The Bodies we swore|Λία Χαράκη

How do performance works exist in the memory of the audience that had witnessed them? This was the initial question that triggered our creative process in making the work ‘The bodies we swore’.

This year it is the twenty-year anniversary of our works, our practices, and our collaborations through the creative frame of pelma.Lia Haraki. It was a year of reflection as we dived deep into the organization of our archive to create this performance and in preparation for a book, which will be distributed in 2024 with texts from collaborators and academics in relation to our body of work.

In the performance 'The bodies we swore' we will reflect on past works, share stories, try out practices and interpret songs from our performances and collaborations, together with the audience that has supported us for so many years. 'The bodies we swore' has been structured as an informal meeting with the audience on the stage of the Rialto Theatre, where together we will recall the elements and themes from our body of work through discussions, memories, creative games, representations and listening.

The piece is a part of the Rialto’s Associate Artist Scheme and is supported by the department of Modern and Contemporary Culture - Deputy Ministry of Culture-Cyprus

Concept / direction / Archive organisation: Lia Haraki
Collaborator in concept development: Alexis Vassiliou
Performers / collaborators: Arianna Marcoulides, Alexis Vassiliou, Lia Haraki
Guest performers: Petros Konnaris, Eleana Alexandrou
Music: Team of collaborators
Promotional image: Harry Antoniades
Technical direction: Yiangos Hadjiyiannis

Performances 13th and 14th December at 20.30 at Rialto Theatre
Tickets: https://rialto.interticket.com/program/the-bodies-we-sworelia-kharaki-2877 (limited sitting)

About Pelma.Lia Haraki
Pelma.Lia Haraki is the artistic frame which hosts the creation, production, research, and presentation of Lia Haraki’s artistic work and her collaborations. It is a non-profitable association founded by Lia and her collaborators in 2003 in Limassol Cyprus and for the first year of its creation it also hosted the visual artist Christodoulos Panayiotou. Over the years Pelma.Lia Haraki has created and presented over fifty works for the stage and site specific and supported the development of the practices ‘Performing biography', 'IntuΝition' and 'Repetitive poetry' and the methods of artists’ coaching 'The onion' and 'Performance as service'. Pelma also offered the frame for collaborations to evolve with over a hundred performers, dancers, musicians, sound designers, set designers, photographers, visual artists, technicians, dramaturges, mentors, assistants and other. Long term collaborators include performing artists Αrianna Marcoulides , Εleana Alexandrou, Αlexis Vassiliou, Petros Konnaris, Marios Ioannou, dramaturge Guy Cools, technical manager Yiangos Hadjiyiannis, sound designers Yiannis Christofides, Christos Hadjichristou and Pandelis Diamantides, mentor Evi Haraki Mahera, vocal artist Cathryn Robson, photographer Pavlos Vrionides, light designer Alexander Jotovic and more.

Τhe works of the creative structure have been presented in many European festivals like Julidans Amsterdam, the Athens Festival, Royal Festival Hall London, Bozar Brussels, Unesco Paris, The Place London, Tanec Praha, Kleines Haus Dresden, Korzo The Hague, Euro-scene Leipzig, Venice Biennale with the solo ‘Tune In’ (Special mention for the Cyprus and Lithuanian Pavilion). Works were awarded at the Cyprus dance platform and were two times short listed by the Aerowaves network.

Since its creation, pelma has been a major driving force in the development of contemporary dance and performance in Cyprus by initiating structures like the dance house Lemesos and educational programmes for professionals and the community. Pelma also initiates the partnership with the Aerowaves network and Dance Web Europe of the Impuls Tanz festival Vienna in 2003. As a cultural organization it participated in several European programmes and hosted curational programmes hosting the works of other artists from Cyprus and abroad.

Pelma.Lia Haraki is mainly funded by the Department of Modern and Contemporary Culture - Deputy Ministry of Culture-Cyprus and often collaborates with Dance House Lemesos, Nimac (municipal arts centre Νicosia in association with the Pierides foundation) and the Rialto theatre in Limassol.