There are words that make the body shiver. Sounds that touch. Memories that run through the limbs like an electrical current. For them, Greek choreographer Christos Papadopoulos steps into a new aesthetic and physical expressiveness. MY FIERCE IGNORANT STEP, his latest and most personal piece, a co-production of One Dance Festival, takes him into the unknown stage delta of poetry and dance, of sound as a matter and of body as music. Employing a wider range of movement and a more extensive yet precise choreography inspired by words, Papadopoulos is changing the trajectory of his creation, for which he is now one of the leading choreographers with the prestigious Rose International Dance Award for his work LARSEN C, touring the festival in 2021.

Now, a decade after his career started,  Christos promises something different from his staple movement minimalism refined through repetition gestures. It is dance as pleasure. Onstage, dancers vibrate, and their breath becomes a voice that guides their steps, sometimes giant, sometimes small, always steady and determined, almost carefree. The dancers’ bodies breathe, their breaths becoming sounds that later transform into voices and movements, into an ever-expanding gallop.

The choreographer was inspired by "Axion Esti", the monumental work by one of the most important Greek composers Mikis Theodorakis founded on the poetry of Odysseas Elytis, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Mikis Theodorakis is also known for works such as Epiphania, Canto General and the music for the 1964 film Zorba the Greek, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Christos Papadopoulos explores the extent to which sound and speech can dilate and reach a state of abstraction that alludes to a movement: a lifted arm, an oscillating body, and a trembling leg.

The first impulse for the creation of the show comes from memories of Christos Papadopoulos' childhood and adolescence, as well as from the collective memory of Greek society in the turbulent history of the country.  Could text composition follow the same principles as choreographing a body in motion? How closely could one unite body and words, or words and body? And, perhaps most intriguingly, could this fusion of expression become a shared, transparent, and straightforward experience for all to witness and understand? These were the inquiries in MY FIERCE IGNORANT STEP, seeking to blur the lines between the spoken word and the language of movement.

Four choreographers were nominated for The Rose International Dance Prize 2025 by the prestigious British Sadler's Wells Theatre: Christos Papadopoulos, Lia Rodrigues, who will present her latest work BORDA at ODF 2025, Marco da Silva Ferreira, whose works BISONTE and CARCAÇA were also presented at the festival, and Kyle Abraham.

Christos Papadopoulos studied dance and choreography at SNDO (School for New Dance Development) in Amsterdam, theatre at the Drama School of Greece’s National Theater, and Political sciences in Athens. He is a founding member of the dance group “The Lion and the Wolf.”

His first works, "OPUS" and "ELVEDON", were met with great acclaim when presented at the Porta Theater in Greece. "ELVEDON" was the first choice of Aerowaves ’16 and was later presented in Paris, Amsterdam, and other European cities. "OPUS" was chosen by Aerowaves ’18, and soon after began its international tour. "ION" (2018), commissioned by Onassis Stegi and coproduced by Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, and Le Lieu Unique, Nantes, continues to tour successfully.

"LARSEN C" (2021), an international coproduction, has already been presented to more than 25 venues and festivals across Europe. In 2023, he created the work "MELLOWING" for the prestigious dance company Dance On and, later on, "MYCELIUM" for the Lyon Opera Ballet and the Biennale de la Danse Lyon. These works are touring worldwide. This June he is creating a solo work for Georgios Kotsifakis for the LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura and after that in September ’24 a new piece for NDT 1. On the 16th of May 2025, he will premiere his latest work, MY FIERCE IGNORANT STEP, with his company, at Onassis Stegi – Athens, a week before Plovdiv.