Emerging Frameworks for Engaging Precarity and "Otherness" in Greek Contemporary Dance Performances

At the dawn of the European refugee crisis, and in the middle of the ongoing sociopolitical and financial crisis in Greece, Greek choreographers started creating dance works that engaged immigrants and refugees. In most such initiatives, improvisation became the tool for bridging the disparity between the professional dancers and the "untrained" participants, who were often the vulnerable populations of refugees and asylum seekers. In this essay, I question the ethics and aesthetics of these methodological approaches utilized for staging encounters between natives and migrants through dance. In particular, I consider the significance of improvisation as potentially perpetuating hierarchical inequalities in the framework of Western concert dance, while I also highlight the ways that such artistic endeavors end up presenting immigrants and refugees as "Others."

Contextualizing Precarity in the Greek Context

What has come to be known as the Greek financial crisis is dated as starting in 2009; yet some political theory and anthropology scholars (Gourgouris 2010; Kitromilides 2013; Panourgia 2009) trace the roots of the crisis back to a year earlier, when a series of protests against police brutality¹ made the social indignation of the Greek populace visible. The brewing social crisis was thus further deepened by the arrival of the first round of economic austerity measures in 2010. Two more rounds followed in the form of stability support program agreements (in 2012 and 2015, respectively), which Greece signed with its creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union (EU), and the European Central Bank (ECB). These three memoranda imposed severe austerity measures, such as pension cuts, wage reductions, and changes in health care. Along these lines, funding for the arts, and in particular funding for the performing arts (theater and dance), was severely affected as well.

In 2011, the Greek Ministry of Culture stopped providing subsidies for dance and theater productions as a result of extended budget cuts. Dance was always one of the most underfunded arts in Greece, and the complete lack of funding created additional challenges for choreographers and performers, who not only had to come up with alternative ways to continue creating their works but also had to learn how to navigate the constantly fluctuating landscape of austerity measures and policy changes. For instance, several forums emerged where performances were hosted and audiences were invited to contribute either nonmonetarily (such as by sharing food) or on a "pay what you want/what you can" basis. Another trend that emerged at the time was the reclaiming of abandoned spaces such as old theater buildings or market places, which were occupied and turned into communal performance spaces. This trend related to the money crunch of the time, as abandoned buildings had no rental costs and were fertile sites for hosting communal activism initiatives.

Beyond the financial challenges, however, artists were also faced with the challenge of engaging with and navigating changes in the social sphere. One of the most significant changes was the rising influx of immigrant and refugee populations from parts of Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. Even though the European refugee crisis is officially dated as occurring in 2015, Greece has been confronted with a "crisis of asylum" (Cabot 2014) that has its roots as far back as 2004, since the Greek borders in the North (by Evros, which borders Turkey) are among the most trafficked in the European Union. The migrant influx into Greece steadily increased in numbers from 2004 to 2007 (Cabot 2014). There was a minor drop in the years between 2008 and 2010, after which the numbers increased again, reaching unprecedented heights in 2015 (BBC News 2016). Given the challenges already imposed on Greece due to the financial crisis, the country lacked the infrastructure to deal with these mass population movements.

Many of the immigrants and refugee participants who find themselves in Greece as part of their journey experience what anthropologist Heath Cabot (2014) has termed "legal limbo." In her book On the Doorstep of Europe: Asylum and Citizenship in Greece, Cabot notes that the recognition as a refugee conveys the right to protection in the host country, yet the...