Here is an article about IkariaDance written by Eirini Steirou who interviewed Christiana. Published in Greektv.com
Thank you Eirini!
http://greektv.com/ikaria-dance-an-innovative-program-of-cultural-tourism-based-on-the-ikarian-feast-culture/
IkariaDance: An innovative program of cultural tourism based on the Ikarian feast culture.
Greek tourism is at its peak, however if one is looking for
quality cultural oriented tourism there are few opportunities out there,
even if Greece is so rich in tradition and heritage. IkariaDance is a group of friends and volunteers from Etepo association (www.etepo.gr) and other cultural associations who aim to connect dance friends from all around the world with the Ikarian values of dance and feast culture. GreekTV interviewed Christiana Katsarou, teacher – folklorist and one of the organisers of the project, in order to find out more about this project that gathers people from around the world to dance together!
What is IkariaDance?IkariaDance
is a Project aiming to promote cultural tourism in the island of Ikaria
emphasizing on Greek folk culture (Greek traditional dances,
traditional songs and music). Moreover, the workshops of the Project aim
to familiarize participants with the everyday life of Greeks, their
language and their traditional culture still alive in many aspects, like
their feasts, their food culture etc. And above all, Ikaria Dance is a
group of friends and volunteers who wish to share their passion for
Greek culture with people from all around the world…
IkariaDance
is a group of friends and volunteers who wish to share their passion
for Greek culture with people from all around the world
Who can participate?All
foreign adults who love Greece, its language and culture can
participate in the workshops of the Project. Adults who want to learn
Greek dances, Greek songs or the Greek language in an experiential way
and want to interact with Greeks, understanding their ideas, attitudes
and contemporary reflection on their cultural values. Adults who wish to
focus on a deeper experience of the Greek culture and its origins and
not a superficial touristic experience.
Why did you choose Ikaria to host IkariaDance?Ikaria
is an island of a unique cultural identity, with a natural
unpretentious beauty and a rich historical background. The most
important about Ikaria is its people who enjoy and share their local
culture in a most generous way, through community activities (like the
panigiria, the local feasts) that embrace all generations and all types
of people in their society. Ikaria’s people do not organize their life,
so to offer a “directed authenticity” to visitors, so that they consume
it like in other Greek touristic islands. The Ikarians live their life
as they always did and they are kind and hospitable, so to let other
people experience their way of life, which focuses on simple things:
nice local food and wine, very rich dance and music culture, human
contact and respect for simplicity and sincerity.
Ikaria’s people enjoy and share their local culture in a most generous way.
What aspects of Greek culture do you introduce to the participants?We
introduce Greek dances, songs and music to our friends who are lovers
of Greek traditional culture and arts. We also offer workshops in Greek
language for beginners and advanced learners in collaboration with
experienced teachers of the Ikaria Greek Language project (
www.ikariagreeklanguage.gr)
. Moreover, we host parallel sessions of conversation classes
discussing issues of history, anthropology and sociology in our Greek
language Kafenio, with Greeks who are experts in their fields. Visiting
local people in their place of work and creation (musicians, cooks,
producers of local products, artists etc.), we try to get in contact
with their life’s reality, their ideas, their values and their hopes.
What is the idea behind IkariaDance?The
idea is the real contact with elements about the contemporary folk
Greek culture and the way Greeks think and act in their everyday life,
elements that are usually not easy to explain to foreigners, as most
foreigners have a rather stereotypical knowledge about Greek culture.
(syrtaki, souvlaki etc.) This real contact and deeper understanding can
only take place through real emotions, real relationships and common
life experience, in both an emotive and cognitive approach. So, truly
speaking, the idea behind was to share our truth with other people from
around the world that are interested to get in touch with that truth.
The idea also was to promote more the understanding on Greek islands’
culture and the Greek heritage of Asia Minor music and dances, since
when we started the Project in 2004, these fields were not presented in
the way we felt they should be presented.
It
was a surprise for us that so many different people from so many
different cultural backgrounds become one “parea”, one “big family”
What are your future goals?Our
future practical goals are to enrich the variety of our workshops,
offering more specialized workshops for Greek dance, Greek traditional
songs and musical instruments.
With Christos Theologos, president of Etepo association and folklore researcher, we plan to participate in
university research projects so as to reflect on practices and ideas of
our interest in the field of folklore studies and cultural
anthropology. We would also be very interested to offer scholarships
for youth of the Greek diaspora and teachers of Greek dance and culture
worldwide and we are searching for funds to do so.
How do you see IkariaDance in the future?Trying
to share our culture, we learnt a lot ourselves through all these
years, about us, our history, our folk life and art, and above all, our
need to preserve our identity with creativity and an open minded spirit.
After all these years we have developed an intercultural experience and
understanding, realizing the common ground for many of our traditions
or practices around the Mediterranean Sea. It was a surprise for us that
so many different people from so many different cultural backgrounds
become one “parea” (group of friends), one “big family” during the
Project. We met many wonderful people from many countries, with whom we
have become friends and we care deeply for each other. So, we care to
continue sharing our passion for life, music, dance, Greek language and
our common ideas about the worlds’ local cultures that we need to
experience and learn from.
Our future goals are just to continue
this journey together with our friends. And make more friends who can
understand our vision of actually experiencing our Greek culture and
identity today. We have a long way to go, and the only way to do it well
is to do it together!
For more info, you can visit:
www.ikariadance.comwww.ikariadance.blogspot.gr
