Connect with us
background

News

Dancers learn to dive for underwater performance

Published

on

In what is being billed as a world first, 14 dancers have donned scuba gear for an underwater performance, complete with specially composed music, to an audience submerged to a depth of approximately 5 meters in Cape Sounion, southeast of Athens, beneath the ancient temple of Poseidon.

40 seats are available for the audience on the seabed, and 40 more can get a panoramic view as they snorkel above. People on dry land can watch nearby on a giant screen for what is planned to be a three-day run.The dancers – mostly French and Greek and including three who are disabled and three children – float into and out of formations in choreography that melds the underwater world with the stage. Hand movements turn their breath into a fine mist of bubbles. Music, composed with the conductivity of sound through water in mind, floods the circular seabed stage from two submerged speakers.

The performance is the brainchild of Greek choreographer Apostolia Papadamaki and French choreographer Sophie Bulbulyan, whose dance group in one of Paris’ poorest neighborhoods includes disabled dancers.

The two, who are recreational divers, met three years ago during a dive.

“We liked each other and then we started talking artistically, exchanging ideas,” Papadamaki explained. They had “the very impulsive idea one day after a fun dive: Let’s make an underwater performance. Let’s see if it’s possible. An underwater dance performance.”

It was possible – but not easy.

“This project is like going to the moon on a bike,” said Bulbulyan. “There was an enormous amount of difficulties.”

For a start, dancers – including those with mobility problems – had to learn to dive, and control their buoyancy through their breathing to the point where they can hover upside down and sideways, or rise and fall without moving a muscle. Seventy percent of the performers were dancers who became divers – all in the last year.

Then there were the logistics: diving gear, transport, financing, the vagaries of the weather and political upheaval in Greece, complete with banking restrictions and early elections.

“I’m bringing a French dance group from the poorest neighborhood in France, which has handicapped people in its group, to Greece, a country in chaos, and we’re doing something without limits,” Bulbulyan said. “It’s all that together, with crazy logistics.”

The music needed special consideration. Composer Trifonas Koutsourelis researched and tested the transmission of sound frequencies so his score could both be heard clearly and choreographed in water, where movement slows down.

It took him two and a half months. “I haven’t slept for the last three weeks at least,” he said.

For the dancers, especially the disabled, the experience was “beyond words,” said Papadamaki.

“They feel equal. For the first time they can move without a wheelchair, without the restriction of somebody having to carry them.”

Irini Kourouvani, who uses a wheelchair, has been a dancer for 15 years but was wary of the water as she needed a flotation board to swim.

She was hooked from her first dive.

“I forgot to be afraid and to get scared because I was so entranced by what I was seeing,” Kourouvani said. “I felt like I was floating in space, like I was on earth and the wind was coming and lifting me up.”

Now, she said, the deep is something “I won’t part with. Because now I carry it within me.

Source: www.komonews.com

Gear Reviews

GEAR REVIEW: JOBY SeaPal Underwater Housing for iPhone and Samsung Galaxy (Watch Video)

Published

on

JOBY SeaPal

In a video shot exclusively for Scubaverse.com, Jeff Goodman reviews the JOBY SeaPal underwater housing for iPhone and Samsung Galaxy phones.

Continue Reading

Blogs

Four opportunities to go pro in 2024 with Dive Friends Bonaire

Published

on

idc

Dive Friends teaches the Instructor Development Course (IDC) several times a year to students who are eager to share their passion for diving with the world.

Dive Friends is known for the personal approach throughout the course. Their in-house course director will lead the students through every essential step, mentoring them to achieve their fullest potential as a dive instructor.

Applications for the following IDC start dates are now open:

  • 12 April
  • 5 July,
  • 20 September
  • 29 November

Partnership with Casita Palma

If the student opts for the IDC-Deluxe or IDC-Supreme package, their accommodation will be arranged for them at Casita Palma. This small and quiet resort is within walking distance from Dive Friends Bonaire’s main dive shop location and has everything you need to relax after an intense day of IDC training. Breakfast is included, so the student will always be fuelled and ready for their day.

Contact Dive Friends Bonaire’s Course Director Eddy for more information: coursedirector@divefriendsbonaire.com.

Continue Reading

E-Newsletter Sign up!

Experience the Red Sea in May with Bella Eriny Liveaboard! As the weather warms up, there’s no better time to dive into the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea. Join us on Bella Eriny, your premier choice for Red Sea liveaboards, this May for an unforgettable underwater adventure. Explore vibrant marine life and stunning coral reefs Enjoy comfortable accommodation in our spacious cabins Savor delicious meals prepared by our onboard chef Benefit from the expertise of our professional dive guides Visit our website for more information and to secure your spot: www.scubatravel.com/BellaEriny or call 01483 411590 More Less

Instagram Feed

Popular