Could you briefly introduce yourselves?

My name is Natassa, I work with dance, movement and choreography. I am also a dancer and dance teacher. I started dance at the age of 5 and studied Ballet at the Municipal Dance School of Larissa. I also studied Food Technology and Nutrition.

What do you want to question with your current project?

My work relates to the notion of freedom. Already from my first piece and up to the last one, I always address the subject of freedom in different ways; approaching it through different ideas and movement languages, each time. Looking at my work as an observer I realise that ultimately I am always discussing the same subject- freedom. What I am looking for is how within specific frames-often limiting-  a person is searching for their personal freedom. My question is whether they finally find it or not. In some of my works they fail (Moving Pictures, Home), in others they finally do (A true story, Race to Grace, Soul mechanisms /Journey in the sky, Black Swans) while in others the question remains without an answer (Infinity Room Dear). This observation made me realize something important for myself both as a maker and a person, that inventing ways to feel free even in the most suffocating conditions is a vital need for me, and that this is what I communicate with my art up to now.

Why are you working on this?

As I said before,  creating a piece about freedom is not my aim from the start, yet when I look for the essence of each work, I recognise the same message. I am communicating this intimate need for freedom that is expressed in different ways through movement, without it becoming descriptive or personal. How to refer to a subject that is important, not only for me but for everyone, through dance, concerns me. And in this way, I feel that I am in an open dialogue with the audience rather than making statements through my work; on the contrary I am opening up a discussion.

This is what I am searching for in movement also and I admit, fascinates me. On a technical level I investigate how a confined position or a limiting movement condition can- despite its difficulty- become a frame for freedom and creativity. The route from the first point- that seems difficult and inaccessible- towards the final point where the condition or position can transform in multiple ways with ease is what keeps me going. This process is a challenge that requires a high level of effort on an intellectual, emotional and physical level and it helps my ongoing development.

Do you want your questions to become the audience’s questions?

I like to share my inquiries with an audience and for sure I am not indifferent to an audience. My desire is that a pathway opens up between the work and its spectators, but it is a different matter whether they relate to it or not. Ultimately the moment we perform we are sharing something with our audience.

 

 

What does it mean to produce work?

Producing work primarily relates to my need to create. I want to continue my research on movement and continue to develop as an artist, not necessarily fixed on the idea of a product from the start. The point of departure for each production is finding the frame where all my crazy ideas will be contained, a framework that feels right and makes me feel good. Then I enter the creation period, continue to work within this frame and by the time I have completed the work I have shifted to a place which is often what is going to be my next work. Being productive is part of the artist’s work, yet the work might start somewhere and end up to a totally different place than anticipated.

The other side of production has to do with working on all the other levels that make the work possible. Of course you do all that is necessary for the work that you love and doing all this makes you love it even more. Organising and setting up all these different levels teaches you to be more objective about your work although it takes a lot of effort that adds up. On the one hand you become productive on all sorts of levels, you see the bigger picture of your work, you become more flexible and on the other hand it is really difficult and you realise that creating is only one part of this work.

Creating opens up paths continuously, there is no end, there are always threads linking past works to future ones. Each creation brings you to the next one and you are led into more and more areas that you want to discover. It is only natural that things keep opening up. As you work, for sure more paths will open up. It is important to be able to see them and resist being lured into them, to stay with what you are doing. While other times you let the work take you and drift with it.

How do you start your research?

In the dance studio, I start with improvisations on movement ideas connected to the concept. I carefully observe what is being produced, considering that these is always a difference between what I would imagine it to do and what the actual movement produces. I then decide which movement materials to keep, which ones to change and which ones interest me, but for a future work. Certain movement ideas become scores while others remain open. In all of my works, the choreography is partly open to improvisation along with a specific structure and composition. I then continue to develop the set materials and the improvisations and work on the dramaturgy until the structure is finalised. In my works until now, I create a logic of how the sections connect, interested in creating a logical progression.

For the improvised sections I sometimes define the duration through music cues while other times I am looking for a certain level of development that is experientially determined in a real time. I incorporate improvised sections in all of my works, because I feel that in this way the work stays open and alive so that the work keeps evolving also keeping me away from ever becoming bored.

Are you interested in the individual?

Yes. I am interested in individuality. I am rather particular both as a person and as a performer; it is not easy for me to fit into groups. I appreciate working on individuality; in Marianna Kavallieratou’ s piece ‘Bastet’ for example, we were 6 dancers moving in unison, yet we were all very different. It is important for me to work in this way, interested in the ‘how’ and of course ‘how’ starts from ‘who’. Working with improvisation, focusing on what each dancer can bring into the work; an exchange that is both interesting and necessary during creations. I am interested in each dancer’s individuality and presence. In fact I am coordinating all these different energies in the piece, making sure that it is not only one energy that swallows up the rest. Taking care of what each dancer has to offer and making sure that I give each one a moment to be in the center of focus. I relate to this way of working and enjoy doing so. I find it brings a lot, both to the process and performance. And I appreciate how each dancer transforms the movement through their generosity, offering themselves to it- and this much more than just executing movements.

 

 

Do you consider yourself funny?

Am I not? I think so and know so, I do have a talent in making others and myself laugh. This is part of who I am. I recently started incorporating my sense of humour in my work, not with the intention of making a comedy. I used to be afraid to do this in the past. Contemporary dance seems to take itself very seriously, focusing mostly on problems. I feel that things are really very serious and maybe we don’t need more of that. As artists we have the capacity to make work on what might seem funny and lighthearted while we are experiencing the same subject as difficult and significant. I am interested in this thin line, between what is dead-pan serious and funny also.

Are you interested in text or sound in your work?

Yes, in fact all of my works are text based although we don’t hear these texts in the performance, with the exception of my first piece- a solo performed by myself-in which the text I wrote was spoken on stage. In ‘Black Swans’ I collaborated with a theatre director – Dimitris Bibilis- in co-writing a text for it, but the text was not used int he performance after all, because I felt it was not really necessary. I felt that the movement already contained the text and that the movement had the power to insinuate even more. When I was still rehearsing the choreography with the text, I could only rehearse up to a specific point in the piece. It was only up to a point that it made sense to use text and then there was no need for words. This is what made me realise that all I wanted was already there, all there in the movement, that the text was not necessary. Nevertheless writing this text for ‘Black Swans’ helped me understand what I was doing and what I wanted to talk about. In the next piece I will start working on improvisations focusing on the text’s rhythm and I will take it from there. So, yes I am interested in using text both in my process and development of my work.

 

 

Are you an artist?

Yes I am.

Are you a good artist?

Time will tell. I guess that time, the work and the work I put into my work will determine that.

Do you like your work?

Yes I do.

Do others like your work?

Some do and some don’t. Some are touched and some cannot relate to it. It is healthy to have different reactions to the work. Of course I enjoy it when people that come to see my work want to stay and talk about it, sharing their experience. Its great when it is not only us doing the ‘talking’, the audience only ‘receiving’.

Are you happy with how you do things?

I am happy, but not 100%.

How would you be happy?

I am happy, I simply think that I could do better. In relation to our local context here, things are quite difficult. I am happy that I have the possibility to make work, having the privileged position to be able to make work. For sure it is difficult, but as long as I can, and keep on working, I am happy. In any case, it only through labour and hard work that one progresses and succeeds.

Are you teaching workshops?

I teach technique and improvisation workshops.

Do you set precise goals? Do you have specific expectations?

My aim is to never stop dancing. I would like to continue being creative, to develop, to discover dance over and over again and to learn from it for as along as I live. My next goal is to be able to make a living with my work, to be able to pay the people I work with (being able to offer them fees as it fits- as they deserve-) and to become better at my work. These are my goals.

Do you have a daily practice?

I take ballet classes and I go swimming and running.

What do you think about solos?

I don’t particularly think about them. I prefer to be with others, to have companions. It is difficult to work on solos by yourself. My first piece- ‘Wish’ was a solo created and performed by myself and its title in English was my wish to travel abroad presenting it.

How do you archive your work?

I take notes and use video documentation. When I have to repeat an older piece I first look at my notes to remind myself of the basic principles- I do write a lot, I guess my writings are my archive.

Do you believe in less is more?

As I grow older I tend to agree with this much more than when I was younger. ‘Less is more’ applies to many levels both in work and in life.

Are you influenced by other art forms or sciences?

I am inspired from life itself. I am also inspired and influenced  by photography, cinema, painting and literature.

How do you treat the body in your work?

The body is  the basic tool in order to communicate with an audience. It has infinite possibilities and it does not lie. I like to use it , explore it and learn from it.  I am fascinated by the ways it can change and transform, the ways it can narrate or imply stories. In my work I am looking for ways in which all of the above coexist, interchange,  or complement each other. In my work the body is everything, it creates space, time and content.

 

 

Do you favour / create a technique?

I prefer working with dancers that are interested in being creative themselves and that are strong in improvisation. It is important for me that the dancers I work with have a profound relationship to creativity. We all use the same techniques more or less, for me it is more important that a dancer can listen, accept the risk of trying out different propositions and be open to ideas and to exchange. I am interested more in the technique of group discussion both in the verbal and physical sense. In ‘Black Swans’ I worked with ballet. I wanted to combine the actions of running and flying that share the basic principle of moving in direction, going from a to b. Running is a movement that is somehow linked to contemporary dance and flying is linked more to ballet. The most recognisable ballet movements are from Swan Lake; and I felt that we as contemporary dancers could relate to these through our bodies, not imitating nor making fun of them. Both Matina Kokolaki and myself practice ballet technique daily anyway and we finally used our practice in this piece. We did not work in relation to the choreography of Swan Lake ballet, we did not want spectators to link our work to this specific piece, yet we incorporated some fragments as reference. We primarily studied Swan Lake in order to investigate the technique of the plasticity of the arm movements.

Time?

Time is a friend. Everything is about timing. For me, the way a dancer can manage time is what makes them a good dancer and the same goes for choreography. With regards to duration, if all one needs to say is within a 10 minute choreography that is fine by me, while I don’t like dance pieces where the sense of time is slack or when parts become loose or dull. I prefer works of shorter duration. I prefer being specific and precise, just like in life. And I when start making work, it has never been in relation to its duration.

Space?

I try to use all of the available space. In some parts the choreography are localized, while in others I opens up the movement into space, so that we have seen the dancers everywhere without being particularly interested in the center of the space. I can adapt any work accordingly in smaller and bigger stages; and the space affects the work every time. I have also performed outdoors in other spaces, not only on theater stages and it is equally pleasurable to perform outdoors during daytime.

Lights?

I usually collaborate with someone for the lighting and I can start imagining the lighting only once the choreography is completed. I usually think of a piece without lights and I am interested in simplicity, not in how lighting can embellish it.

Set?

I have not yet worked with set design and I am not sure if I would know how to handle scenography. I have not yet desired a set nor found the necessity for using one so far.

Costume?

Costumes are usually very simple. I entered the process of investigating how a costume can supplement the choreographic idea in two pieces so far: in ‘Moving Picture’ inspired by watchdog Cerberus and in ‘Black Swans’ inspired by bird looking creatures.

Do you feel you have sometimes failed?

Many times.

How has that affected you?

Positively, it is through failures that success comes, one learns through their mistakes, one needs to fail in order to learn.

 

 

Is your work Greek?

I don’t know if my work is Greek, but I am certainly Greek. If my work relates somehow to my nationality it might have to do with my temperament. For sure I don’t consciously make works that relate specifically to Greek society. I am interested in people and humanity; I aspire that my work relates to everyone and to all kinds of audiences.

Is there a Greek dance scene that you can identify?

There are certain choreographers with a specific identity or style in their work that are also Greek. Choreographers that I would recognise their work if I saw it, like Dimitris Papaioannou, Patricia Apergi and Rootless Root. There is a lot of diversity in the Greek dance scene. I don’t really see any specific Greek characteristic. There are only individuals, choreographers from each generation, each one developing their own style. There are no schools of choreography, nor schools that focus on choreography, which would give rise to a specific direction or style of work. Most of the Greek choreographers studied abroad in different countries and brought back their influences. I believe that there is no identifiable Greek characteristic due to the lack of a school that would create a certain style. The National Dance School of Greece, focuses mostly on technique, producing great dancers that work internationally, but not choreographers. When I came back to Greece after living in Spain, I remember that I could recognise whether a dance work is from Spain, but I was familiar with that scene due to my studies there. I moved to Spain for an internship part of my Food technology studies and I ended up staying In Barcelona and becoming a dancer. This is where I studied contemporary dance, improvisation and composition and also trained in Hip-hop. In Barcelona, many dance companies offer open lessons for dancers daily, so I trained with many different teachers (dancers, choreographers, dance groups). It was really interesting to see how each one of them metabolised their education and knowledge from their training into their own particular style. Each teacher had his or her own way. This inspired me to look my individual voice in dance. Becoming more who I am rather than try to change myself to be like someone else. This is a very important step in becoming a dancer. I also took other lessons for practicing my creativity. I realised that although I am interested in technique, I have a need for being creative. I am not interested in becoming a tool as a dancer. I followed my own process and development by taking lessons and going to auditions, I learned a lot about myself and realised how much I need to be creative. One day, a teacher told me something, a phrase that I still keep within me, the most important and valuable phrase. I had just finished a dance lesson taught by an amazing dancer in which I really felt like I can’t do anything. Straight after, I took a Cunningham technique class, crying all the way through the lesson. The teacher asked me ‘Why are you crying?’ and I said ‘I am crying because I don’t have a flexible body with plasticity and I feel that I will never be able to’. And she said: ‘You will never dance like this or that person, but you will dance with what is You; and no-one else can dance with what is You. What you are is what you have.’

What do you wish for?

I wish to be able to eat the sweets of Mrs. Popi of Kithira daily, of having the opportunity to come to the island of Kithira each year and I wish that creative people continue to exist, people that fight with all they have so that we can all continue to work on what we love and then share it with others, I include myself in these people.