CyprusTODAY Volume LIII, No 2, April - June 2015 Contents Editorial ..........................................................................................2 18th Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival .................................4 International Museum Day 2015 .................................................9 Cyprus Film Days 2015 ..............................................................15 3rd Cyprus International Performance Art Festival ...................23 Maronite cultural performance at the Presidential Palace ........29 Cyprus marks 100th anniversary of Armenian Genocide ........30 Zenobia Week ..............................................................................32 Deneia Lecture Series .................................................................36 Thoc Theatre’s main stage renamed ‘Evis Gavrielides Hall’ ...38 THOC – Cyprus Theatre Organisation ......................................40 #katselaproject .............................................................................42 Street Life Festival ......................................................................45 Creative Visions: Anastasios G. Leventis and West Africa ......46 Cementography ...........................................................................53 A Crush on German Short Films................................................56 3rd Cyprus International Performance Art Festival ...................58 Opus 39 Gallery ...........................................................................60 Sendall – In Cyprus 1892-1898: A Governor in Bondage .......62 Pitis ...............................................................................................63 Polychrome ..................................................................................64 Volume LIII, No 2, April-June 2015 A quarterly cultural review of the Ministry of Education and Editorial Assistance: Culture published and distributed by the Press and Information Natassa Haratsis-Avraamides Office (PIO), Ministry of Interior, Nicosia, Cyprus. [email protected] Press and Information Office Address: Michaela Mobley Ministry of Education and Culture [email protected] Kimonos & Thoukydides Corner, 1434 Nicosia, Cyprus Website: http://www.moec.gov.cy Design: GNORA COMMUNICATION CONSULTANTS Press and Information Office Printed by: Konos Ltd Apellis Street, 1456 Nicosia, Cyprus Website: http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio Front cover: Performance by Asomates Dynameis Dance th EDITORIAL BOARD Company at the 18 Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival Chairperson: Back cover: Painting by Twins Seven-Seven, Untitled, c Pavlos Paraskevas, 1960-70, at the Creative Visions: Anastasios G. Leventis and Director of Cultural Services, West Africa temporary exhibition at the A.G. Leventis Gallery Ministry of Education and Culture Chief Editor: Jacqueline Agathocleous [email protected] GNORA COMMUNICATION CONSULTANTS PIO 132/2015 – 3.500 (website: www.gnora.com) ISSN (PRINT) 0045-9429 Tel: +357 22441922 Fax: +357 22519743 ISSN (ONLINE) 1986-2547 Subscription Note: For free subscriptions please contact: [email protected]. Cyprus Today is also available in electronic form and can be sent to you if you provide your e-mail. If you no longer wish to receive the magazine, in either print or electronic form, or if you have changed your address, please let us know at the above e-mail address. Please include your current address for easy reference. Editor’s Note: Articles in this magazine may be freely quoted or reproduced provided that proper acknowledgement and credit is given to Cyprus Today and the authors (for signed articles). The sale or other commercial exploitation of this publication or part of it is strictly prohibited. Disclaimer: Views expressed in the signed articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the publishers. The magazine can also be found on the Press and Information Office website at www.pio.gov.cy. Editorial warm welcome to our Cyprus Today readers. The April-June 2015 edition of our publication A promises art, theatre, literature and more, all painstakingly selected from a plethora of cultural events that stood out during this season past. Indeed, apart from our customary abundance of summer festivals, this year we also have some very interesting alternative additions such as a mass dive that took place on the Zenobia shipwreck in Larnaca in June, and, on a more serious note, our presence at the official commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, marking its 100th anniversary this year; Cyprus was one of the first countries in the world to recognise it as genocide. We start off with the 18th Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival, which as is the case every year, provided a wealth of fascinating imagery and insight into the artists involved. We follow up with International Museum Day; a celebration that is taken very seriously in Cyprus given its abundance of museums. And never ones to let us down, our museums provided plenty of events to bring the public closer to our cultural heritage. Cyprus Film Days brought us the award-winning films of the year, including 1st Prize winner Three Windows and a Hanging, a coproduction between Kosovo and Germany directed by Isa Qosja. While on the subject of film, our issue also takes a look at the documentary Cementography by Nicolas Iordanou and Sylvia Nicolaides, which narrates the history behind the Cypriot traditional art form of cementography. Intending Humorously was the theme of this year’s Cyprus International Performance Art Festival (CIPAF) by ARTos Foundation, which took place in June. The festival’s programme consisted of live performances, an exhibition and screenings. Other interesting topics include a tribute to the late Evis Gavrielides, the most emblematic figure in contemporary Cypriot theatre, a presentation of the book Sendall – In Cyprus 1892-1898: A Governor in Bondage, which follows the story of Sir Walter Sendall during the early British rule of Cyprus, and a lecture series organised by the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture, this issue looking at the occupied Deneia community. There was also the very exciting arrival of French street artist Zabou to Cyprus, who brought the side of a building in the village of Athienou to life with one of her famous, vibrant street artworks. This, and much more. Enjoy! 2 International Museum Day 2015 THOC – Cyprus Theatre Organisation Cementography A Crush on German Short Films Zabou 3 18th Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival 1-30 June 2015 he annual event for contemporary dance- new contemporary dance trends, highlighting at Tlovers came in June when they were able the same time the advancement of contemporary to enjoy an array of interesting performances dance internationally. from various countries, with diverse themes and The Festival has established a special place for viewpoints regarding personal, existential and itself on the calendar of contemporary dance th social matters, at the 18 Cyprus Contemporary events and has succeeded in building bridges with Dance Festival. worldwide choreographic productions. Every After seventeen years under the name European year the Festival hosts acclaimed dance groups Contemporary Dance Festival, this year’s edition from Europe, which comprise the greatest part expanded and adopted the new title Cyprus of the Festival programme. At the same time, Contemporary Dance Festival. The new name it carries on the tradition of hosting equally corresponds to the Festival’s need to cross prestigious groups from the neighbouring country “European boundaries” and reach countries of the of Israel, in the framework of expanding into the wider region, and especially of the south eastern wider region surrounding the island. Four dance Mediterranean. groups from Cyprus, which participated in this With a diverse participation of nine countries, year’s Contemporary Dance Platform, were also the Festival presented its audience with all the included in the programme. ROOTLESSROOT (Greece) 4 Internationaal Danstheater (The Netherlands) 5 This year’s edition was enhanced by the increased as the starting point for an emotional approach to number of performances in Nicosia. Having this powerful performance. Fado’s themes give already launched its presence in the events of the expression to the whims of fate and human passions. capital city of Cyprus a few years ago, the organisers Traditionally, the lyrics are about the peculiarities planned an increased balanced programme for of life’s uncertainties, separation, grief, love, faith, this year, with dance performances in both host a cry for freedom and wanting to fly away. Fado is cities. This year’s programme included six dance a co-production of Internationaal Danstheater and performances in Limassol (at Rialto Theatre) and Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporâneo five in Nicosia (at Pallas Theatre and Dance House (CPBC) from Lisbon, Portugal. Lefkosia). Moreover, dance fans in both cities ROOTLESSROOT (Greece) had the opportunity to watch all performances by Title: W Memorabilia (Phaedra’s Laboratory) taking advantage of the free bus transportation (2014): A show by Linda Kapetanea and Jozef offered by the Festival organisers: The Ministry Frucek which deals with womanhood through the of Education and Culture and Rialto Theatre in notion of the suffering body and the archetypal, Limassol, in collaboration with the Embassies and dark, tragic heroine Phaedra. The main axis of the cultural centres of the participating countries. their artistic