How did the inspiration come up for the onstage face-off with material that has a strong symbolism for Greece?

Theatre uses hollow objects and fake materials to create illusion. We don’t. Since the beginning of our creative journey, we have always been inclined to use raw materials because they are impossible to conquer. This time we will use five female performers, their strength and intelligence to move these heavy, but incredibly beautiful sculptures/objects. Moving them on stage is overwhelming and noisy. They are ancient instruments, yearly drums, a long memory of the earth. Their presence creates sound. Marble is a material with a highly symbolic meaning for Greece, but it is also the stone of European culture. All our “temples” are built with it. So it is nice to break them.

What feature of marble fascinates you?

White marble is believed to have strong metaphysical qualities of grounding and calming. It provides for strength of self control and mastery of thought. That is the usual description. But for us marble is brutal, heavy and does not allow for mistakes. All our thoughts in this creation are centered around it.

What issues concern you as a group?

Questioning humanity and our suicidal tendencies. What makes humans so self destructive and what makes us believe that we are the pinnacle of evolution.

What is the connecting thread of all the group’s performances in your opinion?

Up until now, the RootlessRoot language involved a dynamic, contact-oriented articulation with which we could express the complex emotional landscape of humankind. Reaching deep into the physical and emotional possibilities of the human structure, we consider the Body to be an extension of our ideas; a physical interpretation of our intellectual concepts. Ιt is our tangible body that initiates the whole idea and concept of the performance. It is the Body itself that feels disturbed and upset by being constantly filled up with wasteful concepts, thoughts and food, with no space to exist, no place for quietness and listening. We don’t adhere to the idea of a purely “dance vocabulary”, but rather focus on what can be expressed through movement, the emergence of the emotional world, theatricality and intuitive communication on stage.

“Stones & Bones”, 01-05/04/2020, Stegi – Onassis Foundation

*Linda Kapetanea is also the artistic director of the Kalamata International Dance Festival