His last work Vangelis Papathanasiou, «The Thread» , will be presented on Wednesday, August 31, at Herodion.

This unique dance performance is based on the dialogue between the past and the present. On the one hand, there are traditional Greek dances and, on the other, contemporary dance. Two worlds that are seemingly opposite and foreign to each other. The world of tradition, which represents stability and extroversion, and the world of contemporary movement, which represents the search for and inner world of human beings. The two «incongruous» paths appear on stage and sometimes clash, sometimes converge, sometimes expose their differences, and sometimes seek understanding.

The exceptional, original music composed by Vangelis Papathanassiou especially for this performance bears Vangelis's distinctive compositional stamp, while it is accompanied by distinguished soloists playing traditional musical instruments (gaidas, lyres, daouli, etc.). This composition sometimes separates and sometimes unites these two worlds, creating a unique musical unity that captivates the audience.

The renowned choreographer Russell Malifant With his personal dance language, he dares, deconstructs, and reconstructs the kinesthetics of the past, making a breakthrough in his creative journey. He studied Greek traditional dances in depth and managed to create an enchanting work, sometimes conversing, sometimes contrasting, and sometimes accepting to incorporate the original «choreography» into the performance as it is.

The rising power of contemporary design Mary Katrantzou designed the costumes for the performance, drawing inspiration from ancient Minoan vases.

The idea for the performance «The Thread» was conceived in January 2016, by Georgia Iliopoulou, founder and managing director of the cultural company Lavrys since 1991, who decided to realise a bold vision. To create an original dance production with renowned international contributors and a group of 18 selected Greek dancers (12 contemporary dancers and 6 traditional dancers). A performance that highlights the creativity of contemporary Greek culture to an international audience.

A vision that Vangelis Papathanassiou embraced from the outset and worked with all the great contributors to make it a reality.

The performance was named «The Thread» after Ariadne's thread. It is the thread that unites, the thread that guides, the thread that can understand what at first glance seems unconnected, the thread that can transport us to seemingly incompatible worlds, illuminating underlying connections that people are reluctant to accept. The thread that, using the art of dance as a tool, reminds us of the basis of ancient Greek philosophy: From the many, the one, and from the one, the many.

I have always given and continue to give memory top priority.

Anyone who manages to delve as deeply as possible into the realm we call memory will be able to propel themselves into the future with impressive consistency and effectiveness.

In other words, as long as a person or a people knows its past and its history, it can act more positively for the present and the future.
I consider myself fortunate to come from a place that, throughout the centuries, has never been deprived of cultural and spiritual wealth.

Knowing better than anything else the power of music as a divine force that predates humankind, and combining it with dance, a primitive human expression, was the main stimulus that led me to engage in this project. The coexistence of these two elements of the cultural treasure of my homeland today. A holistic approach to human evolution.

This project is like an excavation into the past and, at the same time, into the future.

Contributors

Dancing: Delis Dimitris, Dimitriadis Margarita, Karahanidis Anastasis, Karoutis Christos, Kolovou Euphrosyne, Letsou Mina, Manoukian Maria, Bayeorgos Elias, Pagan Dimitris, Pantelaki Irini, Papakonstantinou Maria, Pavlis Themistoklis, Spiliotopoulou Eo, Stavropoulos Alexandros, Schinoplokaki Myrto, Tsigistra Maria, Hatzivasiliadis Nikolaos, Hatzigiannakis Thomas

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