2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture can be seen as a major chance to rethink the art of choreography in Greece, keeping in mind the lack of educational opportunities available to emerging choreographers. The U(R)TOPIAS Academy of Choreography conceived by Patricia Apergi and the Aerites Dance Company – an arts initiative rooted in dance creation and composition, and the exchange of knowledge and experience through an extensive cycle of workshops – is seeking to partly fill this gap. It is an art project that combines research, experimentation, and artistic results with information, knowledge, and creative tools offered up to its participants by eminent mentors – practitioners and professionals from the arts sector, historians and art theorists, and others. Six emerging choreographers, each driven by their own ideals, are presenting six original site-specific works in Elefsina’s public spaces as a result of this process.
During the course of the U(R)TOPIAS Academy of Choreography (December 2021–July 2023), Patricia Apergi and the Aerites Dance Company – working in dialogue with these emerging choreographers – aim to offer a comprehensive creative research and experimentation process, as well as the acquisition of knowledge relating to this artistic field and its practices.
