Review: Apospasmata

CHOREOGRAPHY FOR THE FACELESS

Extreme physicality describes the new work Apospasmata for the dance group of the Helsinki City Theatre by the Greek artist Andonis Foniadakis. The lighting moving on the edge of the twilight envelops the content of the work in a tight squeeze. All kinds of violence mutilate both body and soul. Whether it’s touch, abuse or a slowly growing state of fear, they both scream powerlessness through the dancers’ bodies against what is happening.

Foniadakis, who currently leads his own group in Lyon, is creating a strong career as a choreographer both in Europe and America. She began her dance studies at the age of 18 on her home island of Crete and moved to Switzerland via Athens under the guidance of Maurice Bejart . Joining the Lyon Opera Ballet also opened the way for the direction of other renowned choreographers ( Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Ohad Naharin, Mats Ek, Tero Saarinen, etc.) and to start his own choreographic work.

In Apospasmata (Greek: parts, pieces, excerpts), Foniadakis dissolves individuals into an urban faceless mass by dressing them in black messy headgear covering their heads and faces, and gradually stripping them into bare flesh, armless or legless. Although in the fast-paced choreography the dancers are in constant physical contact with each other, the lack of a face means that the real touch and encounter is lacking. The effect is incomprehensibly staggering, an atmosphere of amplified threat. With three new dancers, the rejuvenated group is strongly attached to the physical expression of the work.

Julien Tarride’s music reinforces the same feeling. The volume increases, diving towards the ears with a metal rumble, hum and low echo of the drums. The sounds of the urban night, the siren, the police radio, the screeching sound of a garbage truck, confuse the mental associations. And the strong quiet moments that I would have liked to have been repeated more often during the hour-long avalanche.

The long duet at the end condenses the work into a fragile, lucid study of massive violence. Jenni-Elina Lehto and Valtteri Raekallio squeeze the last remnants of the scale of human emotions. The atmosphere is brutally apocalyptic. Great dancer work.