Ink
created by: Dimitris Papaioannou
with: Šuka Horn, Dimitris Papaioannou
sets, costumes: Dimitris Papaioannou
light design: Stephanos Droussiotis, Dimitris Papaioannou
sound design: David Blouin
music: Antonio Vivaldi, Donald Novis, Isham Jones, Sofia Vempo, Leo Rapitis
creative, executive production, assistant director: Tina Papanikolaou
assistant director: Stephanos Droussiotis
technical director: Manolis Vitsaxakis
tour manager, photo, video, communications manager: Julian Mommert
special props: Nectarios Dionysatos
rehearsal assistants: Michalis Theophanous, Kalliopi Simou, Drossos Skotis
executive production assistant: Kali Kavvatha
production assistant: Tzela Christopoulou
technical support: Evgenios Anastopoulos, Miltos Athanasiou, Marios Karaolis, Kostas Kakkoulidis
plastic background made by: Natalia Fragkathoula, Marilena Kalaitzantonaki, Konstantinos Kotsis, Timothy Laskaratos
baby sculpture made by: Joanna Bobrzynska-Gomes
produced by: 2WORKS
co-produced by: Torinodanza Festival/Teatro Stabile di Torino – Teatro Nazionale, Fondazione i Teatri/Festival Aperto – Reggio Emilia
premiere: Torino, 2020
Dimitris Papaioannou is supported by MEGARON – THE ATHENS CONCERT HALL
Born in Athens in 1964, Dimitris Papaioannou gained early recognition as a painter and comics artist, before his focus shifted to the performing arts, as director, choreographer, performer, and designer of sets, costumes, make up, and lighting. He was a student of the iconic Greek painter Yannis Tsarouchis before studying at the Athens School of Fine Arts. He formed Edafos Dance Theatre, in 1986 as an initial vehicle for his original stage productions, hybrids of physical theatre, experimental dance and performance art. Originating in the underground scene, the company challenged perceptions and gained an expanding number of dedicated followers. “Medea” (1993) marked the company’s transition to big theatres and is considered its iconic work. The Edafos company spanned 17 years, to 2002, and set its indelible stamp on the arts scene in Greece. Papaioannou became widely known in 2004, as the creator of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Restarting in 2006, with his production “2”, he found himself in the odd position of creating avant-garde works in major theatres in Athens that enjoyed record-breaking long runs, with over 100.000 tickets sold. In 2009, he began using this platform to create theatrical experiments on a large scale: “Nowhere” (2009) for the inauguration of the renovated Greek National Theatre and “Inside” (2011) for the Pallas Theater. In 2012, stripping down his work to bare essentials, he created “Primal Matter” for the Athens Festival, with him back on stage after a ten-year absence. On the same quest for simplicity, he created “Still Life” (2014), the first work that toured extensively in Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia. In 2015, he created the Opening Ceremony for the Baku First European Games. Papaioannou’s 25 productions range from mass spectacles with thousands of performers, to intimate pieces, and have appeared in a wide variety of venues, from his famous underground squat theater in Athens, to the ancient theatre in Epidaurus, and from Olympic stadiums to Théâtre de la Ville – Paris and Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. In 2017, he created “The Great Tamer”, his first international co-commissioned work with ten co-producers, including the Avignon Festival. This work toured for two and half years, through 4 continents, 23 countries and 38 cities. It was presented a total of 112 times, before over 90.000 spectators. The work was bestowed with the Europe Theatre Prize in Rome in 2017 and Papaioannou was nominated in 2019 for the Olivier award for “outstanding achievement in dance”. Productions “Still Life” and “The Great Tamer” were both presented at the Belgrade Dance Festival, while Papaioannu has received Belgrade Dance Festival’s Jovan Ćirilov Prize, in 2017. In 2018, he become the first artist to create a new, full-length work for Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. In September 2020, he premiered a duet at the Torinodanza Festival, performed by Šuka Horn and himself.
