Alexandra Demetriades conducted dance research across Europe this summer, thanks to support from the College of Fine Arts Medici Circle.
Demetriades is a second-year graduate student in the School of Dance and conducts extensive research in embodied awareness as a tool for a transformation in performance, pedagogy, and even daily life. This summer, Demetriades took this research to Europe, traveling to cities in Great Britain, Italy, and Greece, including Ermioni in Peloponnese, the island of Hydra, and Athens.
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Through her research, she dove into the idea of presence.
This research specifically examined “how we inhabit our bodies, connect to ourselves, and engage with the communities around us,” she said. “ This summer’s project expanded that inquiry beyond the studio, into real-world environments where presence is practiced, preserved, and performed in vastly different ways.”
Through each city, she immersed herself into cultural and communal practices along with historical environments and architecture. These, she added, all shape one’s presence.
“From the layered, tactile history embedded in the streets of Florence and Athens, to the rhythm of daily life on the island of Hydra where no cars are allowed, each place offered a unique lens through which to understand embodiment,” she said.
The architecture in particular, she said, informed her of the way people interact with each other. Its elements, including its scale, texture, and relationship to its surroundings “powerfully informed how people moved through their environments and interacted with one another.”
Her investigations this summer provided useful skills that she can take back with her in her final year of graduate studies, she said.
“These experiences offered insights I will carry into my choreographic explorations, teaching methods, and personal lifestyle. I am especially interested in exploring how all these elements can affect the body’s ability to feel grounded, expressive, and present,” she said.
Medici Circle Appreciation
“I am deeply grateful to my Medici donor, Nina Transoff, for making this journey possible. Thank you for supporting research that values embodied knowledge, cultural exchange, and the continual search for deeper connection, within ourselves and our communities.”
Previously on Medici Mondays …
- Gwen Buettner, dance … 09.01.25
- Cole Nagoda, music … 09.08.25
- Kayla Howard, TFTV … 09.15.25
- Gia Del Pino, art … 09.22.25
- Bennett Curran, TFTV … 09.29.25
- Bella Ruiz, dance … 10.06.25
- Macy Halverson, music … 10.13.25
- Andrés Caballero, art … 10.20.25
- Kate Eid, dance … 10.27.25
- Chuan Choy, music … 11.03.25
- Sasha Schick, dance … 11.10.25