Upcoming
Two strangers at an airport fall asleep after a flight delay, slipping into shared lucid dreams. Their subconscious minds merge, transforming the mundane into a dark, surreal journey. As they unknowingly project each other’s hidden fears and desires, the piece becomes a powerful metaphor for psychological projection. Blurring the line between reality and fantasy, it unveils the delusions that shape both our dreams and waking lives through a hybrid of physical theatre and street styles.
Panopticon
“A brilliantly grotesque solo by Vasiliki Papapostolou.”
- The Spectator
2024
In the eighteenth century, Jeremy Bentham invented an architectural structure for social control, a prison called Panopticon in which the cells are always visible. Foucault suggested that this Panopticon idea is how everyday life functions in modern societies since this external gaze becomes internalised inducing individuals to surveil themselves.
In PANOPTICON, the red hands rule the rest of the body and they are constantly watching, surveilling, and policing its actions, while the rest of the body represents the human spirit, the constant fight to preserve the human instinct and individual mind in a society where humans become increasingly mechanical and interested in controlled outcomes and statistical rules.
Choreography/ Performance/ Text: Vasiliki Papapostolou aka Tarantism
Music Composer/ Sound Designer: Christopher Nas (all music is original)
Lighting Designer: Emma Gasson
Videographer: Klaus Shehaj
AWARDS:
2 awards at MASDANZA:
• Audience Award
• III Jury Prize
& 2 residencies – Derida Dance Center (Bulgaria) & Studio Pro Arte (Germany)
contact.energy - Tanztheater Erfurt:
• Audience Award
USA - Philadelphia Fringe Festival 2024:
• Philly Fringies Award for Best Dance Production for split-bill performance Self Help | PANOPTICON
Performance History:
• 26/1/24: The Place, London, UK
• 17/2/24: Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
• 9/3/24: Sadler’s Wells, London, UK (Open Art Surgery, Breakin’ Convention)
• 25-26/7/24: Burgos & Nueva York, Burgos, Spain - FINALIST
• 7/9/24: Arts On Site, Manhattan, NY, USA
• 14-15/9/24: Philly Fringe Festival, Philadelphia, PA, USA
• 20-21/9/24: Jersey City Theater Center, Jersey City, NJ, USA
• 22/9/24: Koresh Artist Showcase, Philadelphia, PA, USA
• 16&20/10/24: MASDANZA, Canary Islands, Spain
• 26/10/24: contact.energy´24, Internationales Tanztheaterfestival Erfurt, Germany
• 2/11/24: Dance Waves, Nicosia, Cyprus
(More to be confirmed soon.)
The PANOPTICON image, captured by Giorgos Tsagliotis, has been selected as the featured artwork for the entire upcoming 2024-2025 season at Jersey City Theater Center, NJ, USA.
Panopticon 360 x Whitechapel Gallery
2024
PANOPTICON 360 which was performed at the iconic Whitechapel Gallery, is the immersive iteration of Vasiliki Papapostolou's original work PANOPTICON.
Invited by artist Andrew Pierre Hart, Vasiliki Papapostolou aka Tarantism delves deeper into the concept of internalized surveillance. This performance reflects how we, as individuals, monitor and regulate our own behaviors, movements, and bodies, influenced by external observation.
The piece oscillates between the extremes of control and surrender, drawing from Vasiliki's expertise in blending physical theatre, Ballroom Latin with elements from street dance. The movement is dynamic and transformative, reflecting the fluidity of human behavior under surveillance.
The immersive soundscape is crafted by music composer and sound designer Christopher Nas, while the short film which was captured by videographer Klaus Shehaj enhances the overall experience of PANOPTICON 360 as a multisensory performance.
palingenesis
2022
Vasiliki Papapostolou - Palingenesis for Bass n' Place - Invited by Andrew Pierre Hart for Diaspora Pavilion 2: Block 336, London, UK
Palingenesis is a site-specific movement performance designed to respond to the dynamic, culturally rich, and historically significant area of Brixton. The title itself, derived from the Greek word for "rebirth" or "regeneration," frames the performance as a reflection on cycles of transformation—personal, social, and environmental.
Thematically, Palingenesis delves into three core ideas: hyperstimulation, regeneration, and creation.
Hyperstimulation: bright colors, chaotic sounds, constant movement—exploring how individuals adapt or respond to such environments
Regeneration: mirrors way Brixton itself has transformed over the years through cultural shifts, gentrification, and social movements. Creation: portrayed as both a reaction to and a force driving the regeneration process.
Palingenesis serves not only as a tribute to Brixton but also as a broader meditation on the ways communities and individuals rebuild, reclaim, and redefine themselves.
Free Is The Possessed
2020
Free Is The Possessed navigates the tension between the conscious self and the fragments of identity we often cling to. As the title suggests, the work embodies a paradox where possession and freedom coexist. In the state of being overtaken by something beyond oneself lies the path to liberation. Ego-death represents the release from the confines of personal identity, a surrender of control, and an embrace of a larger, collective consciousness.
This piece is Vasiliki’s first complete work and carries an autobiographical weight, reflecting her personal journey toward self-awareness. Free Is The Possessed also served as the foundation for the development of her latest work.
Concept/Choreography/Text: Vasiliki Papapostolou aka Tarantism
Performers: Vasiliki Papapostolou aka Tarantism, Xristina Prompona
Music: Vaggelis Oikonomou
Lighting: Joel Levine
Voice: Ariadni Koutitsa
Shorter Works
Κοινή Μοίρα (Shared Fate) (2024) @ Morven Museum - Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Κοινή Μοίρα (Shared Fate) is a solo dance piece that draws inspiration from the Greek myth of the hamadryad—a nature spirit embodied in a tree. This work explores the profound connection between the hamadryad and her tree, reflecting their intertwined destinies. As the hamadryad safeguards her tree and shares its fate, the piece delves into themes of symbiosis and mortality.
When I fall
Do I make a sound?
What do I know?
What do eyes know?
Can they really see me?
Do you really see me?
Do you see me?
Feel me?
Burning?
In collaboration with NJ-based poet and musician Soul Speakings.
Ischys (2021) @ TEDx Panteion University - Athens, Greece
In 2021, Vasiliki was invited to create a short performance piece for TEDx Panteion University. The duet Ischys, created in collaboration with Sokratis Romfaias (aka B-boy Sokrates), explores the relentless struggle for power between two individuals, embodying the primal drive for dominance.
Is power ever truly achieved, or is it just an illusion that keeps slipping away from both?
Music: Growing Up Londinium - Daniel Pemberton
Rous (2019) @ Zichri Theater - Ga’aton, Israel
Rous (2019) • surrendering to a state of liberation, blurring the lines between control and abandon. Also performed at 8th Superstars Dance Show, Athens, Greece.
Choreography/Performance by Vasiliki Papapostolou aka Tarantism
Music: Baião Destemperado - Barbatuques
Tonight’s Lecture (2018) @ Zichri Theater - Ga’aton, Israel
Set in a fictional classroom, this performance explores the concept of rhythm as both a structured and spontaneous force. As the students engage with the professor's guidance, their attempts to adhere to structured instructions give way to moments of disorder, illustrating the inherent unpredictability and dynamic nature of rhythm.
Performers: Kat Bark, Mandy Behar, Clara Boa Sorte, Arianne Gubbins, Eerika Kraft, Ninwe Moshe Nano, Adam Rech, Savannah Roberts, Charly, Santagado, Kali Taft Johnson
Music: Hip Hip Chin Chin - Club des Belugas