NATALIE GIANNOPOULOS

A Drag and Dance Performance. Imagining a queer utopia on stage.

My Role: Stage Design, Costume Workshops and Supervision

In “Have you ever had a dream that you could do anything?”

In this fusion drag and dance performance, emerging drag personas take over the stage, forge connections, share stories of identity, queerness and community. They transcend dreaming, ultimately transforming the stage into a space of freedom – a queer Utopia. 

Through a series of workshops, based on movement, improvisation and character development techniques, the group created choreographies while seeking to answer the question: “What does our queer utopia look like?”. A group identity was developed, by the participants, that created a common physical language, expressed in a final performance.

A team of queer FLINTA* folks with a professional background in choreography, drag performance, stage make-up, costume and stage design accompanied the group. They offered guidance to the participants during their journey of creative exploration, self-expression and the development of their drag persona. 

I prepared and led a series of costume concept and development workshops with a focus on drag and DIY culture. Participants were guided through the process of conceptualizing their personas and developing a narrative for their characters using costume.

Under my guidance, performers learned a variety of DIY techniques to create their own costumes, working primarily with reclaimed materials. The workshops empowered them to be active creators in their own artistic process, blending storytelling with practical design skills and encouraging collaboration among the artists.

This stage design is a journey from the disparate to the divine. A transformation toward a unified, utopian dream. The backdrop, a striking fusion of soft fabrics and rigid, stone-like stiffness, suggests the conflicting forces of nature and reality. It appears to be both the ebb of waves and the stillness of clouds, hinting at the utopia that is to come.

The concept culminates in the final choreography. The performers dismantle pieces of the backdrop, scattering fabric across the stage floor and revealing the light behind a backdrop simulating a new dawn. The final performer, wearing a costume made from the same material, stands in the middle of this transformation. In this climactic moment, the boundaries between the performers, the set, and the space dissolve. As the stage floor and backdrop merge into a single, unified pattern, the utopia takes over the entire space.

Choreography & Concept: Maria Karamoutsiou

Stage Design & Costume Supervision: Natalie Giannopoulos

Make Up Supervision: Ingrid Hideki

Production Management: MIFRUSH Production

Photo & Video: Alkistis Kafetzi

Stage Design Assistant: Mireia Guzman Sanjaume

Performers: Lavender Candy, Bobbie Boobie, Alpha Soup, Ibu Profen, Chander, Beate Feathers, Pukka Maddison

Partners: Brotfabrik, FiPP -Nische und FreiRaum, TanzTangente, Berliner Projektfonds Kulturelle Bildung