It was August 1986. I was a student at the Athens School of Fine Arts, and had already been introduced to the Erick Hawkins dance technique. I was performing as a dancer by that time, and had been given the opportunity to experiment as a costume, set, and make-up designer. I had just returned from New York, having been invited by Ellen Stewart of La MaMa E.T.C. There, I was given an intense introduction to the Butoh technique, and was severely exposed to the avant-garde theatre of the times. I was back in Athens only to pack my things and rent a small flat to use for storage, in order to return to New York and undertake a project, which I was to choreograph and perform. The day I got the call cancelling these plans, Angeliki Stellatou came to visit me. We jumped out onto the roof terrace, and I introduced her to what I had learned in New York. Though we didn’t know it at the time, this was to be the first EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE rehearsal. We presented our first piece, THE MOUNTAIN (1987), in Mary Tsouti’s studio alongside other works choreographed by her students. We then decided to perform the piece at the Athens School of Fine Art, and so we had to think up a name for ourselves. As a joke, my fellow student Zafos Xagoraris proposed the name “OMADA EDAFOUS” – and that’s how our group came to be named. We were then selected to represent Greece at the 2nd Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, in Barcelona; I created our second piece, THE RAINCOAT (1987), for the occasion.

Then Angeliki received a scholarship to study in New York and left, and I got involved with Stavros Zalmas. I introduced Stavros to the physical language that I had been experimenting with, and we began to rehearse. I also asked my friend Vangelis Papadakis, a construction worker at the time, to participate in the piece – ROOM I (1988) – that was gradually emerging. We presented it at Elefsina together with THE MOUNTAIN (Angeliki had by then returned from New York). The response was very encouraging. We were again selected to perform at the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, this time in Bologna, and so I created ROOM II (1988), including Angeliki in the cast. We got very good reviews in Bologna, and we performed the two pieces together for one night only in Athens, to great success.

Soon after that Nikos Alexiou approached me and proposed that I create a piece for his art installation of seven basins filled with water – I was interested, but by then I had already decided to leave Greece. I had sought out Robert Wilson and asked him if he would allow me to attend his rehearsals as an unpaid trainee assistant, and he had invited me to Hamburg for the creation of The Black Rider – The Casting of the Magic Bullets (1990). I found myself witnessing Robert Wilson, Tom Waits and William S. Burroughs collaborating to create this piece, seeing not only that but also how an enormous production was put together and executed. I was then invited by Wilson to act as the stand-in for the lights in his production of Orlando (1989) in Berlin. So I went to Berlin and, while there, the Wall fell and I fell in love for the third time in my life; it was my lover in Berlin who introduced me to the Four Last Songs (Vier letzte Lieder, 1948) of Richard Strauss. Dazed and overwhelmed, I returned to Athens only to be immediately invited to take part in a Mary Tsouti project at the MIT University in Boston, where I stayed for two months. At daybreak on one of my last days there, while listening again to Strauss’ Four Last Songs, I envisioned THE LAST SONG OF RICHARD STRAUSS (1990).

When I returned to Athens to create THE LAST SONG, I was a different man. I was in shock. Robert Wilson’s universe triggered an explosion inside me – it was a revelation. The way I understood theatrical space and action was completely altered. The effects of my intense experiences started streaming into my work in the wake of the personal, artistic and historic tornado that swept me up in Berlin. Creating THE LAST SONG OF RICHARD STRAUSS took no more than two weeks, and proved to be the first big hit of what we were just beginning to realise was a group. It was then that Grigoris Lagos, a fellow student of mine at the Athens School of Fine Art, suggested we start performing in the fine arts squat we used to call the Artists’ Building (42 Tritis Septemvriou St., on the corner of Polytechniou St.). Angeliki, Stavros, Nikos Alexiou and myself transformed four big rooms in the building into an alternative, underground theatre. We first presented THE LAST SONG there, before taking it on a small tour around Greece (the piece was only 22 minutes long). I then created two more pieces (THE SONG OF THE TREE, THE SONG OF NARCISSUS AND ECHO), including Stavros and Vangelis Papadakis in the cast; I produced all three works in collaboration with Nikos Alexiou, and this new trilogy, THE SONGS (1991), premièred in our new theatre. The audience turn-out was shocking. We were amazed by how successful and trendy we had become within Athenian art society. This was the true departure point of EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE, and THE SONGS acted as the first manifesto of our artistic and ethical approach to live spectacle. It was definitely a hybrid, definitely weird, rather charming, and for the time, very original.

For all the wrong, but nevertheless important reasons, I had been drawn away from painting towards dance. By intensely exercising my body, I was able to balance my overflowing emotional and intellectual approaches to life. My need for collaboration was far more satisfied by dance than by painting. The intensity and immediacy of the communication an artist has with their audience when dancing seemed to suit me better. As a comics artist, I had acquired an audience with whom I could communicate, whom I thought I could influence; I had not been isolated within the galleries and private collections to which painters are doomed. But it was only with EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE, within the world of live art, that I discovered the best means with which to express myself as an artist. I had found my territory. As a painter, this was the place to create images; as a comics artist, this was where to tell my tales; and as a performer, this was the context in which to present myself. Furthermore, as I was to discover over time, this was the territory in which to inspire people, exercising my skills as a team leader. And so I did, for 17 years, retaining EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE as the ultimate refuge of my best unborn ideas, as the haven in which I was least willing to compromise my ideals, and as the cradle of the maximum amount of faith and love that I could inspire and circulate amongst a group of people. It was perhaps my ultimate therapy, my own microcosm.

It seemed natural at the time, but quite extraordinary now, that in spite of the absolute absence of financial resources, so many artists from different spheres worked so hard, invested so much, invented their métier and shaped their professionalism on the job, were kept united for so many years, and managed to create a situation, to spark an idea, that changed the very landscape of live art in Athens. This spirit fuelled EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE: this same spirit (and, in fact, this same group of people) was the driving force behind the creation of the OLYMPIC CEREMONIES. It matters not that EDAFOS officially disbanded before 2004. People came and went, there was drama aplenty, there were misunderstandings and couplings. I kept the balance by radiating love and avoiding conflict, which in some cases proved to be disastrous, mainly for my emotional peace. After our production of MEDEA (1993), the exponential growth of EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE’S success and the influx of commissions sharpened the group’s skills, turning us into artistic production commandos of sorts. I was gradually trapped artistically and emotionally within what I had created, and a little before the production of HUMAN THIRST (1999) I felt a crisis coming on, affecting Angeliki and myself in different ways; it engulfed us in 2000, and led to an irreparable crack in our relationship. I created FOR EVER (2001), and she left the group. This was a change, and, after 17 years, it was the end of EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE.

EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE was founded in 1986 by Dimitris Papaioannou and Angeliki Stellatou. Disbanded in 2002, the company produced a total of 17 works conceived, directed, choreographed and produced by Dimitris Papaioannou, giving 340 performances over its 16 years.

EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE Collaborations

Music – Sound Design:

Pavlos Avouris (Sound Design - MEDEA, MOONS - LE SPECTRE DE LA ROSE, THE SONGS)
Kostas Bokas  (Music - THE MOUNTAIN)
Kostas Bokos - Studio 19 (Sound Design - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES, DRACULA, FOR EVER, HUMAN THIRST, THE STORM)
Michalis Embeoglou (Sound Design - ROOM Ι, ROOM ΙΙ)
Manos Hadjidakis (Music - A MOMENT'S SILENCE)
Dimitris Iatropoulos (Sound Design - THE LAST SONG OF RICHARD STRAUSS, ROOM Ι, ROOM ΙΙ)
Dimitris Karageorgos (Music - THE RAINCOAT)
Vassilis Koundouris - Studio 19 (Sound Design - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES, DRACULA, FOR EVER, HUMAN THIRST, THE STORM)
Yorgos Koumendakis (Music - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES, DRACULA, FOR EVER, IPHIGENEIA AT THE BRIDGE OF ARTA, A MOMENT'S SILENCE, MOONS–SAPPHO, THE STORM, SOUND DESIGN - MOONS - SAPPHO)
Konstantinos Vita - K.BHTA (Music - FOR EVER)
Iannis Xenakis (Music - XENAKIS' ORESTEIA - THE AESCHYLUS SUITE)

Sets – Costumes:

Nikos Alexiou (Set Design - THE LAST SONG OF RICHARD STRAUSS, MEDEA, THE SONGS)
Michalis Papandonakis (Assistant Set Designer - A MOMENT'S SILENCE)
Nina Pappa (Set Design - THE MOUNTAIN)
Lili Pezanou (Set and Costume Design - DRACULA, HUMAN THIRST, A MOMENT'S SILENCE, THE STORM, XENAKIS' ORESTEIA - THE AESCHYLUS SUITE; Set Design - FOR EVER)
Socratis Socratous (Set and Costume Design - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES)
Zafos Xagoraris (Set Design - THE RAINCOAT)
Yiannos Xenis (Costume Design - MONUMENT)

Lighting Design:

Eleftheria Deko (Lighting Design - FOR EVER)
Emmanuel Koutsourelis (Lighting Design - ROOM Ι, ROOM ΙΙ)
Yioula Kranioti (Lighting Design - MOONS)
Vassiliki Laktaridou (Lighting Design - MEDEA, MONUMENT)
Panayiotis Manoussis (Lighting Design - MEDEA)
Linos Meitanis  (Assistant Lighting Designer - DRACULA, A MOMENT'S SILENCE, THE STORM, XENAKIS' ORESTEIA - THE AESCHYLUS SUITE)
Alekos Yiannaros (Lighting Design - DRACULA, HUMAN THIRST, A MOMENT'S SILENCE, THE STORM, XENAKIS' ORESTEIA - THE AESCHYLUS SUITE)

Make-up Design:

Angelos Mendis (Make - up Design - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES, DRACULA, HUMAN THIRST, MEDEA, A MOMENT'S SILENCE, MONUMENT, THE STORM, XENAKIS' ORESTEIA - THE AESCHYLUS SUITE)

Technical Direction:

Tassos Papaioannou (Technical Director - DRACULA, FOR EVER, HUMAN THIRST)

Direction – Choreography:

Fotis Nikolaou (Assistant Choreographer - FOR EVER)
Tina Papanikolaou (Assistant Director - all EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE productions since 1993)
Angeliki Stellatou (Assistant Choreographer - DRACULA, MEDEA, THE STORM; Assistant Director - A MOMENT'S SILENCE)


The works OF EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE were performed by:

Tassos Alexiadis, Christos Aliferis, Petros Bazos, Dimitris Bakalis, Christos Beloyiannis, Dimitris Bourazanis, Angela Brouskou, Yiannis Dalianis, Yiannis Demis, Yiannis Diamantopoulos, Valia Dimitrakaki, Doros Dimosthenous, Nikos Dragonas, Tzeni Drivala, Kostas Gravos, Maro Grigoriou, Nikos Hadzis, Kostas Ioannatos, Andonis Iordanou, Nikos Kalogerakis, Andreas Karakotas, Yorgos Kardakos, Gitsa Karella, Dimitris Kassiaris, Mata Katsuli, Nikos Kodros, Panayiotis Kotronaros, Andonis Koutroumbis, Nikolas Kyparissos, Grigoris Lagos, Eleftheria Lagoudaki, Panayiotis Lambrou, Michalis Langouvardos, Olia Lazaridou, Pigi Marangopoulou-Seirli, Yorghos Matskaris, Angelos Mendis, Stathis Mermingis, Thomas Michailidis, Panayiotis Michas, Vassilis Mitsiou, Hamilton Monteiro, Michalis Nalbandis, Alexandros Niangos, Stefanos Nikolaidis, Fotis Nikolaou, Zouzou Nikoloudi (special guest appearance), Zoe Paneriti, Vangelis Papadakis, Kostis Papadakis, Michalis Papadopoulos, Katerina Papageorgiou, Dimitris Papaioannou, Tassos Papaioannou, Elisabeth Papakonstantinou, Tina Papanikolaou, Michalis Papantonakis, Yiannos Perlengas, Fotini Pitta, Yiannis Potamoussis, Takis Poulopoulos, Mata Sakka, Xenia Sevastou, Stavroula Siamou, Thanassis Solomos, Dimitris Sotiriou, Fotis Spyros, Angeliki Stellatou, Yorgos Tavoularis, Nikos Tazartes, Yiannis Theocharopoulos, Aris Theodoropoulos, Elena Topalidou, Dimos Tsingakos, Kostas Tsivelekas, Yiannis Tsoupas, Yorgos Voutyropoulos, Dinos Xanthopoulos, Olga Yeroyiannaki, Yiannis Yiaples, Paul Zachariadis, Stavros Zalmas, Alfredos Zinis


EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE production photographers:

Daniel Anast, Alexis Bistikas, Salvatore Dicorato, Xenofon Dimitropoulos, Nikos Dragonas, Yiannis Kanellopoulos, Nikos Katsoularis, Panos Kokkinias, Alexandros Niangos, Leonidas Papadopoulos, Dimitris Papaioannou, Tina Papanikolaou, Lili Pezanou, Platon Rivellis, Daphne Rokou, Andreas Schinas, Socratis Socratous, Lila Sotiriou, Marilena Stafylidou, Stefanos, Dina Tsichli, M. Tsimberopoulos, N. Yiannikopoulos


Co-productions:

Athens Megaron Concert Hall (THE STORM)
Kalamata International Dance Festival (FOR EVER)
Patras Municipal Regional Theatre (HUMAN THIRST)
The production Dracula was produced in collaboration with the Greek National Theatre.


Commissions:

Argos Festival (THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES)
Athens Megaron Concert Hall (IPHIGENIA AT THE BRIDGE OF ARTA)
Cultural Centre of the City of Athens (MEDEA)
Ioannis and Efterpi Topalis Foundation of the University of Patras (THE LAST SONG OF RICHARD STRAUSS)
Kalamata International Dance Festival (MONUMENT)
National Theatre of Northern Greece (XENAKIS' ORESTEIA - THE AESCHYLUS SUITE)


Performances

EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE appeared at the following Greek Festivals:

1990
1st Festival of Contemporary Dance and Expression, Firka Theatre (Hania, Crete) -THE LAST SONG OF RICHARD STRAUSS

1994
Athens Festival, Argos Ancient Theatre (Argos) - MEDEA

1995
Epidaurus Festival, Ancient Epidaurus Theatre (Epidavros) - XENAKIS' ORESTEIA – THE AESCHYLUS SUITE

1996
2nd Kalamata International Dance Festival, Kalamata Castle Amphitheatre (Kalamata) – MEDEA
4th Festival of Contemporary Dance and Expression, East Moat Theatre (Hania, Crete) - MEDEA
1st International Conference on Musical Theatre (Ancient Dimitriada, Volos)  - MEDEA
Argos Festival (Argos) - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES
Patras International Festival, Patras Ancient Odeon (Patras) - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES

1997
Thessaloniki Spring Theatre Festival (Thessaloniki) - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES
3rd Kalamata International Dance Festival, Port Authority Warehouse (Kalamata) - MONUMENT

1998
4th Kalamata International Dance Festival, Kalamata Castle Amphitheatre (Kalamata) - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES
12th Rethymnon Renaissance Festival (Rethymnon, Crete) - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES

1999
5th Kalamata International Dance Festival, Kalamata Castle Amphitheatre (Kalamata) - HUMAN THIRST

2000
VideoDance 2000, Ivi Theatre (Athens) - MONUMENT AND SONG OF '99 (part of HUMAN THIRST)

2001
Sani Festival (Halkidiki) - HUMAN THIRST
7th Kalamata International Dance Festival, Kalamata Castle Amphitheatre (Kalamata) - FOR EVER

EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE appeared at the following Greek venues:

1987
Liberal Arts Centre (Athens) - THE MOUNTAIN
Halki - THE MOUNTAIN, THE RAINCOAT
Athens School of Fine Art - THE MOUNTAIN, THE RAINCOAT

1988
Old Elefsina Soap Factory (Elefsina) - THE MOUNTAIN, ROOM I
"Ergostassio" (Athens) - ROOM I, ROOM II

1990
University of Patras (Patras) - THE LAST SONG OF RICHARD STRAUSS
Anemotheatro Theatre (Mykonos) - THE LAST SONG OF RICHARD STRAUSS
Andreas Theodorakis Workshop (Rethymnon, Crete) - THE LAST SONG OF RICHARD STRAUSS

1991
Artists' Building (Athens) - THE SONGS
Petra Theatre (Petroupoli, Athens) - THE SONGS

1992
Artists' Building (Athens) - MOONS

1993
Alexandroupoli - THE SONGS
Komotini - THE SONGS
Ioannina - THE SONGS
Katerini - THE SONGS

1994
Kotopouli-Rex Theatre (Athens) - MEDEA
Ipsikaminos Theatre (Patras) - MEDEA

1995
Athens Megaron Concert Hall, Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall (Athens) - IPHIGENIA AT THE BRIDGE OF ARTA
Old Greek Public Power Corporation (DEI) Power Station (Neo Faliro, Athens) - A MOMENT'S SILENCE

1996
Ferres - MEDEA
Komotini - MEDEA
Melina Mercouri Amphitheatre (Veria) - MEDEA
Dassous Theatre (Thessaloniki) - MEDEA
Melina Mercouri Vrachon Theatre (Athens) - MEDEA
Goethe Institute (Athens) - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES
Katia Dandoulaki Theatre (Athens) - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES

1997
Athens Municipal Theatre - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES
Veria Municipal Theatre (Veria) - THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES
Kotopouli-Rex Theatre (Athens) - DRACULA
Athens Megaron Concert Hall, Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall - THE STORM
Ilissia Theatre (Athens) - THE STORM

1999
Hora Theatre (Athens) - HUMAN THIRST
Patras Ancient Theatre (Patras) - HUMAN THIRST

2000
Hora Theatre (Athens) - HUMAN THIRST
Papagou Municipal Theatre (Athens) - MEDEA
Nikos Kazantzakis Theatre (Heraklion, Crete) - MEDEA

2001
Ivi Theatre (Athens) - FOR EVER

2002
Papagou Municipal Theatre (Athens) - FOR EVER

EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE appeared at the following international Festivals:

1987
3rd Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean (Barcelona, Spain) – THE MOUNTAIN, THE RAINCOAT

1988
4th Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean (Bologna, Italy) - ROOM I, ROOM II

1992
ΕΧΡΟ ’92 (Seville, Spain) - THE SONGS
6th Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean (Valencia, Spain) - THE SONGS

1993
Santarcangelo Festival (Santarcangelo, Italy) - THE SONGS

1998
EXPO ’98, Anfiteatro na Doca (Lisbon, Portugal) - MEDEA
8th Lyon Dance Biennial (Lyon, France) - MEDEA
Theatre Days Festival 1, Nicosia Municipal Theatre (Nicosia, Cyprus) - MEDEA
Theatre Days Festival 1, Pattichio Amphitheatre (Larnaca, Cyprus) - MEDEA

1999
12th Cannes International Dance Festival (Cannes, France) - HUMAN THIRST
Theatre Days Festival 2, Nicosia Municipal Theatre (Nicosia, Cyprus) - MEDEA
Theatre Days Festival 2, Rialto Theatre (Limassol, Cyprus) - MEDEA

2000
12th Istanbul International Theatre Festival, Atatürk Cultural Centre, Grand Hall (Turkey) - MEDEA
Jerusalem Festival – DancEuropa, Gerard Bechar Theatre (Jerusalem, Israel) - MEDEA
DancEuropa, Suzanne Dellal Center (Tel Aviv, Israel) - MEDEA
San Marino Festival - MEDEA


EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE appeared at the following international venues:

1993
Koninklijke Nederlandse Schouwburg (Antwerp - Cultural Capital of Europe 1993, Belgium) - MEDEA

1998
Riverside Studios (London, United Kingdom) - MEDEA
Pattichio Municipal  Theatre (Limassol, Cyprus) - MEDEA

1999
Anderson Center for the Arts, Concert Theater, Binghampton University (New York) - MEDEA
Performing Arts Center, Albany University (New York) - MEDEA
The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College (New York) - MEDEA

2001
Riverside Studios (London, United Kingdom) - HUMAN THIRST


EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE took part in the following operas:

THE RETURN OF HELEN (An Athens Megaron Concert Hall production, 1999)
LA SONNAMBULA (An Athens Megaron Concert Hall production, 2000)


EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE won the following awards:

MEDEA (1993)
"Best Choreography" at the Greek National Awards for Dance

HUMAN THIRST (1999)
"Best Production" and "Best Female Performance" (Angeliki Stellatou) at the Greek National Awards for Dance

FOR EVER (2001)
"Best Production" at the Greek National Awards for Dance


EDAFOS DANCE THEATRE Sponsors

Regular Sponsors:

Greek Ministry of Culture (1992-2001)
John F. Costopoulos Foundation (1991-2001)

Sponsors:

Cultural Centre of the City of Athens
Greek General Secretariat of Youth (“Nea Genia”)
Greek National Theatre
Greek National Youth Foundation
Greek Public Power Corporation (DEI)
National Bank of Greece

INTRACOM Group
Marinopoulos Group
MEGA Channel

Artisti Italiani
ISTOS Publications
Korres Natural Products
LEXICON
Music and Musicians
NIKOTIAN House
Tassos Meletopoulos