Koumaria 2015 (Peloponnese, Greece)

     Again in Greece for artistic projects and collaborations. This time the generous hosts were the folks of Medea Electronique. It has been a thrilling and exhausting two weeks of site-specific improvisations with extremely talented musicians and video artists. Of course, I couldn’t be more grateful.

  Day #1-September 18, 2015: The first day we walked out to the forest at night and did our first improv surrounded by unknown bugs, hostile thorns and beautiful olive trees.

I had a troubled feeling of what I was doing, blinded by darkness, I felt the pain of nicks and cuts intensify as I hurdled through the established ‘scenic space’. After a while I grew familiar not only with space, but also with pain. Our intervention probably lasted about 25 minutes. It was a fun ‘getting to know each other’ in the warm darkness of Sellasia.

  Day #2- September 19, 2015: This was a long day! We did three locations, each with at least 20 minute- long performances that literally drained me!

   The first place we went to was an abandoned olive oil refinery that’s only a fifteen-minute walk form the residence. En eerie, dust covered structure that seems to have been abandoned suddenly: processing computers, machinery, papers, two huge oil bins, weighting scales, olive oil sediment and guano all conformed elements of inviting intervention by the spontaneous collective.  I brought along with me a transparent white dress that I felt made a good contrasting element with the coarseness of the factory surroundings.

 At times the solitude and abandonment of the place overwhelmed me as I strolled quietly and barefoot, like a ghost.

   The second place we went to was the breathtaking and haunting Kiaida’s chasm, a historical site with a dark past and wonderful view of the mountains. 

I improvised in a rock that overlooked a cliff; I kept feeling the overwhelming context of space, its history and obvious aesthetic as an imposing force upon the delivery of my performance.

  The last intervention we was in an ‘almost’ abandoned road that overlooked Taygetos site. I felt this improvisation was powerful and coherent. We all agreed of the good communication between performers; the outcome was an articulate and well-thought improvisation. I was able to intervene in an open, diverse space that allowed different types of dynamics regarding the roughness of gravel.

Day #3-September 20, 2015: This day we improvised in one of the most impressive sites of all: an almost hidden monastery near the village of Castoria

     

        It was a tough drive up a mountainous dirt road and then a lovely hike that led to the top. We had to go over a wooden bridge to reach the small monastery/chapel that was incrusted as part of the mountain. Pine trees echoed our sounds like responsive spectators.

Again heavily influenced by space, the nature of my performance incarnated elements of extreme solitude and a disruptive unwelcoming character.

Day #4- September 21, 2015: The morning surprised us with clouds of rain and a surprisingly cold weather! In spite of the climate we drove to the almost  forgotten Mycenaean tombs. Three big wholes carved in the ground that formed simple, concave, once interconnected structures. I lay on the floor as the rain started to fall and mist our surroundings.

Day#5- September 22, 2015: We went down to the city of Sparta, and I was surprised to find out it is a rather small, simple city. We first intervened in the Spartan theatre, which we all agreed felt dispersed and noodled. It was hard to keep a dialogue among all of the improvisers, which were spread out according to recording efficiency throughout the theatre. I felt a strange responsibility to bring the group together as ‘movement’ performer…pretty tricky, especially for the video artists!

    After a wonderful Greek lunch in the city of Sparta, we headed towards the residence. I was surprised to discover the organizers had plans to stop once again in the oil refinery and record the newly arrived vocalist Sabina in the oil bins.  The result was a long and dense improvisation with a destructive metallic feel and eerie results.

Day#6-September 23, 2015:  This morning I was able to craft a mask out of the moist pine twigs that surrounded the residence and obviously took it with me on our new adventure… and what one it was!!

  We made it to a lovely town where we met with a tour guide that took us up the mountain and into a hidden gorge. Inside, hundreds of lightly colored spiders welcomed our arrival.  I changed clothes to a lightly-sheer dress that made interesting contrast with the darkness of the cave. The darkness though, was overpowering, and it was hard for the cameras to adapt and capture the whole scene (and thus my movement) in the dark.

 

Day#7- September 24, 2015: Again with a partially cloudy weather, we headed for our next endeavor, improvisation in a lonely black pebble beach!

One hour long intervention to the rhythm of Mediterranean waves crashing gently. Mermaid sightings.

Day#8- September 25, 2015: Finally a day of indoor laziness! We cleaned the residence and tried different improv dynamics around the house as preparation for our Sparta performance at the Spartathlon. 

  After an incredibly delicious meal (a stewed wild local boar) we headed for the city of Sparta. Lovely to see the city filled with nightlife and activity. I went to a second hand shop while the rest visited the locally acclaimed ice cream parlor. When it was time to perform we settled around the small stage set for our performance (naturally, I didn’t fit there, nor intended to) Luckily, our intervention was filled with amazed children that wondered why we played (and literally in a ludicrous context played with the instruments and elements of our surroundings. It was lovely to see the children react so spontaneously to our performance.

Day#9- September 26, 2015: Another day working around the house, cleaning and transcribing my experiences. It has been such a thrill ride the thought that it will soon be over makes me nostalgic!  At night we finally perform at the nearby town of Sellasia. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION on KOUMARIA residency , Greece:

https://www.facebook.com/KoumariaResidency?fref=ts