From 27 to 29 October, the Duncan Dance Research Centre in Athens presents Just For Today, a three-day event drawing from Raymond Duncan’s legacy, routes and traces. A collaborators of his more famous sister and dancer, Isadora, Raymond Duncan (1874-1966) was a weaver, artist, graphic designer, architect, poet, playwright, printer, publisher, dancer, philosopher, activist, pacifist, and vegetarian. He developed an original, Greek-inspired lifestyle he called Actionalism, which valued self-sufficiency and the labour of making products over production. Duncan spent part of his life in Athens with his wife Penelope Sikelianos. The couple lived in a historically accurate villa on what was then the hills outside of the city, which now is the Duncan Research Centre.

Conceived under a situated and historical perspective, the event Just For Today serves as a starting point from which to investigate the intimate threads that connect us with the physical and conceptual territories we co-inhabit. It questions notions of learning and ways of seeing, hearing and imagining in a shared manner, and explores the interdependence of our work to our daily lives and ultimately to a larger whole.

By interweaving different temporalities, the program presents practices from distinct fields (conceptual, movement, labour) and is willing to enact a framework for contemporary creation that can be textured by the particularities and imaginaries of diverse communities. Just For Today is an invitation to nurture a common space by visiting and translating examples of contemporary eco-communities, critical thinking and ancestral knowledge. At the same time, it offers encounters and hands-on activities that seek to widen the perspective of our actual needs and help us identify and reconsider our next steps.

The event features workshops, talks, food preparation and sharing, ways of listening, screenings, walks and an exhibition focused on the figure of Raymond Duncan, with the participation of Vaskos (Vasilis Noulas and Kostas Tzimoulis), Marlen Mouliou, Anna Tzakou, Julie Loi, Iris Nikolaou, Vasiliki Tsagkari, Maro Pantazidou, Andreas Sell, Napoleon Xifaras, Samantha & Hermes Savvantoglou, rosanayaris (Rosana Sanchez & Aris Spentsas) and nyamnyam (Ariadna Rodriguez & Iñaki Alvarez).

The participation to the event is free of charge with the need for previous reservations for certain activities of the programme. These reservations can be made through the email: ddrcathens@gmail.com. When booking your activities, please let the organisers know your name, phone number and email address, as well as which activities you’ll be attending. The full shcedule of the event is posted below. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Duncan Dance Center through the same email or by phone at +30 694 571 4119.

Programme
27 October – Friday

15:00 - 18:00
Pages From My Garden – pt 1. [upon reservation]
Translation workshop with Vaskos - Vasilis Noulas and Kostas Tzimoulis.

17:00
Welcoming Visitors

18:00
Exhibitions as Gardens
Presentation and talk with Marlen Mouliou.

18:30
Aura
Exhibition opening with rosanayaris and nyamnaym.

19:30
OMEN
Video screening by rosanayaris and nyamnaym.

28 October – Saturday

08:00 - 09:30
How do you relate with the things from afar [upon reservation]
Walk with Anna Tzakou.

10:00
Breakfast [please confirm attendance]

11:00 - 14:00
Pages From My Garden – pt 2. [upon reservation]
Translation workshop with Vascos - Vasilis Noulas and Kostas Tzimoulis.

Wet Felting Craft [upon reservation]
Wet felting workshop with wool with Julie Loi.

Listening grounds [upon reservation]
Dance and permaculture workshop with Iris Nikolaou and Vasiliki Tsagkari.

14:00
Lunch Break [please confirm attendance]

16:00 - 19:00
Gestures that bring us close to the things the world is made of
Dialogic Encounters with Maro Pantazidou.

29 October – Sunday
Note: This day is especially focused on local communities, families with kids and elderly-friendly.

11:00 - 13:00
Wet Felting Craft [upon reservation]
Wet felting workshop with wool with Julie Loi.

Five Seasons
Melting theory and practice with Napoleon Xifaras.

The Main Characters [Note: bring a white t-shirt.]
Silkscreen printing with rosanayaris and nyamnyam.

13:00 - 13:30
Alliances of people
Conversation with Andreas Sell from the Hermitage Sykaminea Residency.

13:30
Lunch Break [please confirm attendance]

14:30 - 16:30
Another Raymond
Gathering stories from then and now with Samantha and Hermes Savvantoglou.