As part of this year’s Summer Dance Festival, choreographer Konstantinos Christou brings JAMMING to Limassol, a community-driven cypher jam that blends breaking, live music, improvisation, and collective expression. Rooted in the culture of the cypher and inspired by the idea of public space as a shared commons, the event creates an open environment where dancers, musicians, and audiences can connect beyond traditional performance structures. In this interview, Christou reflects on community, collaboration, the evolving relationship between hip-hop and contemporary dance in Cyprus, and why creating spaces for exchange has become more important than ever. 

Organized and facilitated by choreographer Konstantinos Christou (Cyclown), this 2-hour community cypher jam brings together live music, improvisation, and movement. Designed as a supportive, non-competitive space, the event encourages participants to explore new ideas and exchange creative energy freely.

The evening features live music by Threenity Band, alongside a RAP x Breaking showcase by MAVA x BombTheSpot. Attendees will also experience two featured performances: “Schlaf gut. Danke, du auch.” by Janka Janicakova & Jamila Schabbing, and “Flowing and Floating” featuring Nightmare, Cyclown, and a surprise guest (@rot.tuna). With soundtrack curation by DJ D-PRANK (Strawberry Jam) and photography by Phivos Philitas, the event will conclude with an afterparty at the G-Spot beach bar.

FastForward interviews Christou about community, collaboration, the evolving relationship between hip-hop and contemporary dance in Cyprus, and why creating spaces for exchange has become more important than ever.

What does collectivity or community mean within your artistic practice, and how did the idea of the garden as a "commons" influence your creative process? 

Community is one of the few things we still have, it is something we create and actively be part of, we all need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. ‘‘By the community, for the community’’. This has always been in my mind within my artistic practice. But if there is no collectivity, there won’t be any communities. Collectivity is a shared experience and practice that gives space for new ideas to be explored, imagined and lived. The idea of the garden has been in my mind for years, but we didn’t have the opportunity to organise something there before. Since many jams/open sessions we organise take place in public spaces like the skatepark, Plateia Anagennisi and other places often neglected and hidden, I thought it would be great to share what we do for the first time in our solitary urban garden. 

The festival speaks about collective inhabitation and co-formation. In what ways do collaboration and community shape the way you create, rehearse, or perform? 

I sometimes have these questions in mind before I create something new: What can we give back? What are the needs of the community? What changes do we want to bring? Collaborations with local artists/dancers/DJs/Rappers of the Hip Hop culture and of the local art circles keep us inspired, fresh new ideas put into practice can shape into something amazing. This is what keeps us all going to inspire one another and share our worlds and works. The festival is a great opportunity for collective inhabitation and co-formation at one of the only public and accessible green areas of the city. 

How do you perceive the relationship between performance and the current political and social reality of Cyprus? 

Performance is one of the few creative expressions that can question the political and social realities, and it has always been like this. What performers create is an experience that can sometimes be raw and provoking, but it is what can make people come to realisations, try to understand these complex realities, unite and eventually take some actions to change them.

Cyphers are deeply rooted in community, exchange, and raw presence. What makes the cypher culture of Limassol unique, and why is it crucial to bring it into the spotlight of a contemporary dance festival? 

Cyphers are open for everyone and are organic. Dancers can create a cypher, change or join one, try new things, explore new ideas, take their time and risks and call-out dancers. Nobody is in the spotlight, there is no competition, no comparison, no evaluation. Fresh music and good vibes for all the dancers make the cypher culture grow in Cyprus. 

At first, I thought it would be radical to bring it into the spotlight of a contemporary dance festival funded by institutions. The reason is that we mostly organise local cypher jams supported by the community. Now, I feel it is an amazing opportunity for the Hip Hop and contemporary dance communities to come together, experience the cyphers, socialise and get inspired. The local dance scene cannot be segregated, and since we live on an island, new information that can inspire rarely comes in, so we must be open to new ways of experiencing and reconstructing.

Ultimately, Konstantinos Christou’s community cypher jam at the Summer Dance Festival represents more than just a performance; it is a radical bridge between the institutional art world and the raw, collective energy of Limassol's streets. By dismantling the traditional spotlight in favor of a supportive, non-competitive environment, this intervention challenges the segregation of the local dance scene and reclaims public space as a shared creative commons. In a social and political landscape where artistic expression must constantly question reality, bringing hip-hop cypher culture into a contemporary dance festival offers an essential space for co-formation, mutual inspiration, and collective healing, proving that when isolated creative communities unite, they can reshape how art is experienced and lived across Cyprus.

Who: Konstantinos Christou (Cyclown)

What: Summer Dance Festival

Where: Limassol Municipal Garden

More Info: Nea Kinisi

Nea Kinisi of Dancers and Choreographers of Cyprus was founded in 2004 as a non-profit organization representing the majority of professional dancers and choreographers in Cyprus. It supports and unites professional dancers and choreographers, aiming at the broader promotion of the art of contemporary dance and the recognition of Cypriot artists both within the country and abroad, through the export of dance in all its forms. Among other initiatives, Nea Kinisi created the Summer Dance Festival, unique of its kind in Cyprus. It is annually funded by the Department of Contemporary Culture of the Deputy Ministry of Culture of Cyprus. The Nea Kinisi continually strives to highlight and promote the art of dance to a broad audience that includes all layers and levels of society. A society that belongs to the European family of open borders, within which there is a continuous exchange of the arts among countries. As the Nea Kinisi, we seek to create the conditions that will make Cyprus a destination for new contemporary dance artists — both Cypriot and European — to present their work and share their knowledge. With a vision for the creation of new festivals and focusing on the educational aspect of dance, we aim to bring innovative ideas to our small island. The board of the Nea Kinisi serves a two-year term. The current board consists of Georgia Andreou (Chairwoman), Zoe Giorgalli (Vice President), Diamanto Hadjizacharia (Secretary), Maria Papageorgiou (Treasurer), and Eleftheria Sokratous (Member).