27-06-2008

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His appearances on stages worldwide as well as on both the big and small screen have propelled Mikhail Baryshnikov to a level of prominence rarely seen in the field of dance. Baryshnikov may have just turned 60, but for a man who was once described by Time magazine as “the greatest living dancer,” age is not a drawback. The multifaceted artist with the fascinating life story is once more about to defy age and gravity with a series of performances at the Athens festival’s Pireos 260 venue, July 5 to 10. In what is bound to be a memorable performance, Baryshnikov has teamed up with acclaimed Swedish choreographer Mats Ek, dancer Ana Laguna as well as American dancer and choreographer David Neumann. Titled “Three Duets,” the program will feature three choreographies. The evening will kick off with the 2005 “Memory,” choreographed by Mats Ek, who will also be performing alongside Laguna. A world premiere, Neumann’s “The Common Foreign Language of the Red- Haired People,” with the music of Philip Glass, is up next and will be performed by Baryshnikov and Neumann. The legendary artist will get together with Laguna for the final part, 2007’s “Place,” once more directed by Ek. Baryshnikov, whose striking dance talent is coupled with a nat- 28 Dance legend defies age and gravity ural charm, making him captivating on stage, was born in Latvia – then part of the USSR – in 1948. He was spotted at an early age and went on to become a star dancer at the Kirov Ballet Theater, having well-known local choreographers create works especially for him. Despite the benefits that came with his ballet star status, Baryshnikov longed to break away from the strict barriers of the genre and experiment with more contemporary forms of dance. In 1974, while on tour in Canada, he defected and moved to the USA. His dream came true in New York, where he gradually turned his full attention to contemporary dance. His resume includes working with landmark choreographer George Balanchine as well as Jerome Robbins at the New York City Ballet and a 10-year stint as artistic director of the American Ballet Theater. Among his other initiatives, Baryshnikov, along with Mark Morris, founded the White Oak Dance Project, which created new choreographies to challenge modern dance. A few years ago, the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation opened the Baryshnikov Arts Center in Manhattan, an institution dedicated to bringing together and promoting the work of artists from different countries and diverse fields. Keen to keep broadening his horizons, Baryshnikov has tried out the big screen and left his mark ATHENSPLUS • FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2008 ON STAGE BY KATERINA VOUSSOURA Mikhail Baryshnikov set to give a series of performances at the Pireos 260 venue Mikhail Baryshnikov will join forces with Ana Laguna for one of the ‘Three Duets,’ Mats Ek’s 2007 ‘Place.’ [Bengt Wanselius] A DREAM TEAM OF MODERN DANCE Swedish choreographer Mats Ek is the son of the distinguished Birgit Cullberg, founder of the acclaimed Cullberg Ballet. Perhaps the best known representative of the contemporary Swedish dance scene, Ek was artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet from 1985 to 1993 and has collaborated with many acclaimed dance companies, including the Nederlands Dans Theater. Award-winning New Yorkbased dancer and choreographer David Neumann has had a lot of theater experience which he likes to incorporate in dance. His work is wellknown for its humorous twists. Award-winning dancer Ana Laguna, who is married to Ek, has been a member of the Nederlands Dans Theater as well as the Cullberg Ballet and has given numerous memorable performances. A devoted dance teacher, she has left her mark on the theater as well. on the small screen. As the womanizing ballet dancer Yuri Kopeikine in 1977’s “The Turning Point,” he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, while in what must have been an emotionally challenging role, he played the part of a ballet star who has defected but whose plane is forced to land in the USSR in 1985’s “White Nights,” starring alongside Gregory Hines. One of the striking things about the volatile artist is that he has managed to become a household name among different generations. Considered by many to be a sex symbol and having often made news in newspaper and magazine columns, he has succeeded in wooing over younger people too, after a series of appearances as Aleksandr Petrovsky, the eccentric artist boyfriend of Sarah Jessica Parker’s trademark character Carrie Bradshaw in the hit HBO series “Sex & the City.” Recently, Baryshnikov also revealed his talent as a photographer, with his “Merce My Way” exhibition depicting the work of choreographer Merce Cunningham that went on display in New York from March to May. Baryshnikov, the man who admitted in an interview with Larry King in 2002 that art (and dance) is a selfish experience and that a dancer’s life is a hard life is bound to present a definitely intriguing show. Theater from the American South to Vienna Woods Avant-garde German theater as well as an award-winning 20th-century play by the Greek National Theater are among this week’s theater highlights. The world-renowned, Berlin-based Schaubuhne am Lehniner Platz theater company is back, following last summer’s sold-out performances at the 2007 Athens Festival. Wellknown for its groundbreaking approaches to classical plays, the company will stage Tennessee Williams’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” June 30 to July 2, with “Hamlet” scheduled for the following week. In a challenging mise-en-scene, director Thomas Ostermeier, who has also been the company’s artistic director since 1999, has taken Williams’s play out of its original setting – the Deep American South – and transferred it to the present day. Through the father-and-son conflict, all the problems that usually plague family life, such as lies and inheritance issues, are brought to the surface. Founded in 1962, the company’s aim is to challenge social and political conventions. Its repertoire further includes works by contemporary playwrights. The current production premiered in Berlin in January 2007 to rave reviews. Acclaimed German theater actors including Josef Bierbichler, Kirsten Dene and Mark Waschke play the main characters. Unfortunately – for those without tickets – both “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Hamlet” are sold out. In his first production as artistic director of the National Theater, Yiannis Houvardas is staging Odon von Horvath’s 1931 play “Tales from the Vienna Woods.” Set in Vienna before Hitler’s rise to power, the drama castigates the hypocrisy of society at the time, through the story of a young woman who abandons her fiance after she falls in love with a scoundrel. The life of Marianne, played by Angeliki Papoulia, is turned upside down and she faces rejection from all around her. “Tales from the Vienna Woods,” which won the Kleist award, is an incisive commentary on the functioning of late 1920s and early 30s Viennese society. Its importance becomes even greater when bearing in mind that it was written without the knowledge of what was to follow, namely the rise of the Nazi party and ultimately World War II. This gives today’s audience the hindsight to view the play in a more comprehensive light. Houvardas has assembled a strong cast, with actors Nikos Kouris, Olga Damani, Aleka Paizi and Themis Bazaka co-starring alongside Papoulia. The play will be staged June 27 to 30. Both will be staged at the Pireos 260 venue. For tickets, contact the Athens Fesival on tel 210.327.2000. The sold-out performances of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” will take place June 30 to July 2. [Matthias Horn/Vorabfoto]
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Top 10 Driving songs J.J. Cale Traveling Light “Traveling light is the only way to fly,” recommends the laidback artist. Johnny Cash Get Rhythm “Get rhythm when you get the blues,” goes the old number by the late country legend. The Breeders Drivin’ On 9 Rolling country-rock diversion from the noisy girl rockers. The Doors Roadhouse Blues “Keep your eyes on the road, and your hands upon the wheel.” Crowded House Weather With You May the good weather be with you. Canned Heat On the Road Again “Well, I’m so tired of crying, But I’m out on the road again.” Lee Hazlewood Kari “The president is popping pills and paying all the old folks’ bills... Kari, I’m coming home.” Iggy Pop Passenger For traveling in the big city. Iggy is no country boy. Nat King Cole Get Your Kicks on Route 66 Classic travel song recorded by many, including the Stones. The Beatles Drive My Car “Baby You Can Drive My Car” (if the trust is there). Lenny Kravitz moved Shows relocating after Lycabettus closure Authorities have decided to retract the recently imposed indefinite closure of the Lycabettus Theater over safety concerns at the open-air venue. The initial decision prompted local concert promoters to scramble for alternative locations, which remain valid, it has been announced. Didi Music, the organizer of an August 1 performance by Lenny Kravitz, has relocated the American rocker’s show to Terra Vibe at Malakassa, on the outskirts of northern Athens. Top-selling domestic pop-rock act Philippos Pliatsikas takes his July 4 performance to the Apostolos Nikolaidis Soccer Stadium, commonly known as Leoforos Alexandras, in the capital’s central Gyzi district. Seasoned Greek singer Haris Alexiou’s two Lycabettus dates, originally scheduled for June 27 and 28, have been unified for the latter date at Leoforos Alexandras. Visiting Brit James Blunt was forced to cancel two Athens shows after news of the Lycabettus closure broke just hours ahead of his first date here. No longer on the edge Anglo-lingo rockers gather Local English-language rock bands were traditionally confined to the music scene’s periphery here, but a number of these acts have managed to draw attention in recent years. Several of the scene’s better-known acts have gathered for one-day festivals in Athens (Vrachon Theater) on July 1 and Thessaloniki (Lazariston Monastery) two days later. The Patras-based pop-rock band Raining Pleasure, this circuit’s most commercially successful, headline the Thessaloniki bill with support from Matisse and Sunny Side of the Razor, fronted by local actress Sunny Hatziargyri. Matisse headline the Athens date on a bill that also includes the actress’s band as well as electro-rockers Cyanna. ATHENSPLUS • FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2008 MUSIC Sounds around Rush expected Madonna tickets out Tickets for pop icon Madonna’s first ever show in Greece, scheduled for September 27 at the OAKA Sports Center in Athens as part of her “Sticky and Sweet” world tour, go on sale Friday, June 27, at 10 a.m. Tickets, priced between 80 and 250 euros, will be made available at Ticket House in Athens (42 Panepistimiou, 210.360.8366), Ticket House in Thessaloniki (Olympion Cinema, Box Office 2, 10 Aristotelous Sq, tel 2310.378.691) and online at www.ticketpro.gr. The Thessaloniki ticketing agency, concertgoers should note, will offer tickets until August 1. Zanendaba Storytellers Lofty prospect New releases Turk composer shows his stuff Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say, who has earned rave reviews beyond his homeland for his bold approach to his work, as well as a distinctive sound, joins forces with the Thessaloniki State Orchestra for an evening focusing on work by American composer George Gershwin at the Herod Atticus Theater in Athens on June 30. France’s Le Figaro newspaper has predicted that the 37-year-old, Ankara-born son of noted musicologist Ahmet Say is destined to become “one of the most significant artists of the 21st century.” Out of apartheid’s darkness During the years of apartheid in South Africa, music was an intrinsic part of the people’s struggle against oppression. The Zanendaba Storytellers, a group that emerged from the period’s darkness, is currently midway through a five-night run of shows in Athens. The group, whose activity is aimed at preserving and propagating the myths, music and tradition of the Zulus, South Africa’s largest ethnic group, will perform three more shows, tonight through Sunday, at the Angelon Vima Theater (36 Satovriandou, Omonia, tel 210.524.2211-3). The performance includes singing, dancing and storytelling that echo the period of revolt as well as the joy prompted by apartheid’s demise. Performance lyrics, translated into Greek, will be distributed to concertgoers. Jeremy Jay A Place Where We Could Go (K Records) Jeremy Jay’s debut full-length release brings to light an earnest songwriter whose work fuses insight and romance through sparse pop covered with swinging 60s and lo-fi punk ways. Jay opens by wishing his listeners goodnight before drawing them into an appealing yet haunting world. Camper Van Beethoven Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength And Beauty (Hitch-hyke) The recently reformed 80s group Camper Van Beethoven offers, for the first time, a self-selected compilation covering tex-mex, ska and folk-punk ground. Judging by the trends of today, “Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength And Beauty” strongly indicates a forward-thinking past. Sonny Landreth From the Reach (Hitch-hyke) Based on an interesting concept, “From the Reach,” the latest album from Sonny Landreth, features blues material by the Mississippi guitarist intended to tailor-fit the styles of his guests. They include Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton and Dr John. 29
Page 1 and 2: + Athens + Plus Weekly newspaper pu
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Page 5 and 6: Law amended A law passed in 2001 ba
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Page 10 and 11: Athens Stock Exchange General Index
Page 12 and 13: Milestones Footnotes + BY NIKOS KON
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Page 16: 1 2 3 16 BOOKS Art for toddlers “
Page 19 and 20: Athens hosts its first Festival of
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Page 23 and 24: News & tips Fake but fabulous A pri
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Page 27: An architectural recipe for better
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Page 35 and 36: Sun, surf, ABBA ‘Mamma Mia!’ op
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Page 43 and 44: BY HARIS ARGYROPOULOS Andros, the n
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Page 47 and 48: FROM PIRAEUS (Harbor master tel 210

27-06-2008

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