To Have Been So Close So Many Times

Lead Donor of the GNO

Modern dance meets music theatre in the new pieces composed by Giorgos Koumendakis, one of the most renowned and versatile Greek composers. Four chamber works, influenced by traditional Greek music, converse with four poems by Constantine P. Cavafy, set in the amanes style and performed onstage by singer Zaharias Karounis. Three choreographers, Patricia Apergi, Ilias Hatzigeorgiou, and Eva Georgitsopoulou, create new choreographies based on a musical idiom rooted in traditional Greek and Byzantine music. The choreographies explore the musical material through diverse aesthetic and movement languages. Each choreography highlights a different aspect of the relationship among the body, rhythm, and collective memory.

Petros Touloudis’ sculptural installation turns the stage into a moving soundscape. He attempts to create a space where tension does not erupt but lingers, as in Cavafy’s poetry. The installation serves as a mechanism that produces and conveys sound, transforming the stage into a field where poetry, music, and the body meet through the material quality of vibration—a space where emotions do not scream but rather echo across time, allowing room for imagination.

The performance features Angelina Tkatcheva on the santoor, the Oros Ensemble, and the Osmosis Saxophone Quartet. John Papatzanis is in charge of percussion coaching and performs a wide range of percussion on stage.