Inter-esse, creating "interest", in the sense emphasised by Isabelle Stengers, by putting oneself in between - inter-esse. Not sharing, but relating. Practising thinking and dancing in the presence of plants and because of their presence, with the intention of being motivated by the potential relationships rather than affirming differences or otherness.

Choreographer Mariela Nestora, in collaboration with dance artists Vitoria Kotsalou and Yiannis Tsigkris, began a very slow process for the duet Inter-esse in February 2022. The 'rehearsals' took place over an extended period of time and involved the activation of 12 scores - the fieldwork scores that focus on the relationship with the plant world. The scores were composed by bringing into dialogue the design principles of permaculture for natural systems and the different systems of the human body, and by considering the works of Maria Puig de la Bellacasa and Emanuele Coccia. The 12 fieldwork points are an invitation to spend time with plants, one's own body, questions that don't need answers, many or few movements, a visible or invisible dance, a choreography in which one finds oneself or one that the participant co-creates with other organisms from the realm of the plantae. What can we humans learn from the world of plants?

The first performance of this work was part of the EDN Atelier Moving ground in June (scores 1-7), while on 1 October the complete work (scores 1-12) was performed in the - still developing but already flourishing - community garden of the Duncan Dance Research Centre in Athens.

The Fieldwork scores are still being activated by more people in different parts of the world, as an open-ended project. If you'd like to participate by activating a score, please email mariela.nestora@gmail.com.

Photo: Myrto Apostolidou.

Perform Europe Open Call

1 December 2023 - 31 March 2024

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Perform Europe launches a new call for performing arts professionals and organisations across the 40 Creative Europe countries.

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