In 2017 Dimitris Papaioannou’s first internationally co-produced work The Great Tamer was presented in Avignon and considered the revelation of the festival. Since then, the production toured with great success in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America to a total of 30 cities.  Among several other prizes The Great Tamer was nominated in 2019 for the Olivier award for “outstanding achievement in dance”. After the death of Pina Bausch in 2009, Papaiaonnou became the first artist to create a new full-length work for the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, since she premiered in May 2018 in Germany. In 2004, Dimitris drew media attention and acclaim with his creative direction of the Opening Ceremony of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. In 2015, he created the Opening Ceremony for the Baku 2015 First European Games. For his achievement in directing these mass spectacles, he received 6 Emmy nominations. Papaioannou gained early recognition as a painter and graphic artist, before his focus shifted to the performing arts where he wore many hats — director, choreographer, performer, set designer, costumer, make-up artist, and lighting designer. He was a student of the iconic Greek painter Yannis Tsarouchis before studying at the Athens School of Fine Arts. In 1986 he formed Edafos Dance Theatre as an initial vehicle for his original stage productions which were hybrids of physical theater, experimental dance, and performance art, resulting in their iconic work, Medea (1993). After the company dissolved in 2002, he followed with more avant-garde dance works including 2 (2006), Nowhere (2009), Inside (2011), and Primal Matter (2012), and Still Life (2014).Papaioannou’s 25 productions range from mass spectacles with thousands of performers to intimate pieces, and have appeared in a wide variety of venues, from his famous underground squat theater in Athens, to the ancient theatre in Epidaurus, to the Théâtre de la Ville, and Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. In May 2020 Dimitris Papaioannou will premiere his next internationally co-produced work at ONASSIS STEGI in Athens, which is already scheduled to be presented in more than 30 cities abroad.