Feature: Earthdancers Athens traditional dance festival beat

by Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Greeks and foreign visitors danced from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 to the rhythms of folk music from across the world during the Earthdancers international traditional dance and music Festival.

Organized for the fifth year in Athens, the festival which aims to bring people closer through this form of art, featured more than 300 dancers from Greece, Brazil, Indonesia, Argentina, Serbia, Paraguay, Georgia, Costa Rica and Hungary who performed in various theaters.

More than 2,000 dancers from 45 countries have participated in the annual event since its establishment, Panagiotis Bitakos, President of the Organization Committee, told Xinhua.

The 2015 edition was cancelled due to the capital controls imposed last summer in Greece, as the country was at the brink of financial meltdown. The seven-year debt crisis has affected all aspects of life, including the staging of culture events.

Although the capital controls are still in force, Greeks have adapted to the new normal and seek refuge in culture.

For Bitakos, one of the founders of the Earthdancers initiative, tradition is a strong anchor keeping the ship secure amidst the tempest.

Through traditional music and dance he believes that people can acknowledge the beauty of each culture and learn to respect each other, live in peace and cooperate.

"The message we want to send the world is that culture connects, tradition links people. All these ensembles from all these countries manage to tear down walls and borders," he said.

Through the event which started with a parade of dancers wearing colorful costumes in front of the Greek parliament, the organizers aim to present and promote the different cultural identities and build roads of communication among people.

The Earthdancers festival is a private sector initiative launched by three former dancers in the Dora Stratou dance theater, a public benefit institution, which is regarded as the living museum of Greek traditional music and dance, since 1953.

Dance has always played an important role in the life of Greeks. According to ancient Greek philosopher Plato, dance, of all the arts, is the one that most influences the soul.

Almost every dance has a story to tell and according to scholars there are some 10,000 traditional dances that come from all regions across Greece and continue to be passed from generation to generation.

Kostas Papadellis, member of an Athens-based dance troupe, who has performed across Greece and abroad, is optimistic about the future, pointing to the increasing number of young people who are learning Greek traditional dances and maintaining Greece's cultural heritage, he told Xinhua.

"Tradition brings us closer and the feeling is amazing. We see that traditions, similar or different, between nations are a bridge connecting us, showing that we can find the way to do things through cooperation," he noted.

"It is great. I like it very much," Diu, a non professional Argentinean dancer who visited Greece for first time to perform, said.

He was laconic with words, but showed his enthusiasm clearly through the dance, like his professional fellow dancer from Indonesia who shared his joy about the event.

"It is really nice. You can see another culture from another country," she said, calling on spectators to follow dancers on a trip across the globe through traditional music and dances.