Christina Gouzelis—Paul Blackman

Far from the End

The internationally celebrated choreographic duo of Christina Gouzelis and Paul Blackman return to the stages of the Athens Epidaurus Festival with a bold new work that touches upon the curious case of the unfinished, imperfect, and abandoned artwork. Created for three emerging wunderkinds of the Greek choreographic community, Far from the end glorifies the infinite beauty that arises from the absence of definite closure, questioning whether something must "finish" to be considered complete.

Inspired by works such as Michelangelo’s unfinished Hall of Prisoners, the thrilling portrait of a young Black man in Alice Neel’s Black Draftee (James Hunter), the still-unfinished Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudí, and the last words scribbled by Kafka—“but what he said…”—Far from the end unravels through a series of intricate choreographic compositions in conjunction with a fragmented music score, equally inspired by unfinished music works by prominent creators. This ceaseless interplay between dissonance and harmony pushes the performers into a dynamic state of flux, where they must navigate between images, the void itself, and timelessness.

The fleeting crescendo evoked by empty spaces, the missing pieces, and the unresolved “what ifs” suggests a gateway to abstraction, allure, and a sense of clarity. As such, a perpetual cycle of unfinished conclusions is commenced, placing emphasis more on perception rather than on resolution.

Blackman and Gouzelis are known for their firm belief that confrontation can become a powerful tool in expressing the complexity and diversity of the human experience. Their new work embodies this very ethos, weaving contrasting elements together to explore the notion of the incomplete and the countless possibilities it conceals. In recent years, they have collaborated with organisations such as the Vienna State Opera, La Scala in Milan, the Salzburg Festival, and the Gothenburg Opera, among others.