Odra Ensemble
I co-founded the Odra Ensemble with artists I studied with in Poland. Over 3 years we worked together sharing our research, building an ensemble and making a work 'We Will Leave Only Bone- Reflections of Eurydice'. We worked in residence at Song of the Goat Theatre led by Finnish actress and director Anu Salonen. Within our company were actors from Canada, Greece, Italy, Poland and the USA. Our company came together through our common training and shared language in Polish ensemble theatre and engaged in theatrical research based in musicality, dynamic physical training, and human connection.
Our debut performance “We Will Leave Only Bone: Reflections of Eurydice” premiered at Song of the Goat Theatre in Wroclaw, Poland in March 2013. The ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice served as both a narrative tool for the work and as a metaphor for the working process through which we investigated love, loss, lamentation and the power of song to bridge a connection between the worlds of the living and the dead.
Our artistic practice is born from a concern with the disappearance of cultural traditions. From 2010-2012, the members undertook individual expeditions to investigate cultural/artistic traditions and post-conflict areas, which served as the source material for the work, in Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kenya, Cuba, the Balkans (Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania) and Australia. The shared aim of the research is to transform elements of song, dance, and ritual into practical performer and ensemble training. Out of this rigorous research and training emerged a performance inspired by mythologies, rituals and our personal journeys and composed like a piece of music, interweaving elements of traditional songs, dances, poetic text, live music and acrobatics in a structure of powerful ensemble story-telling.
Listen to director Anu Salonen talk about the project and company on Polish radio
Our debut performance “We Will Leave Only Bone: Reflections of Eurydice” premiered at Song of the Goat Theatre in Wroclaw, Poland in March 2013. The ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice served as both a narrative tool for the work and as a metaphor for the working process through which we investigated love, loss, lamentation and the power of song to bridge a connection between the worlds of the living and the dead.
Our artistic practice is born from a concern with the disappearance of cultural traditions. From 2010-2012, the members undertook individual expeditions to investigate cultural/artistic traditions and post-conflict areas, which served as the source material for the work, in Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kenya, Cuba, the Balkans (Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania) and Australia. The shared aim of the research is to transform elements of song, dance, and ritual into practical performer and ensemble training. Out of this rigorous research and training emerged a performance inspired by mythologies, rituals and our personal journeys and composed like a piece of music, interweaving elements of traditional songs, dances, poetic text, live music and acrobatics in a structure of powerful ensemble story-telling.
Listen to director Anu Salonen talk about the project and company on Polish radio
”Your work is deeply touching, but what is it? Could we call it post dramatic poetry instead of theatre?”
Audience member | Thessaloniki, Greece
Audience member | Thessaloniki, Greece
creative team
Director | Anu Almagro
Ensemble | Julianna Bloogood, Joshua Doerkson, Janie Gibson, Daniel Han, Alexandra Kazazou, Diego Pileggi, Dimitris Varkas
Ensemble | Julianna Bloogood, Joshua Doerkson, Janie Gibson, Daniel Han, Alexandra Kazazou, Diego Pileggi, Dimitris Varkas
