My Fierce Ignorant Step at the Dublin Dance Festival

At the Abbey Theatre – Dates: 7 – 9 May 2026

My Fierce Ignorant Step – Created and Choreographed by Christos Papadopoulos

As part of this year’s Dublin Dance Festival, My Fierce Ignorant Step runs for three nights on the Abbey Stage, its Irish premiere.

Greek choreographer Christos Papadopoulos is known for his exploration of minimalist movement, but this work feels markedly different. Ten dancers move across the stage in semi-darkness, their motions controlled without ever becoming rigid. They move almost in unison, though with a looseness that allows for slight individuality within the constraints of this strange, trance-like state.

The sound design and original score by Kornilios Selamsis are central to the atmosphere. The music unfolds gradually, beginning with sparse percussion before expanding into something far more immersive over the course of the hour-long performance. Voices, breaths, and fragmented vocalisations from the performers blend into the soundtrack, heightening the intensity of the experience. Many of the sounds feel almost sampled rather than conventionally performed: a single piano note, bursts of percussion, bass tones, and other isolated fragments assembled into an intricate sonic collage. As the piece develops, the soundscape broadens and gradually envelops the audience.

Visually, the production is striking in its restraint. The costumes, designed by Maria Panourgia, are understated, dominated by dark browns and blues. They are irregular enough to avoid uniformity — similar without ever quite matching — mirroring the choreography itself. The stage is almost bare, exposing the rear wall and a dark-covered floor, while the lighting remains muted throughout. Occasional bursts of light punctuate the darkness, but they are used sparingly. The dancers are always visible, yet never isolated by dramatic spotlights; the focus remains firmly on motion, rhythm, and collective relation.

This is not a work designed to showcase the virtuosity of any single performer. Instead, it explores the power of the collective. Individually, the movements are never dazzling, yet together they become exactly that. The real achievement lies in the dancers’ ability to sustain this shared physical language over time. There are fleeting moments of individuality — two dancers briefly holding hands, another momentarily separating from the group before folding back into it — but these instances only reinforce the sense of togetherness. It is a meditative production that examines how simple, repetitive actions, sustained over time, can become something far greater than the sum of their parts.

Credits
Creation: Christos Papadopoulos
Choreography: Christos Papadopoulos
Dancer/Collaborator: Themis Andreoulaki
Dancer/Collaborator: Maria Bregianni
Dancer/Collaborator: Amalia Kosma
Dancer/Collaborator: Georgios Kotsifakis
Dancer/Collaborator: Sotiria Koutsopetrou
Dancer/Collaborator: Tasos Nikas
Dancer/Collaborator: Spyros Ntogas
Dancer/Collaborator: Ioanna Paraskevopoulou
Dancer/Collaborator: Danae Pazirgiannidi
Dancer/Collaborator: Adonis Vais
Dramaturgy Consultant: Alexandros Mistriotis
Original Music: Kornilios Selamsis
Associate Composer: Jeph Vanger
Set Designer: Clio Boboti
Costumes Designer: Maria Panourgia
Lighting Designer: Stefanos Drousiotis
Vocal Trainer: Apostolis Psichramis
Assistant Choreographer: Sevasti Zafeira
Assistant Set Designer: Aggeliki Vasilopoulou-Kampitsi
Assistant Costume Designer: Panayiotis Renieri
Coordination & Line Production: Zoe Mouschi
Coordination & Line Production: Rena Andreadaki
Head of Tour Lighting: Giorgos lerapetritis
Tour Set Manager: Marilena Kalaitzantonaki
Tour Set Manager: Aggeliki Vasilopoulou- Kampitsi
Sound Engineer: Kostis Pavlopoulos
Tour Manager: Konstantina Papadopoulou
Diffusion: ART HAPPENS