DIONY­SIAN RITES #1

Followers of the ancient Greek mystic cults of Dionysus (later identified with Bacchus in Rome) celebrated experiences outside of everyday civic life and a connection to instinct and primordial nature. The Maenads, priestesses of Dionysus, were portrayed as wild and fierce women in ancient art. They went up into mountains and forests at night, practicing strange trance-inducing rituals. Creating a state of heightened emotion, movement and collective participation. The Dionysian experience also offered a space for those normally excluded from public life and on the margins of society. "Following the torches as they dipped and swayed in the darkness, dancing to the beat of the drum which stirred their blood. In this state of ekstasis, they abandoned themselves, dancing wildly and shouting 'Euoi!'" Each episode of "Dionysian Rites" reinterprets these ancient spiritual and social traditions through the lens of contemporary rave and sound system culture. Exploring how a ritual might have sounded in the present day.