With the 23^rd Kalamata International Dance Festival (July 14 – 23, 2017) about to open, Stavroula Skalidi writes in the “Arts and Letters” section of Kathimerini newspaper

"Peaceful revolution with one’s body"

One of the seminars at this year’s Dance Festival in Kalamata is “The “Revolutionary Dances of Isidora Duncan” that will be conducted by Barbara Kane, along with Françoise Rageau and Sandra Voulgari.   

“What can be revolutionary nowadays?  How does the body bridge our differences?  Can the relationship between tradition and contemporary choreography facilitate the need to redefine identities and concepts in a rapidly changing world?  These are the types of questions that are being raised at the 23^rd Kalamata International Dance Festival and which the public and spectators who will be present in the city from the 14^th through the 23^rd of July will be asked to contemplate.  Corroborating the international nature of this institution, this year’s program includes eight foreign and four Greek contemporary dance troupes, one seminar, three workshops, two masterclasses and six parallel events open to the public – a total of 24 events spread out across the four corners of this southern Greek city.  The works of the foreign entrants are being presented for the first time.

The challenge this year for Ms. Katerina Kasioumi, the Festival’s artistic director, is to demonstrate her investment in man, in beauty and in the positive.   Feeling justified by the choices and the outcome of the past year and judging by the success of this venture – with the world participating in and showing support for this institution by its presence – this year, she feels the urgent need to deliver a positive message.  Even though the “usefulness” of art is not obvious, it must make room for everyone: it must embrace the artist because he, with the timeless questions that he poses, is the one who can inspire the viewer, and who can connect art to himself and to those around him. ….. For the totally professional attitude required of a dancer, this year’s festival celebrates the 100^th anniversary since the birth of Zouzou Nikoloudi, whose contributions are praised by Ms. Kasioumi. She explains how this great personality raised the bar high for all, how revolutionary Zouzou Nikoloudi was, in her own way, for the times in which she lived by displaying passion and love, and a keen eye for dancing and young people. …..

A dancer must also be an intellectual; but, must maintain a very delicate balance so as not to neglect the body, says Ms. Kasioumi.
This is the context in which the educational program of this institution is focused.  One of the seminars is “The “Revolutionary Dances of Isidora Duncan,” conducted by Barbara Kane, together with Françoise Rageau and Sandra Voulgari.   Barbara Kane speaks fervently about the spirit of Isidora Duncan, about this imposing figure’s effect on society, on dance, on the position of women and on dressing style.   About how Isidora Duncan changed the face of dancing and exacted it as an acceptable form of art.  A woman who changed the evolution of artistic dancing.  …..

Barbara Kane is guided by the ethos that Isidora Duncan taught.  For this reason, she seeks to keep dance open and accessible to everyone in society:  dancers, children, adults, people without the financial means to attend dance lessons, the elderly, and people with disabilities. …..

For more information in English about the Kalamata Dance Festival, see:  http://www.kalamatadancefestival.gr/index.php/en/

Source: “Arts and Letters,”  Kathimerini newspaper, July 9, 2017

To read the full article (in Greek), click below:

http://www.kathimerini.gr/917405/article/politismos/xoros/eirhnikh-epanastash-me-to-swma