Larsen C | Christos Papadopoulos

“Glacier” or “ice shelf.” This is the scientific name of the huge, 10,000-year-old, immobile body of Larsen C water in Antarctica. Larsen C, twice the size of Wales, moves so slowly that it cannot be detected by the human senses. It is as if the pulse of its movement is absorbed by space and time.

In Christos Papadopoulos’ homonymous choreography, human bodies resonate to the same perpetual rhythm, in a dreamlike sequence where they progressively appear as eerie as the polar landscape. Christos Papadopoulos becomes again an observer of the movement of the minimum which, in its interiority and repetition, produces life. “Larsen C” is a party in homage to the silent transition of bodies. It is “a metaphor”, comments the choreographer himself, “of life that, invincible, goes on.”

My starting point, my inspiration is usually a single moment. A fleeting impression lasting next to nothing. Something small, likely insignificant – often I’m not sure whether it even existed or whether I imagined it. And yet there it remains, resolute inside me.

That’s when the struggle begins in rehearsals, to trust in that small thing and call it significant. To stand up for it, give it time, and attempt to give it form without forcing it; and then, to wait. At the end of it all, to trust in the process until it reappears before me more complete, filtered through the imaginations of others.

It is biding your time for the moment you hope will come. As in life.

And as the poet might say:

“What could I say about the spring?

I wait for it come again…”

• “Larsen C” premiered on September 28, 2021 at the Théâtre Jean-Vilar in Vitry-sur-Seine (hosted in partnership with La Briqueterie). That same fall, it went on to conquer yet more French stages: La Manufacture – CDCN (National Choreographic Development Center) Bordeaux, and Pole-Sud – CDCN Strasbourg (which has partnered with Onassis Stegi as part of the Grand Luxe network). To date, “Larsen C” has been presented in twelve cities across Europe, including Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Liège, and Brussels. Its European tour is set to make more major stops through until the fall of 2024.
  
• “Larsen C” premiered in Athens on the Onassis Stegi Main Stage, with a sold-out run of five performances from March 30 to April 3, 2022. Owing to the production’s success, this will be its second run of performances in the city.
  
• “Larsen C” follows on from Papadopoulos’ 2018 production “ION”, another work commissioned and produced by Onassis Stegi, and co-produced by Théâtre de la Ville and Le Lieu Unique. “ION” also toured extensively around Europe.
  
• Christos Papadopoulos’ burgeoning international career will see him work in Germany and France this winter: with the Dance On ensemble in Berlin, and the Opéra de Lyon Ballet respectively. This marks the first time this acclaimed artist has choreographed works for companies other than his own.
  
• During a 2018 interview with Younji Ku – Art Director of Nick Knight’s renowned SHOWstudio – Christos Papadopoulos noted that images drawn from nature form the source of his inspiration: “One major reference is what I would call ‘creativity’ in nature. It is the rhythmic cycle of repetitive structures in the natural world that synchronize because they function as part of a system that ensures survival. The movement patterns and spatial configurations of birds and fish reflect such efforts. They are not an aesthetic choice but rather a vital function formulated collectively by every member of the group. This is how we can seek out collectivities and individualities in nature and, by extension, in society.”