10,000 litres

Titled "10,000 litres", the new work of young choreographer Evangelia Kolyra received its world premiere at The Place, London. It cross-fertilizes theatre actions with the ways the human body is seen by science, in order to show its polysemy on stage. In this ‘experiment’, three performers focus on one of the most important bodily functions, the breath, exploring the ways in which it affects movement and the body. As a bodily function, breathing often ‘exposes’ a dancer: the fatigue or the tension with which he moves, his resignation, or the forced need to obey stage codes. In this sense, it reveals the human dimension within the ‘pure’ language of movement.

The constant ‘search for the senses’ attempted in this production, not only reveals the vital function of breathing. It also brings out the issue of rhythm: the thin balance between its uninterrupted flow and its forced interruption. This particular internal gaze and its political overtones regarding authority, freedom, and existence bring back the body at the epicentre of stage explorations. Examining the ability to destabilize the gaze – and the senses in general, they offer a new way of grasping reality.