Dancing in the Metropolis
What if, one day, you are walking on the street and you see a person dancing alone, without music, in the noisy chaos of daily life? Would you think that s/he is just out of his/her mind? Maybe drunk? Would you stop and take a moment to watch him/her? Would you wonder why is he/she dancing? Or would you ignore that person and keep walking?
When we walk on the street we are so absorbed in our intimate thoughts, or thinking about what to shop for, or which excuse to make up for being late for work. In big cities, in particular, it’s hard to be aware of what is around us and take time to enjoy these secret moments that each cities donate us. Like something out of the frenetic rythm of the metropolis that can make our day better.
This is what happened last saturday (20th of june) from 6.00 am until the late night of the 21st, next to Agia Sofia Church in Thessaloniki. A group of artists, dancers, and also random people without any kind of experience in dance created this neverending “ritual”. They danced without a break for more than 24 hours, one by one, without dead moments. They interacted with the environment and with people causing different feelings to the crowd. Children have been for sure the happiest and at the same time the least surprised by this event. They just continued to play mixing with the dancers.
Pablo Rubio Martín, one of the volunteers of the Balkan Hotspot team, took part to it.
The idea comes from the team of social choreography organization RICE. It took place on the island of Hydra for the first time. The aim is to occupy public spaces in a silent way and be present in a place, with people, communicating with body language. Everyone can partecipate. Everyone can join at the last moment because this is not an artistic performance that wants to show. It does not want to appear on a stage with a public.
Dancing you can find yourself, you can lose yourself, you can find a meaning to your questions. The Crater is a practice – it produces political thought, networking and communication. It helps us thinking about how society affects us, our behaviour with people. How to act, what to do and what to avoid. Are we really free to do what we want without the fear of others judging us? Would you go to a square and dance alone, feeling your body and connecting with the environment?
It also helps us to rethink public spaces in a different way. Are the public places really public? Can we use these spaces full of shops, bars, clubs, restaurants as we want or we just adapt to what others propose to us? Do we pass by them actually enjoying and interacting with them? Should we, as free people, find another way to reappropriate ourselves of squares, parks, streets?
These are only a few thoughts that this amazing event inspired in me. If you wants to know more or join for the next event, take a look to their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/craterthessaloniki/events/?.ref=page_internal.
