Bridging Cultures Through Dance: Greek Artist Vasiliki Papapostolou Brings Her Unique Vision to Philadelphia (USA)
“In a captivating blend of Hellenic heritage and contemporary dance, Greek artist Vasiliki Papapostolou is set to make her Philadelphia debut at the upcoming Philly Fringe Festival. This event marks a significant moment for both the local Greek community and dance enthusiasts alike, as Papapostolou’s work bridges the gap between ancient traditions and modern artistic expression.
Born in Greece to a family of doctors, Papapostolou’s journey into dance was supported by her family from a young age. Despite her family’s medical background, including years spent working at Harvard-affiliated hospitals in Boston, they recognized and nurtured her passion for movement and expression.
Papapostolou’s artistic journey led her to London, where she studied Dance at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She further honed her skills and understanding of education, earning an MA with Distinction from King’s College London. This blend of rigorous dance training and academic excellence has shaped her unique approach to choreography and performance.
Drawing inspiration from her Greek roots, Papapostolou’s work often explores socio-political themes, reflecting the deeply ingrained tradition of civic engagement in Greek culture. Her piece “PANOPTICON,” which will be presented at the Philly Fringe Festival, is an autobiographical work that delves into how societal forces influence individual thoughts, actions, and sense of self.
The upcoming performance at the Philly Fringe Festival, scheduled for September 14 at 7 PM and September 15 at 3 PM at the SideQuest Theater, is eagerly anticipated. It offers a rare opportunity for audiences to experience Papapostolou’s artistry firsthand. “PANOPTICON” promises to be a thought-provoking exploration of surveillance, discipline, and the human spirit’s resilience in the face of societal control.
Papapostolou’s presence at the festival is a moment of pride and cultural celebration for the Greek community in Philadelphia and beyond. It showcases the global reach of Greek artistry. It highlights how contemporary Greek artists continue contributing to the international dance scene, carrying forward a rich cultural legacy while addressing modern themes.
As Vasiliki Papapostolou prepares to take the stage in Philadelphia, her performance stands as a testament to the enduring power of Hellenic culture. It inspires and provokes thought through the universal language of dance, fostering a sense of respect and admiration among the audience.”
by cosmos philly
Your Creative Freelance Voice with Vasiliki Papapostolou (UK)
“In this episode, Vasilliki discusses her journey from hip hop and ballroom Latin to contemporary dance, emphasizing the importance of individuality and personal movement language. She reflects on the influence of the hip hop community, the challenges of freelancing, and the role of journaling and counseling in her artistic development. Through her unique path, Vasilliki inspires listeners to embrace their strengths and develop their own artistic voice.”
by Rachel Greer
Review of Panopticon in The Spectator (UK)
“the admirable Resolution Festival included a brilliantly grotesque solo by Vasiliki Papapostolou”
“Last and best was a solo by Vasiliki Papapostolou. Inspired by Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon, his model for a prison in which every cell was visible from a central surveillance point, she presents herself as a human machine whose every finger twitch, every smile or frown is dictated by the tick of a slowly accelerating metronome. Efforts to resist, including a brief outburst of ecstatic freedom, are swiftly quashed. Papapostolou moves through it all like a zombie dervish: the effect is both grotesque and discomfiting.”
by Rupert Christiansen
Theater Oberhausen Review (Germany)
“Departure, breathless, amazement” writes Sven Thielmann on WAZ about the duet of bassist Wilbert Pepper and dancer Vasiliki Papapostolou from FASTER(!) at Theater Oberhausen
by Sven Thielmann
Approaches to Improvisation (USA)
Vasiliki Papapostolou
“I started improvising in 2014/2015, when I started training in contemporary dance. During the initial COVID lockdown in early 2020, I had more time on my hands and I improvised a lot at home –– around an hour a day. It was a very personal thing, and I realized I was trying to cover the gap of physical contact that I felt through dancing. For me, improvisation is about how I feel –– about shapes, textures and musicality. One of the ways I’m working is by trying to instinctively interpret the textures of the music, and I use music I know as well as new, unfamiliar music. Maybe the music suggests something circular or sliding or continuous or sharp, and I try to bring those into the body. It’s not about the movement itself but about the texture.
I usually don’t start with a feeling, but it comes out whether I want it to or not. Improvising on happiness when I’m stressed or anxious, for example, will not bring out happiness. Instead, I see improvisation as a way of experiencing my true self, a way to access what is happening within (which is usually more complex than a word or two). I do sometimes begin an improv with an idea. For a while, I was improvising in heels. With every movement, I was creating a sculpture as opposed to performing a thrown movement, which helped me work on shape. I also went through a jellyfish phase, trying to embody not only the image of it but also the sensation. I don’t see myself from the outside but try to feel it from the inside. Even though I have a mirror, I usually avoid it. You can go deeper by becoming the thing than by looking at it.
I’m also affected a lot by other movement styles outside of contemporary as well as other dancers. I’ll see a video of someone popping or doing Latin, and then I’ll try to capture the essence of the quality and use it in my body as an extra quality to see what it brings to my own movement. I am inspired more by the how than the what, and usually discoveries come later once I’m able to enter the state of flow, which is a mental state where you’re fully immersed in what you’re doing and you stop thinking. Tiredness is a strong part of that, and things deepen through repetition. The more tired I am, the less room for judgment, and the more room for spontaneity. If I say I’m going to do an improvisation to record it, it doesn’t work. My favorite videos of me are when I’ve been improvising for a while. The first things that come up are the things I ‘want to do’ and match what I think the video will look like, but improvisation is much deeper than that. If not, it’s choreography. Improvisation requires the subconscious. You can have an idea of what you want to work on, but not the final thing.
I’ve watched how my improvisations change from day to day as a result of different stimuli I bring into the space either consciously or subconsciously. When I began training in the same place with breakers, for example, my movement was noticeably affected even though I didn’t realize it at first, which further proved to me that improv as a practice is not fixed. You can’t say, a person ‘improvises like that’. Breakers do a lot of threads, for example, and this came into my improvisations without planning. No matter what I’m thinking, there’s always stuff in the unconscious underlying it.
Years of improvising have taught me that at first you have to look bad, and that trying to be good makes you lose the task. Once you explore the task, then you can move forward from there. If you try to make something interesting from the first moment, you aren’t exploring. You’re not even improvising. Improvisation should be a tool to find something new. If you’re scared to look bad, don’t do it. Just do choreography. When you see yourself from the outside or when you record yourself for an outcome, you start choreographing and you lose the sensation. You’re not embodying something. The goal of looking good will make you look like somebody who wants to look good. If you embody a cloud, however, you will look like a cloud.”
by Charly Santagado