Nychtokopi
Means night labor in Greek
a performance artists’ laboratory and
a series of night community meetings.
It is inspired by the evening house gatherings taking place in Greek villages in wintertime where people would carry out household tasks while being together.
Based on the structure of Contemplative Dance Practice,
The project investigates a participatory score of togetherness.
Nychtokopi is a series of three-hour improvisational events where participants
Investigate a ‘doing’ as a mindfulness awareness practice.
Working from a non-verbal collective act towards a communal ‘being’.
How could we cultivate a process of meeting with each other through compassion, equanimity and acceptance?
Nyhtokopi was part of the Living Project which took place at the Duncan Dance Research Center in Athens between April 2023 and February 2024.
The Living Project, curated by Penelope Iliaskou and Mariela Nestora, explored performance processes inspired by the Duncan’s’ integrating ways of everyday life with art and craft practices.
Nychtokopi was developed within a series of three evening meetings entitled: ‘Think in Motion’, ‘Fusion of Horizons’ and ‘Flowing into the Fourth Moment’.
This video demonstrates extracts from the last community event.
Concept, research, facilitating: Anna Tzakou
Participants: Iro Apostolelli, Katerina Delakoura, Anna Housiada, Penelope Iliaskou, Mariela Nestora, Yiota Peklari, Dora Zoumpa.
Guest participants for the last community event: Marios Chatziprokopiou, Danai Panou, Marianthi Pantelopoulou, Aris Papadopoulos,
Written text citation: Trungpa, Chögyam (2017, July 14) ‘Beyond Present, Past, and Future Is The Fourth Moment’ from the lecture Meditation and the Fourth Moment in ‘The Tibetan Buddhist Path’ class, Naropa Institute, 1974, The Lion’s Roar. https://www.lionsroar.com/beyond-present-past-and-future-is-the-fourth-moment/
Special thanks to Erin Manning, Guy Cools, Gregory Stauffer and Penelope Iliaskou.
Video and photo documentation: Erato Tzavara
Sound Documentation: the group participants
Video editing: Erato Tzavara
The Living Project
Duncan Dance Center, Athens – Greece
Anna Tzakou / Geopoetics © December 2023.
