With the project "Interactive geographies - Interactive materialities " I would like to share the knowledge that has emerged in my two most recent choreographic works "Cotton flowers exist" and "Willow trees exist". I will develop these two choreographic experiences into a research lab aimed at people of different ages and open to different cultural backgrounds. The sense of belonging will be in the focus of the workshop. During my residency at the Mousonturm, it is my goal to develop both the structure and the content of the research lab. This artistic-pedagogical process will bring dance, haptic experiences, use of the senses, memories and personal stories into connection with objects, sounds, music and images. This will provide the basis for the creative process. The practices of listening and mindfulness will support the process of embodiment and help all participants in this lab to find their own way to live in the here and now. The imaginary landscapes to be created offer the chance to unite the fragmented elements of past and present experiences to create daily awareness.
"Interactive geographies - Interactive materialities " is supported by Dis-Tanz-Solo 4
Maria Tsitroudi works in performance art, choreography and dance. She also draws and writes poetry. She is interested in how lived experiences are stored in the body and how the body is a living manifestation of these stored experiences. In her work process, she looks for strategies that translate this into poetry. Questions like: How do we read bodies? How are bodies decoded? What elements or materials can become condensed expressions of the inner landscapes of bodies? How landscapes shape our idiosyncratic physiology and thinking is central to her practice and choreographic works, particularly in the trilogy: Willow trees exist (2022), Cotton flowers exist (2021) and Apricot trees exist or an impossible walk (2016). She is currently working on the concept "Interactive geographies - Interactive materialities ". Her previous choreographic works: Don't kill the messenger, Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility and Icono-Stasis have been shown in Gießen, Frankfurt, Mannheim, Berlin and Athens. Maria Tsitroudi studied Applied Theatre at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Dance at the Rallou Manou in Athens and Choreography and Performance at the JLU in Giessen, Germany. She currently lives in Gießen.
Monday 18th of July from 11-17
Thursday 21st of July from 11-17
Künstlerhaus Mousonturm (4th floor)
Interactive Geographies – Interactive Materialities
The workshop deals with the notion of belonging. It is open to anyone who feels affinity to the
theme and there are no fees. If you are interested please register by sending an e-mail to the
following address: mtsitroudi@yahoo.gr
Description of the workshop
Do you have the feeling of belonging? If yes, to which community or group do you belong? How
does belonging feel like? Is belonging bound to a certain space, time, culture, or a person? Are there
objects of attachment that enhance the feeling of belonging? Is the feeling of belonging a
continuous experience or an experience with interruptions? What is the relation of belonging to
one’s past? What is the relation of belonging with one’s personal history/identity? How is the
feeling of belonging affected by the need for self determination? Can a practice or an interest
determine the feeling of belonging? How does one manage to belong in the here and now? How
letting go and connectedness to the present moment enables new possibilities of belonging? Can
one fail to belong? Is belonging a process of conscious embodiment or a social construction or even
a habit? What is the relation of belonging and dependency? What is the relation of creativity and
belonging? What is the relation of freedom and belonging? How does non-belonging feel like? Can
one belong simply to one’s own self? Is belonging a matter of choice? Where would you like to
belong?
We will work with our bodies, with objects and with our embodied memories.
