Dimitris Papaioannou's The Great Tamer in Lugano: A Baroque Vision of Death and Metamorphosis

In Lugano, Greek choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou (born in Athens, 1964) unveiled his newest creation, The Great Tamer. This work shifts focus from his prior piece, Still Life, which drew inspiration from Sisyphus, to honor Persephone, the goddess of the underworld. The performance delves into themes of death, cyclical nature, and transformation, viewing endings as mere transitions. The stage is adorned with artistic references and a sprawling, lead-colored carpet. Distorted echoes of Johann Strauss's Blue Danube intermingle with real-world sounds. As performers traverse a barren landscape, they reveal an underworld, with bodies undergoing a Dionysian sparagmos. A couple evokes Aristophanes' discourse from Plato's Symposium. In the end, gold vanishes, and a new man emerges as a corpse, prompting reflection on the identity of the great tamer.