Act that defies limits, gravity
Bodies that are so flexible they seem to be able to take on any shape, in a never-ending battle against gravity and the limits of the human body, are about to make their appearance in Athens. The world-renowned Pilobolus Dance Theater, a highly unusual dance company, will embark on a series of shows at the Badminton Theater, starting tonight and running to Friday. The company had made a huge impression with its last performances in the Greek capital, in front of a tightly packed Herod Atticus Theater in 2003. The group is named after Pilobolus crystallinus, a tiny fungus that loves the sun and has a unique way of reproducing. The company, founded in 1971 at Dartmouth College, may rank as one of the greatest American dance companies today, but it still functions as a collective. Pilobolus is a tightly knit ensemble, with a general director, three artistic directors and seven dancers, all of whom work together for the production of new material. The company is based in Connecticut but performs live as well as on television all over the world. Since 1973, it has been performing every year at the American Dance Festival. It has given shows on Broadway and at New York’s Joyce Theater, as well as London’s Sadler’s Wells, Rome’s Teatro Olimpico, Paris’s Theatre de la Ville and Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens. The ensemble has toured extensively in South America, Asia and Europe. Pilobolus’s reputation spread even further when it performed at the 79th Academy Award Ceremony in Los Angeles last February and then Oprah Winfrey screened its choreographies in a special tribute on her television show. The ensemble’s latest productions of the past few years, some of which it will perform at the Badminton Theater, include the choreographies «Memento Mori,» «Prism» and «B’yzrk.» The Badminton Theater, Goudi Military Park, tel 211.108.6024. Tickets can be purchased at the theater box office, open daily between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., at Virgin Megastores, over the phone on 210.884.0600 and online at www.ticketnet.gr.
