Poignantly feminine

The European Dance Festival kicked off in Limassol yesterday and promises the best in European contemporary dance

The practice by Cypriot women of laying a place at the dinner table for family members who have been missing since the 1974 Turkish invasion was the inspiration for a dance performance taking place as part of a European Festival that kicked off in Limassol yesterday.

The European Dance Festival is being held at the Rialto Theatre until June 11 and has become the highlight of the company’s repertoire. This is the festival’s eighth year and features groups from eleven countries of the European Union.

Although inspired by Cypriot women, An Angel at my Table has developed to encompass the experiences of numerous women around the world who wait for the return of their loved ones. The work presents a contemporary view on a universal idea of being fixated on waiting, expecting, and anticipating change or progress.

The piece begins with three women stepping onto a stage burdened by three large, stark tables that they gently manipulate into their appropriate places. We witness their preparation as they wait for their partner to join them for dinner. Each woman is different, in stature, character and performance style. The most striking aspect of the whole work is the presence of the scenery – extraordinarily large and clunky tables which the women use as a metaphor for their illusion, which is cold, impenetrable and unforgiving. Accompanied by sounds of live double bass and music composed especially for the work, Georgiou’s piece is somber, emotional, poignantly feminine and packed with symbolism.

Following the European Dance Festival tradition of the past, all companies will present work definitive of their country’s contemporary dance tradition. Each group will show something idiosyncratic – unique choreographic investigations including props, scenery, soundscapes, music, video and explorations of movement that will range from pedestrian to virtuosic and spectacular. Expect to see intellectually and visually stimulating postmodern performances that are rooted and influenced by European dance traditions encompassing dance theater, physical theater and multimedia.

The Cypriot entry, as in previous years, is the winner of this year’s Contemporary Dance Platform, where contemporary dance companies present new work. This year’s winner was Natasa Georgiou’s group InterAct, which was unanimously picked by eight judges from Cyprus and abroad. Natasa Georgiou began choreographing after graduating from the UK’s Laine Theater Arts, creating works for the Synthesis dance group and Corpus Animus.

Georgiou founded the Omada Pente dance theatre, from which she eventually resigned, forming InterAct two years ago.
Her work Babble On won second prize at the Annual Contemporary Dance Platform in 2004 and was performed at the Euro-Scene festival in Leipzig last November, along with three other Cypriot groups.

Her work has come to be characterised by striking iconography and clear, fully thought out ideas. Georgiou has cemented her style of physical theatre: dance drama and excellent use of scenery and props, as well as explorations of emotional realism, unexpected grandeur and strong narrative.

Natasa Georgiou runs a successful dance school in Limassol where she teaches jazz and modern, as well as Tai Chi and body conditioning.

l The Italian dance company Travirovesce presented its work Appuntamenti in Nero last night and will be followed on Wednesday with a performance by the Maltese Contact Dance Company presenting Poetry in Motion. Further performances are as follows: May 14th Use performed by Apotoswma of France; May 21 Lizard by Company Kudo of Sweden; May 27 Puzzle by Plastique Animee Group of Poland; June 1 An Angel at my Table by Cypriot InterAct and 24 Hours by Estonian group Fine 5 Dance Theater; June 4 Double Sens by Germany’s Toula Limnaios; June 8 Purgatorio by Cienfuegos U6-DT of Spain; June 11 Edward II by Iros Angelos Dance Theater from Greece. All performances are free and begin at 8.30 pm, but make sure you reserve seats in advance. Also, a number of workshops will accompany the festival. For information call Myria Stylianou 99 5171 51

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.