News

November 2021

Alongside my teaching, I spent time working with SBC Theatre and Rob Heaslip on his new solo project.

SANTUARY SOUNDS

Sanctuary Sounds is a community project inviting participants to explore what sanctuary means for them through songs, music and stories. The project culminated in an intimate concert on the 13th November at Theatre in the Mill, to celebrate its birthday!

*Photos to come soon

Rob Heaslip

Following our summer collaboration, Rob invited me to work as a voice coach in his research and development for his new solo. Oh, how I love being in a studio, moving and making sounds!

*Photos to come soon

October 2021

October focused on teaching.

Teaching at Dance City Training Academy in Newcastle and at Leeds Beckett University.

The work has been rich and (most) of the students delighted to return to the live space.

September 2021

The end of the summer holiday found me jumping straight into composing music for Eastern Angles Theatre’s new production Our White Scoda Octavia, directed by Sameena Hussain.

Our White Skoda Octavia is a heartfelt story of family life told with truth, humour and tabla rhythm. 

The show toured in the south of England in the autumn 2021.

You can find more information here: https://easternangles.co.uk/event/our-white-skoda-octavia-1#tab-0=cast-and-credits

August 2021

Whilst I have been resting, a few projects which I completed in June and July have been turned into film.

Enjoy!

A Call to Care

a collaboration with Archipelago Arts Collective

A Call to Care is a creative documentary-style film exploring nurses’ experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and their hopes for the future.

A Call to Care is a HOME Homemakers commission, with additional support from Camden People’s Theatre, Lawrence Batley Theatre and The Civic, Barnsley.

Head to the project’s page to read more!

Can You Hear Me, Now?

with SBC Theatre

Following the rehearsal process and performance, Can You Hear Me, Now? became a film! Watch it here, to get a flavour of our time in Coventry!

And here is the behind the scenes film!

July 2021

July was filled with teaching and composing music!

STRAWBOYS

by Rob Heaslip

Strawboys is a vibrant and energetic new outdoor pop-up performance, blurring the lines between traditional and contemporary dance and music.

Featuring luminous straw dancers whirling to Balkan inspired beats, the work is a unique spin on the cultural tradition of ‘The Strawboys’, also known as Mummers, Guisers, Burdie Boys and Skekklers; identified by their ornate straw costumes while out rambling streets, fields, towns and parks, parading their merriment to the joy of onlookers.

With support from Creative Scotland and In partnership with Shetland ArtsLyth Arts CentreKristin Linklater Voice CentreNEAT and The BarnStrawboys is touring to all kinds of unexpected places across Shetland, Orkney, Caithness and Aberdeenshire.


Dance artist Niamh O’Loughlin invited me to offer voice sessions as part of the development and rehearsal process for her new piece The Big Giant. Although working on Zoom, the dancers found great sensitivity and detail in the way they worked, and accessed beautiful vocal, textual and storytelling qualities!

And now, off to a holiday!

June 2021

June brought bright and warm summer, and summer’s fiery energy helped with having a few projects on the go!

let’s hold hands the old way

at Unfix NYC

It was a delight to premier my new work at UNIFX NYC festival, and to meet new artists from around the world.

UNFIX festival and all its sister festivals around the world has a strong focus on ecology and sustainability in arts practices. Do check it out if you don’t know it already – here is founder’s Paul Michael Henry’s statement on the ethos of the festival.

“let’s hold hands the old way” is a multilingual biographical screen-dance project created by Zoe Katsilerou (choreographer, film maker) and Eilon Morris (composer, sound designer). Provoked by the UK government’s poster on how to wash hands displayed everywhere throughout the pandemic and inspired by the creators’ yearning for physical contact, Katsilerou choreographed an intimate piece of four hands, which sits alongside biographical accounts of stories woven into Morris’ sounds.

Choreographer/Performer Zoe Katsilerou

Sound Designer/Performer Eilon Morris

Can You Hear Me, Now?

with SBC Theatre

I have been working as a Movement and Music director at SBC Theatre’s latest production Can You Hear Me Now?.

Meeting new people daily, and making a large scale promenade outdoor performance has been a total delight!

Part of Coventry Welcomes Festival 2021.

A Stand and Be Counted Theatre Production, commissioned by Coventry City of Culture Trust. In partnership with Belgrade Theatre, Coventry and Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre.

When we stand side by side, we are stronger. We sing together and we are louder. When we move together, we can make the city vibrate. The city is our playground, our podium, our home. This is a love letter to you, my city. And this space here? This space is for you.

Can You Hear Me, Now? is a celebratory, large-scale outdoor performance. It will be an immersive and joyous experience, made with and for the people of Coventry. Expect live music, dance, spoken word, storytelling and spectacle.

Can You Hear Me, Now? – we are having our say, using our voices and we want you to join us!

Stand and Be Counted are the UK’s first Theatre Company of Sanctuary. They make campaigning theatre designed to promote social change and unity and work with artists, participants, arts organisations and festivals around the world to empower audiences and collaborators to have their say. They will be working with people seeking sanctuary in the city to create an urgent response to what it feels like to be silenced and how society can and must learn to listen.

Starting times are staggered between 1-2pm, and for groups of no more than 20 people in total.

Supported by Arts Council England and Spirit 2012.

May 2021

May was a sound month!

and after we sailed a thousand skies – DECADES – Leeds Playhouse

written by Kamal Kaan and directed by Sameena Hussain 

photo by Sharron E. Wallace

Leeds Playhouse commissioned me and Eilon Morris to compose music for one the DECADES monologues, which celebrate it’ s 50 years.

photo by Sharron E. Wallace

Is this the city for me? 

In this beautiful, poetic monologue, Layla remembers the motherland she left behind and asks if the city she has adopted will ever truly embrace her. ‘Where is home?’ she asks. 

Written by Kamal Kaan, Directed by Sameena Hussain, Designer Amanda Stoodley, Lighting Designer Kieron Johnson, Performed by Cassie Layton, Composers Zoe Katsilerou & Eilon Morris, Sound Designer Charlotte Bickley

SBC Theatre commissioned me to compose music and create sound designs for illustrations created by Majid Adin.

The SBC team have been working over Zoom with a group of asylum seekers to create poetry, and generate text based on the participants’ experiences, dreams and desires. Majid Adin created beautiful illustrations inspired by these writings, and I composed sounds to support the language written by the participants.

This work will be released soon!

April 2021

A little bit of holiday and a little bit of teaching.

April started with time for rest, recovery and nourishment. Although not allowed to see friends and loved ones, I managed to take time away from screens, to go for walks in my local forest, to read and to dance!

Mid April, I started working with the Scottish Dance Theatre ensemble. Over Zoom, I run voice sessions with them in preparation for Janine Harrington’s work storage for future sunsets ‘ improvised lullaby, which will be performed in June.

On the 21st April, I travelled to Dundee to run a live session with SDT which was incredible! A mix of excitement, awkwardness and reluctancy to be in a studio after such a long time. Janine, Joan and the team were welcoming and warm and the session filled us with melodies and joy!

March 2021

The Louloudi Birds is now out!

Romantic, humorous, and a little grisly, the story begins in Greece travels through the UK and ends in Canada and is punctuated by a suite of songs.

Listen here:

This piece explores ideas and feelings around home, immigration, the re-framing of familiar surroundings, and opportunities for connection. The Louloudi Birds will be released on the 3rd March on Bandcamp!

The project has been created with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts through the Digital Originals grant program.

Rhythm in Acting and Performance International Conference: Embodied Approaches and Understandings

I spent my weekend attending and assisting Eilon Morris‘s incredible Rhythm in Acting and Performance – Embodied Approaches and Understandings conference, where I presented my new “moving paper”:

“Is is slowing down? Inhabiting thresholds between movement and stillness, voice and silence”

Mind and heart full and super excited to have shared and received such warm and interesting reflections on my current (see above) research.Thank you to all organisers, participants and attendees!with Eilon MorrisKiki Selioni Juliet Chambers-Coe Judita Vivas Stephanie Arsoska @Carla Fonseca Paul Allain and many many more wonderful people!

February 2021

I hadn’t realised how busy February was, until I sat down to reflect!

A Murmuration

After editing for a while, I finally released my new screen-dance project A Murmuration.

This piece reflects on my feelings of separation created by one being torn between more than one physical locations. I was born and raised in Greece, lived in Scotland and currently live in England. As a migrant, I notice the shifts in notions of belonging, and the residues of places I has lived in as I move on to the next one. “A Murmuration” is a creative response to these thoughts. Poetry written in response to the choreography.

Choreographed/Performed by Zoe Katsilerou

Poetry by hannah_g

Sound/Editing by Zoe Katsilerou

The Louloudi Birds

In the summer, I composed music and melodies for Hannah Godrfey’s gorgeous story, the Louloudi Birds.

Romantic, humorous, and a little grisly, the story begins in Greece travels through the UK and ends in Canada and is punctuated by a suite of songs.

It explores ideas and feelings around home, immigration, the re-framing of familiar surroundings, and opportunities for connection. The Louloudi Birds will be released on the 3rd March on bandcamp!

The project has been created with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts through the Digital Originals grant program.

Hand in Hand or Let’s Hold Hands the Old Way

The first phase of this project is now complete, with the generous support of Kalasangam Arts Centre.

Eilon Morris and I have completed the first draft of this new screen-dance project which is currently being edited!

As we move out of lockdowns, and theatres begin to find ways of programming shows again, we are aiming to develop this piece to an intimate performance.

January 2021

January 2021. Another lockdown. More online teaching. More dancing at home and seeing friends and family through a screen. I do hope that you are keeping well.

I begun this year in the studio, at Kalasangam Arts Centre in Bradford with Eilon Morris.

Kalasangam have been offering 16 artists their studio space and a fee as a way to support them to return to the studio. Invaluable, generous, incredible. You can read more about Kalasangam’s Back to the Studio packages here.

Eilon and I, spent the week in the studio exploring various ways of touch with hands.

Photo by Karol Wyszynski

Inspired by the government’s poster on how to wash hands, I wanted to explore various ways of holding hands, or touching with hands.

Using these gestures as a starting point, and collecting bilingual stories from friends and colleagues around memories of them holding hands, we created short choreographic stories for camera. We hope that this research will continue and that we will produce a short film to be premiered in the summer of 2021.

Experiments with hands – January 2021

*If you have a story of holding hands and wish to be part of this project please send me an email on zoekatsilerou@gmail.com. Your contribution can remain anonymous if you wish so.

***HAPPY NEW YEAR (2021) VIDEO***

December 2020

At the second half of November and the beginning of December, Eilon Morris and I were in Edinburgh, teaching a devising project to Foundation Acting students of Rose Bruford College, London’s International School of Theatre and Performance.

For nearly three weeks, we worked with 12 students on psychophysical devising, movement devising, ensemble, polyphonic song and ensemble. We used Marguerite Yourcenar’s exceptional monologue The Crime C. based on the story of Clytemnestra and Aeschylus’ Tragedy of Agamemnon, and created a beautiful, intimate performance. You can find a recording of the final devising performance below.

In other news, The Moving Voice Laboratory will be running online in the new year, with a new format!

Having run successfully for five years in the UK, Greece, Holland and France, the Laboratory will move online for a block of sessions.

For more information, click here!

November 2020

November, November. Another lockdown, more work from home, private online voice classes, dance classes and… a new Project Mázoksi release!

This time for a more bluesy version of the well-known “O Pasatempos” rebetiko.

Οriginal composition by Manolis Chiotis

Lyrics by Giorgos Giannakopoulos

Performed and produced by project mάzoksi

A rebetiko song composed by Manolis Chiotis and written by Giorgos Giannakopoulos, in the cusp between the occupation and civil war in 1946. The lyricist Giannakopoulos, describes the sensation of being torn from his Ego, and having the illusion of an Alter Ego due to his unrequited love. Through this state, he writes the lyrics for this song. The lyrics use the metaphor of a roasted sunflower seed and its husk, chewed and spat out, to talk about the feeling of being ignored and used by the one you love.

Performers:

Marcus Cain – bass guitar

Zoe Katsilerou – vocal and keyboard

Eilon Morris – percussion and production

Nikos Pegios – bouzouki

October 2020

October found me back in the UK, returning to teaching at Leeds School of Arts. ‘Blended learning’ involves a mix of online and live classes, in an attempt to continue to cultivate essential to performance principles such as presence, liveness, intuition, responsiveness, listening.

As a teacher, practitioner and student myself, these qualities are ones that I deeply value and seek to cultivate within my practices. Through my Hatha Yoga and Ayurveda teacher training, I continue to discover more holistic and spiritual pathways which provide me with the knowledge to support myself and my students in observing the self, identifying habits that are obstructing these qualities from growing. An ever-ending process of growing, resting, collecting, letting go.

September 2020

The beginning of the month found me half way through our Rhythm, Choreography and Language workshop at Dansalliansen and TeatreAlliansen, Sweden, an inspiring beginning which offered a rich experience and valuable exchanges with participants.

A week after the end of this workshop, I was invited to teach at the Makings of The Actor International Conference: The Actor-Dancer in Athens, where, along with Eilon Morris, we taught a workshop on exploring space and time through choreography, language and rhythm.

Andrew Morrish, Eilon Morris and I have continued our layered improvisation collaborations and have now released two more short films! This project was inspired by our first creation AEZ as part of ICEBERG’s Weekend of Improvisation in Glasgow (WIG IV online).

Our latest creations are:

The end of September was filled with play, as I and Eilon Morris were teaching at ArtEZ, Practice Held in Common Masters degree.

Working in a studio with an interdisciplinary group of makers and performers, we were reminded of the joy of sharing and play. Eilon and I shared our practices, and offered the participants an opportunity to experience and discuss notions around play, harmony, sympathy, improvisation, ensemble.

Photo by Martin Venherm

August 2020

Composing Music

August found me in Greece, safe in a remote house by the sea, composing music for a collaboration with Canadian-based British writer Hannah Godfrey. The project was generously funded by the Canada Arts Council and will be released in due course!

Rhythm, Choreography and Language Workshop Dansalliansen and TeatreAlliansen (Sweden)

At the end of August and beginning of September, Eilon Morris and I run an online version of our scheduled workshop Rhythm, Choreography and Language, to members of Dansalliansen and TeatreAlliansen in Sweden. Whilst sharing a studio with other performers is invaluable, the workshop was rich, with participants sharing insightful experiences and processes.

Thank you to all who came and shared the virtual and imaginative space with us, and thank you Dansalliansen and TeatreAlliansen for the invitation!

Mindful Miniatures by Vonnegut Collective

The project:

‘Online Mindful Miniatures invites you to connect with your surroundings, capture an experience and collaborate with the Vonnegut Collective. Each month of June, July and August 2020, we will post a ‘Tune Your Senses’ audio-guided moment by theatre director and mindfulness practitioner Susannah Tresilian. Take a photo, make a drawing or write a small text of one momentary experience inspired by the guided walk and send it to us. Our VC musicians will then improvise their response, and all elements of our interactions will be published on our website, to share our collective, creative and collaborative experience!’

As part of this invitation, Vonnegut Collective received a plethora of drawings, writings, videos and other wonderful responses. Members of the collective, including myself, where then invited to improvise inspired by these public submissions.

Here is what I created!

July 2020

July was a busy month, with a few screen projects and ICEBERG’s last Weekend of Improvisation in Glasgow (WIG IV) adapting and taking place online!

WIG IV

A weekend with four improvisation workshops, each run by our members Penny ChivasEilon MorrisNicolette MacleodZoe Katsilerou, and screenings of our screen-based collaborations with Sky Su, Skye Reynolds, Andrew Morrish and Tamar Daly.

My workshop Poetic Choreography was beautifully reflected upon by Ines Carvalho at Dance Art Journal. Thank you Ines!

I also created daily improvisation invitations which were shared online and encouraged the public to take time to improvise!

As part of WIG IV, Andrew Morrish, Eilon Morris and I created EAZ, a screen-dance project of layered improvisations. Dancer and Dance writer Roisin O’Brien, spent time talking to us about these collaborations – you can find Roisin’s thoughts here.

Project Mάzoksi

Eilon Morris and I released our second rebetiko creation, Kane Ligaki Ipomoni, which you can find in our new YouTube page! Enjoy, like and share!

With special thanks to Judith and Simon from Whitestone Arts.

June 2020

Commissioned by Migration Matters Festival and SBC Theatre, I have composed music to accompany Sanctuary Songs, a film in which Emily Ntshangase-Wood and I are singing. Our songs consist of songs of our cultures and songs that we have previously sang in our collaborations with SBC Theatre. Sanctuary Songs will premier on the opening night of the festival, 15th June, at 7pm.

Please, visit Migration Matters’ programme for more details and to access the film. This year’s festival hosts a diverse line-up of artists from around the UK, showcasing exciting new work – do not miss it!

On a similar note, percussionist and composer Eilon Morris and I have launched our new project Mázoksi for which we collect and recreate Greek rebetiko songs. Visit Project Mázoksi for more information.

Here is our first creation, Misirlou.

May 2020

INDOORS, my new dance project, was created as a response to the shift of perception of time that arose from the COVID-19 quarantine. It was filmed in my kitchen, over the duration of a sunset, and is a combination of improvised and set choreographic scores.

Spheres of Singing is a conference intending to celebrate the diversity in the research and practice of singing and song, which took place (online) in Glasgow, in May 2020. I was invited to present “In Between the Harmonies”, where I discussed the vital role I believe harmonies in song can play in the ways we experience and relate to our bodies, and to each other. As part of this paper, I reflected on my experience of leading Glasgow based community choir Govanhill Voices.

You can read the abstract here.

The paper will be available soon for download as a PDF and a podcast.

This is an extract by Greek polyphonic folk song ‘To Margoudi’, sung by Govanhill Voices in Winter 2019.