From August 2017 till May 2019 I took part in a surreal trip; working with Dimitris Papaioannou and Tanztheater Wuppertal – Pina Bausch on a new creation. The piece was premiered in May 2018 and will have a world tour throughout 2018 and 2019.
During the first workshop in August 2017 I had the chance to meat the entire company; all its dancers and the team running Tanztheater Wuppertal. While being part of the creative team, I had the chance to observe how Papaioannou works; how he collaborates with his team; how he organises his rehearsal time; how he evolves material and ideas; how he designs and develops working methods; what is his approach towards space, time and timing.
Papaioannou’s work is in its essence a process of composing with elements, such as bodies in space, light and sound – very close in its core to that of a composer’s work. His latest piece The Grate Tamer is a composition of scenic material, ideas in space and time, put together in a way that is both abstract (thus leaving space for the audience to actively interpret the performance), but as well clear in intensions, communicative and triggering a substantial counterpoint of emotions.
The making of Since She consisted of three 12-day workshops and a final rehearsal period of 1,5 months, all in Wuppertal. I was the sound designer of the production and was involved in the music research and the music arrangements. Working with this team was an intense but fulfilling experience. The dancers of Tanztheater Wuppertal are all charismatic and overwhelmingly talented people with characters of unique qualities. It has been such an honour to get to know them and work together with them.
Click here to read an article by the greek edition of Huffington Post on the first workshop days.
Thanasis Deligiannis 