Lenio Kaklea

Having immersed herself in the woods with “Αγρίμι” (Fauve), Greek choreographer Lenio Kaklea now turns her attention to the skies. Two literary works have inspired Lenio Kaklea’s latest creation: “The Birds” by Aristophanes – two people, despairing of war and corruption, leave Athens in search of an ideal world – and “Les Guérillères” by Monique Wittig, which describes the hybrid bodies of female fighters.

What would a choreographic work look like that does not view the bird as an object of study or inspiration, but rather sees things from its perspective? Lenio Kaklea and her flying dancers take us on a journey through space and time, like migratory birds crossing national borders. Are these moving bodies half-human or half-bird?

The piece is based on bioacoustic recordings captured by Thierry Aubin for CNRS, France’s largest state research organisation, creating a natural soundscape of birdsong that immerses the audience in a hybrid world. From a bird’s-eye view, it casts a sharp gaze upon our society – a society in which identity, visibility and power are constantly shifting. Lenio Kaklea creates a powerful, visual dance performance that connects bodies and ecology with the world in which we live.