Capital Night

Curated by Apostolia Papadamaki
Unity Theatre
10th March 2006

Reviewed by Colin Serjent

Capital Night was a celebration of the Greek city of Patras as European Capital of Culture 2006, featuring dancers and choreographers from Patras and Athens. The show was curated by Apostolia Padadamaki and featured work by Apostolia, Cecil Mikkroutsikou and Iritha Kyiakoulou.

I found the first part of the show - which only lasted twenty-five minutes - slightly disappointing as it did not seem to reflect the culture of Greece in any sense. The opening segment consisted of two women, both wearing designer helmets, one playing discordant guitar sounds while the other performed improvised dance with a sensual feel.

The second segment before the interval involved dancers performing to music by Bjork. Not much connection between Greece and Iceland as far as I am aware!

The second part of the performance was more inspiring and had a genuine Greek resonance to it. A male and female dancer - with their movements captured beautifully in silhouette on a back screen - danced with vigour and with sexual tension in their movements. They also ran into the audience and made physical contact with individuals, stroking their hands, caressing their faces or sitting in their laps. Very much touchy feely!

The two performers finished by undressing on stage and tastefully holding each other's bodies and falling to the ground in an embrace.