NU
BY MANDAFOUNIS & GIUDICELLI
Nu offers the spectator an experience of nudity in its simplest form.
Invited by the dancer to participate in a ceremony where both bodies get undressed and are naked in an intimate space, the spectator witnesses the dancing body. Ioannis Mandafounis and Emilia Giudicelli dismantle the theatrical space to engage only the « essential ».
Ioannis Mandafounis wishes to explore the question of nudity, a subject that has been worked on copiously for decades, in order to redirect pre-conceived ideas on the subject.
After the project One One One that, in a similar way, successfully produced a situation full of contradictions (notably the recreation of intimacy between the performer and the spectator in a public space that is conventionally unsuitable for this kind of intimacy) resulting in the presentation of a piece which is accessible and relatable for all, Ioannis now offers a format in which the objective is the meticulous sharing of sensations that nudity can procure in a person.
Nudity thus becomes a necessary passage, allowing access to a world of sensations and the sharing of certain emotions with one’s audience.
In the choreographic world in general, nudity is like the spokesperson for an ideology of the natural and the exposition of the human body. It is always connected to ideas of voyeurism, sexuality, or talking about the fact of being naked. It is also susceptible to the results of estheticism, atmosphere and ambiance, or even provocation.
In a nutshell, nudity has always been used for what it represents, evokes and procures but never for what it is... That is to say, for its image!