To Stand Despite All Possibilities to Fall

‘To Stand Despite All Possibilities to Fall’ reimagines the Zeibekiko dance, exploring its interplay with slowness, self-awareness, and a meta-pictorialism drawn from mid-20th-century Greek cinema. Drawing inspiration from Aristotle’s concept of tragedy as a form of mimesis (imitation) designed as an action to provoke catharsis, this work emphasises Zeibekiko’s role as an inherent cultural expression of felt emotion and resilience. The dance engages with rhythm, not through set steps. The dancer improvises as he moves in peripatetic motion, at times with his arms wide open, almost ready to soar, and at times falling to his knees, striking his palm to break the ground to enter Hades, a mimetic performance of lived experiences of loss, resilience, and a moment’s freedom through solitude as an action intending to provoke catharsis.