Dimitris Papaioannou

Dimitris Papaioannou is an Athenian born on 21 June 1964 who emerged from the Greek underground art scene as a defining figure. Starting as a comics creator, he became a director, choreographer, performer, and designer of sets, costumes, and lighting. His hybrid creations gained a growing dedicated audience in Greece, and in 2004 he became the youngest artist to have been assigned to direct the biggest show on earth: the Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies. A decade later, in 2015, he was discovered by European programmers and was invited to tour.

Papaioannou is an internationally acclaimed avant-garde theatre maker, with Le Figaro describing him as "one of the four most important choreographers in the world". Other newspapers, such as The Times, La Repubblica, described him as "a masterful theatrical magician and imagist," and "the most original choreographer of our time," respectively, with other newspapers such as the New York Times describing his creations as "an act of artistic magic created before our eyes," and The Guardian writing that his work was "a genre of performance unlike anything else [one will] see on stage".

Papaioannou's more than 30 productions range from mass spectacles with thousands of performers to the most intimate pieces. His creations have been commissioned, co-produced, and presented internationally by the most renowned festivals and theatres, enjoying sold-out performances on extensive tours worldwide.