DDF Blog: Q&A with Christos Papadopoulus

Bringing together a group of dancers in a shared rhythmic pulse, the work explores youth, memory and the feeling of moving together.

We spoke with Christos about the ideas behind the piece, his creative process, and what it means to share the work with Irish audiences.

What inspired My Fierce Ignorant Step?

My Fierce Ignorant Step began from something very personal and, at the same time, very collective. I was thinking about the sounds that shaped me when I was younger – music, voices, atmospheres that many people of my generation in Greece share. These are not just memories in a nostalgic sense; they are sensations that still live inside the body. I wanted to approach that energy again – not to recreate the past, but to understand how it continues to move us forward. There is something in youth, in those first encounters with the world, that carries a kind of fearless momentum. That is what interested me.

Does the work feel more connected to the past (like youth or memory) or to the future?

For me, the work does not belong only to the past or only to the future. It exists somewhere in between. It begins from memory, but it is not about looking back. It is about recognising that these memories are still active, still shaping the present, and therefore also the future. I am interested in this continuity – how something that feels distant can suddenly become very immediate again, and how that can generate hope or movement. So the piece is not nostalgic; it is more about reactivating something that never really disappeared.

There’s a strong sense of togetherness in the piece (as well as in your other choreographies). What is it about being “together” that interests you?

Being together is at the core of my work. I think it is where everything begins – both politically and emotionally. I am interested in what happens when people share time and space with attention. In this piece, the dancers are not individuals performing side by side; they form something like a collective body. What moves me is not synchronisation as a technical achievement, but the deeper condition that allows synchronisation to happen. We do not come together because we are synchronised; we synchronise because we are already together. That shift is very important to me.

There’s a real connection between the performers. How did you build that in the studio?

In the studio, this sense of connection is built slowly. We work a lot with listening – through the body, through breath, through rhythm. The material often starts from very simple actions, and through repetition and attention, something more complex begins to emerge. The dancers are not asked to imitate each other, but to tune into a shared pulse. Over time, this creates a real connection, something that cannot be faked. It is something that grows organically, through trust and presence.

This is the Irish premiere. How does it feel to bring the work to Ireland, and what do you hope audiences take from it?

Bringing the work to Ireland feels like an invitation to share something intimate with a new audience. Even though the piece is rooted in very specific memories, I believe these emotions are universal. Every place has its own collective past, its own shared sounds and experiences. What I hope is not that the audience understands the references, but that they feel a connection – to the energy on stage, to each other, and perhaps to something within themselves. If the piece can create even a brief moment of togetherness, then it has already done what it needed to do.

My Fierce Ignorant Step runs at Abbey Theatre from Wed 7 May – Fri 9 May at 7:30PM.

A shared pulse, a collective body, a surge of movement that pulls you in. Huge thanks to Christos Papadopoulos for sharing his insight. Come see it for yourself.

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