Island without Sea

Creation year: 2023

Length: 60mn

Type : Création directe

Introduction

The “Island Without Sea” project emerged from a meeting between Anan Atoyama and Lonaïs, a French activist who has been working with migrants in Greece since 2020 and who lived for several months in the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. This camp, originally designed for 3,000 people, actually housed more than 20,000 men, women, and children, deprived of food, medical care, and the most basic rights, in makeshift shelters where unsanitary conditions led to terrible physical, emotional, and existential violence. But Lonaïs also witnessed remarkable resilience and dignity.

“Island Without Sea” takes the form of a multidisciplinary work in which the life stories of migrants and scientific research on migration are integrated into a choreographic approach. This approach allows for the exploration of themes such as loss, exile, resilience, and hope through the body, poetry, and music. The project is not limited to a simple choreographed performance: it directly involves the audience, inviting them to actively participate in the performances.

The choreographic piece, written by Anan Atoyama, is conceived as a way to engage with the world and forge connections between the participants and the migrants’ stories. The audience is invited to follow the artist’s instructions in real time, while giving free rein to their personal interpretation and the collective inspiration of the group.

This participatory process allows everyone to reflect and engage in a shared exploration, without focusing on finding a single or definitive solution. The interactions are renewed with each performance, creating a dynamic of discovery and exploration that evolves over time.

For Anan Atoyama, the essence of the project lies in this process of collective exploration. The goal is not to present a finished, static performance, but to give participants the opportunity to have a personal and transformative experience. Everyone involved in “Island Without Sea” can thus participate in a live creation—a form of art in perpetual motion, where individual emotions, reflections, and interpretations blend to create a collective work through unique and fleeting encounters.

“The issue of migrants and refugees is very complex. I went to Lesbos to try to understand the situation, but I ended up even more confused. I was appalled and frightened by a system where corruption is so widespread that it is no longer possible to function properly, but I was able to meet people there who were consistently working to help those in immediate need, as well as people with pasts they would rather forget, yet who maintained inner strength and kindness. I was able to glimpse the dignity of the human being and find inspiration, amidst utter despair. The project was not created to provide an intellectual answer to this current situation. It is an opportunity to bring together, in one way or another, those who are here and those who have had to leave their country, whether near or far. It is very delicate to get involved in a problem with no solution in sight, but I believe that those who come to watch and those who participate can feel something by first sharing a time and a place where they can feel in harmony in the face of a problem they cannot face alone. ”
Anan Atoyama

COLLABORATORS

Musicians: Meizar Bakdalia, Paolo De Santis,

Dancers: Francesca Cinalli, Noé Pellencin, Ennio Sammarco,

Filmmakers: Yaser Akbari, Nazanin Foroghi

PARTNERS

Festival Sens Interdit

RAMDAM – art center

CCO – la Rayonne,

CND – Lyon

Université Lyon 2

ENSBA – Lyon

ENM – Villeurbanne

Complexe Line Thevenin

Espace Artaud

Forum Réfugiés,

Cefedem Lyon

Sporting Club Villeurbanne

Lesbos Solidarity (GR)

ReFocus (GR)