Hidden Among the Olive Groves

Performance, Athens Festival 2012, Co-production: Amalgama & Athens Festival, Rabbithole, Athens 2014.

The fundamental structural rhythm of modern Greek history—from 1827, when the Greek State was founded for the first time until the present day—constitutes the starting point and a rich source of inspiration for the new work of the Amalgama dance company and Maria Gorgia. A woman and a sleeping mattress attempt to express the relationship between human beings—and specifically the female gender—and the country in which they live (whether they were born there or not), a country they produce and also destroy. References to characteristic elements of the disturbed nature of modern Greek history, as well as essential influences drawn from the overall rhythm and structure that have emerged over the last two centuries, lend a sense of “Greekness” to the actions of the female individual and to the relationships she develops with the object, that is the mattress. The position of gendered female identity within Greek society, the course of women’s emancipation, the role of women in the unfolding of historical and socio-political events—and their “insignificance”—all of these serve as points of departure for the choreo-theatrical event. Using movement, object, sound, speech, and video as its tools, the new work of the Amalgama group aims to illuminate the familiar place and the darker aspects of women’s roles within the historical process, projecting an attitude of inquiry and critical reflection. Accompanied by one of the dominant features of modernity—the tendency toward questioning—the work offers a rather bittersweet aftertaste of conflicting emotions. Concept / Choreography / Direction / Set Design: Maria Gorgia, Performer: Rania Glymitsa, Interview: Voula Pierrakou, Lighting Design: Lefteris Pavlopoulos, Original Music Composition: Lost Bodies, 
Video: Vana Kostagiola, Periklis Mathiellis, Costume Design: Olympia Toptzidou, Costume Construction: Popi Toptzidou, Mask & Stage Object Construction: Konstantina Skepetari, Scientific Advisor: Alexandros Kioupkiolis, Photography: Angeliki Svoronou, Giannis Misouridis.