OPUS

A performance based on classical music. The word “classical” derives from the Latin word classicus and the Greek word κλασικός, and describes a composition that is produced according to the principles and ideals of the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Classical music often describes a “superior” form of musical composition (opus) characterized by a strict structure and an artistic complexity. The thematic focus of this dance performance is to study this very structure and to present it visually on stage. The main intention is to investigate the central norms of instrumental music and how they apply in an utterly different form of art that is dance. The body becomes a visual version of the musical instrument, and the musical score becomes the physical score that dictates the choreography. Sometimes the body follows the rhythms and sometimes the melodic lines, sometimes it focuses on only one musical instrument and sometimes on two or more, in a way that offers a new code for deciphering the musical composition. One of the major characteristics of classical music is that it consists of highly complex melodies, lines and rhythms that create a sense of narration and result in our sentimental reaction. This performance does not care to elucidate the sentimental aspect of the art music and its psychological impact on the audience. On the contrary, the main endeavour is the performers to detach from the sentimental impact of a musical composition, to resist the tendency for interpretation of the music, and to consider the musical piece as
sophisticated series of sounds that create a harmonic logic. It is really an attempt to investigate our automatic response to hearing music.

 
 
CREDITS
Concept & Choreography: Christos Papadopoulos
Dancers: Amalia Kosma, Maria Bregianni, Georgios Kotsifakis, Ioanna Paraskevopoulou
Music: The Art of Fugue, Contrapunctus 1 by Johan Sebastian Bach
Music Edit: Kornilios Selamsis
Video-Photography: Patroklos Skafidas