NOWHERE (Director’s Cut)

Born in Athens in 1964, Dimitris Papaioannou gained early recognition as a painter and comics artist, before his focus shifted to the performing arts, as director, choreographer, performer, and designer of sets, costumes, makeup, and lighting. He was a student of the iconic Greek painter Yannis Tsarouchis before studying at the Athens School of Fine Arts.

In 1986, he formed Edafos Dance Theatre as an initial vehicle for his original stage productions, hybrids of physical theatre, experimental dance, and performance art. Originating in the underground scene, the company challenged perceptions and gained an expanding number of dedicated followers. Medea (1993) marked the company’s transition to big theatres and is considered its iconic work.

Papaioannou became widely known as the creator of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. He restarted in 2006 with his production 2, which enjoyed record-breaking long runs with over 100,000 tickets sold.

In 2009, he began using this platform to create theatrical experiments on a large scale: NOWHERE (2009) for the inauguration of the renovated Greek National Theatre and INSIDE (2011) for the Pallas Theatre.

In 2015, he created the opening ceremony for the Baku 2015 European Games. In 2017, he created The Great Tamer, his first international co-commission with ten co-producers, including the Festival d’Avignon.

In 2018, Papaioannou became the first artist to create a new, full-length work, Since She, for Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. In 2020, Papaioannou premiered Ink. The 55-minute duet performed by Šuka Horn and Papaioannou premiered at the Torinodanza Festival and has been invited to the 75th Festival d’Avignon in 2021.

His latest work Transverse Orientation (2021), originally scheduled to premiere at Onassis Stegi in Athens, premiered in June 2021 at the Biennale de la Danse de Lyon in France, and will tour to more than 30 cities in 2021 and 2022.