RUNWAY BY CHRISTIANA KOSIARI
Photo by Pinelopi Gerasimou
Photo by Pinelopi Gerasimou
Photo by Pinelopi Gerasimou
Photo by Pinelopi Gerasimou
Photo by Pinelopi Gerasimou
Photo by Pinelopi Gerasimou
Photo by Pinelopi Gerasimou
Photo by Pinelopi Gerasimou
Photo by Pinelopi Gerasimou

RUNWAY

By Christiana Kosiari

A solo piece on a treadmill that never stops, a speed race against the corrosion of time.

A woman, on a decisively important day for her, indulges maniacally in jogging in place—in this practice of health as much as self-torture. Someone is monitoring her like a metronome of her steps: the composer Jan Van Angelopoulos, live, along with his keyboarαds and electroacoustic soundscapes, among the audience. It’s her birthday. A particularly charged and special day. And she runs, runs, runs, fervently preparing her night out. Inspired by catwalks (European, New York, Dramatic Catwalks, etc.), “RUNWAY” explores the array of behaviors and transformations of a woman, based on the era’s dominant beauty standards. Catwalks morph into a form of silly walks, as the performer walks, runs, stumbles, puts on make-up, fixes her hair, stumbles on her heels, and recovers her balance in a race against the corrosion of time and the terror it induces. The treadmill is used as a beauty and wellness tool, as well as an existential prison, a torture instrument, and a conveyor belt for standardized products with expiration dates. It is elevated, eventually, to the symbol of a grotesque and absurd catwalk. A dancer and choreographer, Christiana Kosiari made the best impression following the presentation of her dance performance “Bouboulines” in the summer of 2023 in Elefsina, with her mother and other elderly non-professional dancers in the leading roles holding a heroic ritual against the wear of time in a seaside tavern. Now it’s her very turn to harness time, as “RUNWAY” is her very own solo on a treadmill that never stops.
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Credits
Choreography & Performance: Christiana Kosiari 
Dramaturgy: Dimitra Mitropoulou
Assistant Choreographer: Katerina Foti
Lighting Design: Lampros Papoulias 
Original Music Composition & Performance: Jan Van Angelopoulos 
Set Design: Evangelia Therianou
Costume Design: 2WO + 1NE=2
Production Management & Line Production: TooFarEast
Commissioned & Produced: Onassis Stegi 
Supported by the Onassis Stegi “Outward Turn” Cultural Export Program.

Special thanks: Olivier Dubois, Christian Rizzo, Christos Polymenakos—Body/Word Performance Writing Mentoring, Vangelis Mountrichas, Christos Christopoulos, Ioanna Papakosta, Penelope Koufopoulou, Maria-Angela Katsikali Kosiari, Anastasia Tsopelaki, Pavlos Christophoros.

PRESENTED AT

Onassis Stegi  , Athens – Greece :  Feb 23 –  Feb 25  2024
Fienile Fluò, Bologna – Italy : Sept 2024  | Performed by Lamprini Gkolia