Ermira Goro

After graduating from the Greek National School of Dance, I found myself in New York City where I was exposed to new and innovative dance forms. All these stimuli combined with living in one of the most vibrant and artistically progressive cities in the world had a profound effect on my trajectory as both a dancer and a choreographer. I had the good fortune to collaborate with people I admired in an environment that supported experimentation and was devoid of the pressure of presenting a finished polished product. My horizons were expanded beyond imagining and the limits of what I though dance could accomplish were shattered. During my time in New York I was imbued with a love of the process, the journey as we say in Greece. This passion followed me during my 11-year collaboration with DV8 Physical Theatre and has remained to the core of my practice to this day.

This journey hasn't always been easy. There have been times of extreme self doubt, times where I questioned what was the point of it all, times where I came within breathing distance of quitting. I have spent large parts of my career trying to understand what it is that I am trying to achieve as an artist and a human being.

Recently I have focused more on creating and my work has been heavily influenced by the current sociopolitical climate as well as by issues that have always plagued humanity. I have the need to make my work as accessible and relatable as possible because I believe, first and foremost, that art (any art) should be in the service of the people and not an insular privilege of the few. My practice has subsequently changed to be more inclusive and to challenge the norms of what it means to be a performer. I was glad to find out in my personal “mirror” that my urge to create and to express has a ground, and that my need to share with others what I am obsessed with or puzzled by or in awe of, is best achieved by the medium of performing arts, something I have often doubted.