competent dancers like alternating letters within words, to express with complete sensibility her concerns. She leads them harmonically to pre-arranged groups, moulding integrated expressions and feelings. Ignatiou does not hesitate to use an amalgam of kinetic systems, such as Graham, release, and even neo-classic, which her four performers follow with complete ease and certainty: Evi Hatzaki, Anna Daskalou, Paulina Andrioupoulou and Eugenia Sigalou. The accordance between the movement and Stefanos Konstantinidi’s music is effective, while the light design by Giorgos Anestopoulos also plays a major role, although there are times that we would have preferred them quite stronger. Imaginative and operative is Eud. Veropoulou’s stage design, two moving white banners. Original and filled with a romantic element are Al. Kombogiorga’s white costumes.

by Mirka Dimitriadi Psaropoulou
for the newspaper Eleftherotupia
29.05.07