A User’s Manual – Konstantinos Papanikolaou
Greece
‘’It is also a mistake and a very frequent one to use the word natural when we mean either socially acceptable, morally desirable or aesthetically pleasing’’.
According to Hall (2005: 18-20), representation is the ability to describe or imagine. Representation is important because culture is always formed through meaning and language, in this case, language is a symbolic form or a form of representation. We are constantly exposed to representations of a “reality” that’s a far cry from the actual circumstances of our everyday lives. We identify with such representations through a game of validation and rejection that conceals certain other possible options from us. And we assimilate these representations as stereotypes, thus legitimizing dominant discourses that not only do us a disservice but also often undermine us. While we may have our reasons for doing what we do, we are not however mindful of what what we’re doing actually does.
Credits
Choreography & Performance: Konstantinos Papanikolaou
Dramaturgy: Paraskevi Tektonidou
Set & Costumes, Design, Video Maker: Olga Sfetsa
Light Design: Eliza Alexandropoulou
Sound design: Alexandra Katerinopoulou
External Eye: Stavroula Siamou
Production: Onassis STEGI
Production Management: Delta Pi
Touring Support by Onassis STEGI’s Outward Turn Program
Duration: 40 min.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/711572387/bf863c2665
Konstantinos Papanikolaou
Konstantinos Papanikolaou holds a postgraduate degree in dance from University Paris 8 | Vincennes – Saint-Denis and has studied psychology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Ηe has collaborated with Gerard & Kelly, Alexandra Bachzetsis, Patricia Apergi, Jenny Argyriou and others and has performed in the Biennale of Munich, Lyon and Birmingham, the Centre Pompidou (Paris), Hellerau (Dresden), The Place (London), Mercat des Flors (Barcelona), etc. In the theatre, he has colaborated with Argyris Pantazaras, Kirki Karali, Eleni Efthimiou, Lilly Meleme etc. In 2020 he choreographed and performed the solo ‘Tonight and every Night’, presented at the ARC FOR DANCE Festival; and in 2021 he presented ‘ The diving horse and other mythologies’ at the Onassis New choreographers Festival. Portions of the research and development for his latest work “A User’s Manual” were undertaken at Trois C-L (Luxembourg), Le Grand Studio (Brussels) and Pole Sud Strasbourg as part of the support provided by the Réseau Grand LUXE network. He has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021).