nº80 / DIMITRIS PAPAIOANNOU / INK / PARIS
Updated: Aug 9
INK / BODY / WATER. We rewrite mythology. Greek choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou is certainly one of the most powerful contemporary dancers of our time. In his site-specific new creation INK, at the Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, and previously at Sadler’s Wells, London, he, with dancer Šuka Horn, interweaves the body with visual art.
Review by Zoltan Alexander
DIMITRIS PAPAIOANNOU
INK) Throughout 2023, Dimitris Papaioannou conquered many capitals around the world with INK, Athens, Milano, Rome, Budapest, Seoul and London, before coming to Paris. The anticipation was palpable as the star of contemporary dance waited over a year to bring his show to the Théâtre de la Ville de Paris
Two men, two bodies, two ages, an octopus, and a lot of water. With INK, Dimitris Papaioannou has daringly devised a torrential metaphor for existence, the quintessence of his choreographic art and of uncanny intensity on stage.
As the lights go down in the theatre, the epic scale of the set becomes magical, mixing Greek mythology, plastic, and a lot of water. The stage is flooded with water, constantly pouring over, producing a significant sound that leads the movement of the choreography. It is a scenic action delimited by plastic sheets covering the walls, and the sound, produced by the irrigation system, is the cardinal junction of a peculiar, hermetic, atavistic story.
PHOTO / VIDEO / "INK" by Dimitris Papaioannou with Šuka Horn / Photo © Courtesy of Julian Mommert
On stage, the transparent foil creates a fluid wall, and the entire space is covered with translucent, plastic sheets. Ethereal in its simplicity. A garden hose repetitively sprays water on the walls, giving the piece its tempo and an inter-generational conversation with Pina Bausch’s epic work Vollmond.
Touching on his Greek roots, Papapioannou whispers the words of Hesiod: “In the beginning, there was Chaos, a yawning nothingness”.
PHOTO / "INK" by Dimitris Papaioannou with Šuka Horn / Photos © Courtesy of Julian Mommert
At that instant, the solitary dancer appears on stage, and the audience is captivated by his magnetic presence. Lonely, he finds solace in the repetitive nature of his action, and by instinct he conjures up a character on stage. Unaware of how this naked creature appears, and it takes a moment or two to capture it.
Played by the Apollonian Šuka Horn, the pair couldn’t be more different. Whilst Papaioannou is dressed in ink-black, making the set an extension of himself, Horn’s marble-like nakedness cuts into the darkness of the space. As he tries to contain and even enslave the fleeting apparition of this young creature, Papaioannou is presented as an archetypical father, older lover, and tyrant. Scenes of both tender gentleness and stark aggression ensue. It is impossible not to appreciate the beauty of the two men as they slither on top of each other, tight in an epic battle for dominance.
PHOTOS / "INK" by Dimitris Papaioannou with Šuka Horn / Photos © Courtesy of Julian Mommert
Horn is trapped and freed, hugged and tied up. Papaioannou is both hunter and hunted in a dynamic role-play that is infused with physical and sexual tension. A mirror of today’s society that obsessively captures the fleeting moments of life, thus destroying it. As a tool of his aggression, the prop of an octopus is a nod to both Greek mythology and Japanese erotic symbolism.
As a painter turned choreographer, Papaioannou is no stranger to archetypes and references. The show is infused with multiple meanings, from the purely visual to the deeply symbolic. Inviting the audience on a cultural journey, Papaioannou hints at Hellenistic sculptures, Atlante Farnese, renaissance paintings like Mantegna’s The Lamentation of Christ, Japanese Shunga by Utagawa or Hokusai, and, in addition, German expressionist cinema.
PHOTOS / "INK" by Dimitris Papaioannou with Šuka Horn / Photos © Courtesy of Julian Mommert
“I created a show, which was born from a deep and personal emotional flow, an emotional state very different from my previous works.” Dimitris Papaioannou
As time goes by, the scenes get increasingly elaborated, both visually and physically. More and more complex traps and games lead to the most tender moment of the show. The exhausted Papaioannou at the edge of the stage, surrounded by staccato of dry reeds, is approached by the animalistic vision of Horn. A sensual, meticulously constructed love scene unfolds in which the hunted creature becomes domesticated and falls in love with its captor. Imminent disaster is in the air, charged by the sensuality of the bodies pulsating, caressing, touching each other.
PHOTO / "INK" by Dimitris Papaioannou with Šuka Horn / Photo © Courtesy of Julian Mommert
In the final crescendo, we are pushed into Papaioannou’s nightmare. The display of a captured animal for the entertainment of the public. Recreating a classic circus act, Horn becomes a contortionist, a trained tiger, a freak show. Papaioannou finally loses control over his prey, and Horn comes out victorious, on top of a defeated master. Their dynamic relationship alludes to erastes, an older active partner, and eromenos, a beautiful, youthful-looking man.
An essentially Greek concept, it represents the true love between an older man and a younger, intellectually and sexually embodied by the love between Apollo and Hyacinthus. The dancers’ chemistry is explosive; it underlines mutual respect and admiration for each other, performing a poignant veneer of authenticity. A beautiful, powerful representation of male affection and relationships without any unnecessary artifice of social constructs and expectations.
The show is a true tour de force.
INDEX
COVER
“INK” / Dimitris Papaioannou
Photo © Courtesy of Dimitris Papaioannou
Cover design © ZOLTAN+MEDIA Paris
PERFORMANCE
“INK” / Dimitris Papaioannou
Theatre / City (Country)
13 May - 15 May 2024
PHOTOGRAPHERS
© Julian Mommert
© Théâtre de la Ville
VIDEOS
© Dimitris Papaioannou
VISUALS & WEBDESIGN
© Zoltan Alexander ZOLTAN+MEDIA Paris
WEB LINK
THÉÂTRE DE LA VILLE PARIS
DIMITRIS PAPAIOANNOU
