Penelope Iliaskou, director of DDRC Athens, talks about the modul-dance festival that took place in May 2014. The Arc for Dance Festival was a joint proposal of the modul-dance partner together with other local structure, DAN.C.CE, participating in the European project Spider Expand!.

Penelope also comments the collaboration among modul-dance selected artists and how she encouraged them to cooperate in the studio.

Interviewed done during a modul-dance meeting in Faro in May 2014.

05:08 min.

www.modul-dance.eu

The Isadora & Raymond Duncan Dance Research Center was founded in 1980 by the Municipality of Byronas, where it is located, on Aura hill.

DDRC is:
 

• a dynamic dance house, dedicated to the development of modern dance and creation
• a residency center for individual artists or dance companies elaborating their own experimental and research projects,
• a platform for the presentation of small-scale works (indoor and outdoor venue),
• a forum for the exchange of critical discourse and ideas among artists, the public and members of the local community.
• an environmental frame for installations, site-specific works and other interdisciplinary projects
• a member of EDN exciting Network that establishes the dialogue between artists, art managers and audiences questioning the aspects of cultural exchanges in Europe

Its primary objective is to accompany and provide coaching, practical support and services to new or emerging choreographers, while they are seeking and articulating their own choreographic voice.

The Center is housed in a unique building of historic value and architectural interest, designed and built in 1903 by Isadora Duncan’s brother Raymond Duncan.

Designed according to the specifications of the ancient Mycenaean mansion, this building is one of the very few venues worldwide that have been created specifically for dance and that, a hundred years later, are still serving this purpose.

It is the realization of the Duncans’ utopian vision of a space where dance is in a constant, fluid relationship with day-to-day life. This first House of Dance is the foundation of today’s Duncan Center.

In 1980, the Municipality of Byronas – responding to the call of international organizations, and honoring Isadora Duncan’s work and legacy – undertook the renovation of the building, which has been characterized by the Ministry of Culture as a Modern Monument. The relevant work was completed in 1992.

The Dance School, which, together with the Traditional Greek Dancing department, has over 400 students – children and adults – is at the core of the Center’s educational programme.

In April 2005, the Isadora & Raymond Duncan Dance Research Center became a partner in the European program Initiatives in Dance through European Exchanges (IDEE) Network, a milestone in the Center’s relations with the international dance scene.

The Isadora & Raymond Duncan Dance Research Center belongs to the Municipality of Byronas and is administered by an eleven-member Board of Directors, which is chaired by Rena Papageorgiou.

duncandancecenter.org