New Piece 1 is the first full-length creative work by a guest choreographer for Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, and for Dimitris Papaioannou, his first work for another company.
Papaioannou was born in 1964 in Athens. With a background in visual arts, he enjoyed initial successes as a painter and comics artist before turning increasingly to the performing arts, working as a director, choreographer and performer, as well as a set, costume and lighting designer. In 1986 he founded Edafos Dance Theatre, which was to have a lasting influence on the Greek Arts scene.
Papaioannou has sought to create on the stage for over thirty years what can only be described as a dreamlike, absurd circus. Human bodies become a battlefield, interacting with raw material, melting into hybrid beings and generating optical illusions. His twenty-three productions cover the entire spectrum from very intimate pieces to huge spectacles with many thousands of performers. He has toured through Europe, South America, Asia and Australia.
