“feed me peace”: Anastasia Valsamaki explores the politics and poetics of care through movement

In “feed me peace”, choreographer Anastasia Valsamaki engages with the political and embodied dimensions of self-care as a field of renegotiation, and collective practice. Placing the body at the center, the performance explores how care shifts between personal experience and collective reality. Is it an individual refuge or a tool for survival under pressure?

Drawing inspiration from historical practices of self-care as tools of resilience and activism, the piece juxtaposes the need for survival and assertion with the contemporary commodification of wellness. Ιn interaction with the scenographic environment, the performative action becomes a process of exploring and re-signifying care in the present, continuously generating new sonic, conceptual, and visual worlds. The stage is shaped as a space of community, where four female bodies initiate the action between a familiar everyday setting and a ritual-like practice of care.

Through repetition, shifts, and changes in intensity, movement accumulates and transforms, leading into a sustained state of high energy in which rhythm becomes dominant. The stage transitions into a collective celebration: an extended shuffle dance as an act of survival, pleasure, and togetherness. An attempt to “care for ourselves” under conditions of high intensity, through the cathartic connection between music and dance, and perhaps, ultimately, an effort to find a sense of peace without compromise.

Concept & Choreography: Anastasia Valsamaki
Music: Jeff Vaguer

Co-creation & Performance: Gabriela Antonopoulou, Danae Vasilakakou, Eva Georgitsopoulou, Mariana Tzouda

Dramaturgical Consultant: Rodia Vomvolou

Set & Costume Design: Dafni Aidoni

Lighting Design: Vaggelis Mountrichas

Press & Communication: Evangelia Skrompola

Photography: studio pareidolia

Video: Andy Tzouma

Poster Design: Ira Stamatopoulou

Production Management & Execution: Achilleas Stavrou & Olga Papadopoulou (Goodheart Productions)

Produced by: MIND THE LOOP

The performance is presented under the auspices and with the financial support of the Greek Ministry of Culture.

Special Thanks
Giorgos Antonopoulos, Alexandros Papathanasopoulos, Marissa Bili

A few words about Anastasia Valsamaki

Anastasia Valsamaki is a contemporary dance artist based in Athens. She creates dance performances and collaborates with other artists in a variety of dance and cross-field projects. Her work explores the physicality and brainy side of movement, seeking to offer new readings of human coexistence. Anastasia graduated with honors from the National School of Dance (KSOT) and studied choreography at SEAD (I.C.E.). As a choreographer, she has received international recognition through two selections by the Aerowaves network, and is a recipient of the ARTWORKS Award.

She has created the works Sync, Body Monologue, DisJoint, W REST L ING, and THE VERSO, presenting them at international and Greek festivals.