A naked man riding a bull, the bull gives birth to a woman, the woman completely turns into a vulva and gives birth to a silicone baby.

This is not some otherworldly nightmare, but images from his work Dimitris Papaioannou “Transverse Orientation” or otherwise transverse orientation. (mixture of dance, theatre, circus and visual installations) broadcast by Siobhan Burke from The newspaper “New York Times, from the premiere of the show Brooklyn Academy of Music last Monday.

This show was also presented to the Athenian public last season in Stegi. However, this is the second time Papaioannu’s performance is sent to the Brooklyn Academy after “Great Tamer” 2019. And, as Burke comments, “It comes from the contradiction between grandeur and simplicity. […] Minimalist materials, colors and clothing create an epic visual footprint.”

The scene changes come from the eight Transverse Orientation performers themselves, making the spectacle into “a feat of theatrical art and collaboration”.

Everything that happens on stage has a musical background. Vivaldi got confused in electronics although, of course, her legacy Pina Baus echo everywhere. After all, Papaioannou himself admitted that with her “Cafe Muller” he experienced his first shock in a live theater.

Moods alternate between the numbers of the performance: in some places they become brighter, even acquire elements of a physical comedy, and in other places the atmosphere turns from sinister into grotesque – and there, however, there is a share of humor.

At the same time, the show highlights row of dipoles: man against animals, technology against nature, masculinity against femininity.

However, a New York Times critic comments on the creator’s decision to include only one woman in the main cast: Brenna O’Mara, which he finds charismatic, writing that he “seems to take on more archetypal responsibility than the rest.” (Also mentioned Tina Papanicolaou, producer and assistant director who also makes the pass.)

Through the last scene of “Lateral Orientation”, an alternate world enters the scene. However, for Siobhan Burke, “the emotional dimension remains unused, perhaps buried even deeper.”

According to the New York Times.