The movement of chorus in ancient Greek drama and its use on contemporary stage design

The chorus in ancient Greek drama holds a key role in the interpretation of the myth. However, our lack of knowledge about chorus’ interpretation leads to a decrease, a mutation or even a disappearance of its use in contemporary productions.

This research aims at gathering all information about what the chorus represented in ancient Greece and thus to explore similar use in contemporary stage production.

The chorus draws its origins from the dithyramb religious songs and refers to a group composed of different persons acting through movement and melody as a single body. From dithyramb to tragedy and comedy, until modern and contemporary examples, its form changed a lot.

But if the chorus is a group moving as one body, how could it influence and qualify the space of drama nowadays? How could the chorus redefine relationships such as actor-space and actor-public?

Among others, the History of visual arts (Bauhaus, R.Arnheim, A.Appia) and the History of theatre and dance performance (R.Laban, T.Brown, W.Forsythe, P.Brook) proclaim that one of the elements defining space is movement. According to these approaches, we are able to redefine and reorganize space through chorus’ movement at any moment.

May, 2016