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Festival and dance seminar & workshop: the Cyclads and Naxos ! Organized by the non profit Franco- Greek cultural association Nisiotis Dance, music, culture, tradition, history and memories of the Cyclads from 19 July to 1 August 2010 This exceptional 12-day seminar is aiming at you, who are passionate about Greece and Greek music and dance. More than just a seminar: a real festival, a total immersion in the extraordinary island of Naxos, one of the most musical and dance-oriented islands in the whole Greece. 12 days and nights of celebration with our Naxian friends ! A unique opportunity for a once in a life- time experience amongst an island com- munity which has an exceptional tradition of welcome and hospitality. The seminar we offer you is very friendly, musical and cultural, and takes place in Naxos, the living, vibrant heart of music and dance in this unique archipelago, made up of more than 30 islands. The seminar is open to all who love dance, tradition, culture, life and history of the Cyclads, of the Aegean Sea and Greece. A lot more than just a dance seminar… a voyage into the history, the tradition, the culture and the soul of the islands and the Aegean Sea…with the Naxians themselves !! A seminar in the very-heart of Greek tra- dition: 12 exceptional days, with the rhythm of the “nisiotika”, the violin, the laouto and the swaying, undulating music of the Greek islands. A 12-day seminar organized with the Naxians : for the first time in Naxos, and very different from “the usual thing”: a dance seminar in the heart of the villages, with the dance teachers, the musicians and the inhabi- tants of each village, in every village ! For what good is a dance seminar in Greece if the seminar takes place …in the hotel ? Our seminar takes place in the vil- lages that are part of the Naxian tradition, in complete collaboration with each village. That’s the best and only way to run a tradi- tional seminar in Greece ! A year of intense preparation, in part- nership with the dancers and musicians of the island, the Town Hall of Naxos Drymalias, the villages and their cultural associations, allows us to offer you a rich and unprecedented and unrivalled pro- gramm : a new, rare and unique experience : getting to know the Naxians and the very rich and vibrant cultural heritage of Naxos, the island with the greatest music and dance tradition in the Cyclades. 12 days in contact with Greece as it used to be, ancestral, forgotten and magic, sha- ring rare, joyous and warm moments with an outstanding community of islanders. Getting to know the inhabitants of Naxos, there where the tradition was born, where it sprang from, where it is still thri- ves, is shared and passed on, with energy, passion and authenticity. ON THE PROGRAMM 5 hours of dance each day (2 hours in the morning, 3 hours in the after- noon), with a visit to a different village every other day A guided tour of each village, so that you can learn all about its histori- cal and cultural tradition A dinner and celebration in the eve- ning with a group of musicians from the village, in the traditional family taverns serving the famous local deli- cious cuisine Concerts with masters of Naxian music A day trip by boat to the Little Cyclades, with connections to Naxos: Irakleia, Schinousa, Koufounisia, Keros, Donoussa A day exploring the island, with a visit to locations with links to tradition: a maker and player of the tsambouna, a weaver’s workshop, a local distillery, an olive oil press, farms and vineyards, etc. Accommodation in a family hotel in Apollonas, a small fishing port, with an extremely charming atmosphere. Νικος Καζαντζακης Welcome to “paradise…” Welcome to Naxos!

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Festival and danceseminar & workshop:the Cyclads andNaxos !Organized by the non profit Franco-Greek cultural association NisiotisDance, music, culture, tradition, history andmemories of the Cyclads

from 19 July to 1 August 2010 This exceptional 12-day seminar is

aiming at you, who are passionate aboutGreece and Greek music and dance.

More than just a seminar: a real festival,a total immersion in the extraordinaryisland of Naxos, one of the most musicaland dance-oriented islands in the wholeGreece. 12 days and nights of celebrationwith our Naxian friends !

A unique opportunity for a once in a life-time experience amongst an island com-munity which has an exceptional traditionof welcome and hospitality.

The seminar we offer you is veryfriendly, musical and cultural, and takesplace in Naxos, the living, vibrant heart ofmusic and dance in this unique archipelago,made up of more than 30 islands.

The seminar is open to all who lovedance, tradition, culture, life and history ofthe Cyclads, of the Aegean Sea and Greece.

A lot more than just a dance seminar…a voyage into the history, the tradition, theculture and the soul of the islands and theAegean Sea…with the Naxians themselves !!

A seminar in the very-heart of Greek tra-dition: 12 exceptional days, with therhythm of the “nisiotika”, the violin, thelaouto and the swaying, undulating musicof the Greek islands.

A 12-day seminar organized with theNaxians : for the first time in Naxos, andvery different from “the usual thing”: a danceseminar in the heart of the villages, with thedance teachers, the musicians and the inhabi-tants of each village, in every village !

For what good is a dance seminar inGreece if the seminar takes place …in thehotel ? Our seminar takes place in the vil-lages that are part of the Naxian tradition,in complete collaboration with each village.That’s the best and only way to run a tradi-tional seminar in Greece !

A year of intense preparation, in part-nership with the dancers and musicians ofthe island, the Town Hall of NaxosDrymalias, the villages and their culturalassociations, allows us to offer you a richand unprecedented and unrivalled pro-gramm : a new, rare and unique experience :getting to know the Naxians and the veryrich and vibrant cultural heritage of Naxos,the island with the greatest music anddance tradition in the Cyclades.

12 days in contact with Greece as it usedto be, ancestral, forgotten and magic, sha-ring rare, joyous and warm moments withan outstanding community of islanders.

Getting to know the inhabitants ofNaxos, there where the tradition was born,where it sprang from, where it is still thri-ves, is shared and passed on, with energy,passion and authenticity.

ON THE PROGRAMM

• 5 hours of dance each day (2 hoursin the morning, 3 hours in the after-noon), with a visit to a different village every other day

• A guided tour of each village, sothat you can learn all about its histori-cal and cultural tradition

• A dinner and celebration in the eve-ning with a group of musicians fromthe village, in the traditional familytaverns serving the famous local deli-cious cuisine

• Concerts with masters of Naxianmusic

• A day trip by boat to the LittleCyclades, with connections to Naxos:Irakleia, Schinousa, Koufounisia, Keros,Donoussa

• A day exploring the island, with avisit to locations with links to tradition:a maker and player of the tsambouna,a weaver’s workshop, a local distillery,an olive oil press, farms and vineyards,etc.

• Accommodation in a family hotel inApollonas, a small fishing port, with anextremely charming atmosphere.

Νικος Καζαντζακης

Welcome to“paradise…”

Welcometo Naxos!

“This island was a verygentle, tranquil place; the faces of thepeople were kindly, the melons, the pea-ches and the figs abundant, and the seacalm. I looked at the men: these menwere never frightened by an earthquakeor a Turk, and their eyes were not burning.Here, freedom itself had extinguished thefrenzy for freedom, and life took itscourse, the waters having subsided; and ifsometimes they were a little troubled, thisnever turned into a storm. The serenity Iexperienced as I strolled around Naxoswas the island’s first gift to me”Nikos Kazantzakis

Nikos Kazantzakis, who lived for a year inthe Naxian village of Eggares, in 1896, andwhere he wrote “Letter to El Greco”, ano-ther famous Cretan, wrote about Naxos:

« Αν ο παραδεισος ητανστην γη, θα ηταν εδω »“If paradise was on theearth, it would be here, atNaxos"

Naxos welcomes you withits marble gate of more than fivemeters, the remains of the unfinished tem-ple of Apollo, planned in Ancient Greeceto be the largest temple in the country. Assoon as you arrive, this symbol tells you ofthe richness and grandeur of the “Naxian”or “Naxiote” culture.

THE ISLAND OF DIONYSUS, OF CELEBRATION,MUSIC, DANCE, WINEAND THE JOY OF LIVING!

It was at Naxos that Dionysus was born,the god of the vine, of wine and its excess.∆ιονυσος the “twice born”, from thewomb of Semele and the thigh of Zeus, hegave men the vine, wine, drunkenness andtherefore celebration, ecstasy and trance.He also married Ariane “on Naxos” wherehe lived happy and in love. His songs andmusic were called “dionysiac”.

A complete programm… your completeprogramm, now !!

So it’s on Naxos that you will celebrateand share the pleasures of the Aegean overa 12-day period.

Naxos is the largest and the most ver-dant of the Cyclads, with many fertile andcultivated valleys, and more than 40 tradi-tional typical villages.

At the highest point of the island andthe Cyclads rises Mount Zeus, more than1,000 meters high.

Down below, a succession of beachesthat grow more and more beautifultowards the south, make Naxos the islandwith the most extended coastline of theCyclads, with more than 148 kilometers inall.

Chora, the capital of the island, withmore than 5,000 years of history, bearswitness to the Cycladic, Classical,Hellenistic, Byzantine and Venetian eras.

The island has more than 500 churches,more than 40 castles and more than 130windmills and watermills…

Naxos is the true heart of the music anddance life of the Cyclades, and has mana-ged to preserve a very rich and living heri-tage. It is far and away the island with thestrongest music and dance tradition in theCyclads, a tradition which has spreadthroughout the Aegean and the whole ofGreece, so much so that “nissiotika” isoften synonymous for “naxiotika” andvice-versa…

The aim of this seminar is not to “para-chute” onto the island of Naxos a pro-gramme that is foreign to Naxos, nor dowe wish to have dancers and teachers whoare not from Naxos. That would be a realnon-sense. For the aim of a seminar onNaxos is for people to learn the dances andtraditions of Naxos with the Naxians andnot to learn the dances of Asia Minor,Epirus, Thrace or Macedonia. To learn thedances of Epirus or Thrace you need to goto Epirus or Thrace, to learn in the coun-try of origin, to observe, listen andimmerse yourself in the local culture.

For the right place to learn or improveyour knowledge of the dances of any

region is actually in that region itself, andthat is the only real reason for basing theseminar there !

Our aim is to enable you to discover,meet and interact with the Naxians, whoeveryday create the life, the richness andthe tradition of the island.

The dancers, the musicians, the danceteachers: our partners, friends and brothersin dance for this seminar will be the islan-ders, the Nisiotes…the Naxiotes!

FOR 12 DAYS AND…12 NIGHTS… BECOME ANAXIOTIS ! BECOME ANISIOTIS !

Here is an invitation to νισιωτικα, to"nisiotika”, the dances of the GreekIslands, the dances of the Aegean Sea.

In the Aegean Sea one of the greatestcivilisations was born, thousands of yearsago.

The word “Aegean” first originated withHomer and came from the ancient Greek“aisso”, or “jump”.

“Aix”, [the goat], is another word whichcame from it, as the goat, the symbolic ani-mal of Greece, is an animal that jumps.

Speaking metaphorically, the AncientGreeks called the large waves of their sea“aigues”, as the Etesian winds made themappear to jump. “Aegean” is therefore theirsea, meaning “with waves”.

The Aegean Sea, which makes a wateryconnection between three continents,Europe, Asia and Africa, was the placewhere many cultures were born, developedand met.

The main archipelago of the AegeanSea, the Cyclades, made up of 30 islands,was and is the melting pot of a popular cul-ture, a tradition both rich and vibrant, andof a unique musical and dance heritage.And its dances, beautiful, fluid and undu-lating, just like the waves of the surroun-ding and omnipresent sea, never fail toseduce and captivate all those who haveseen them, attempted or danced them atleast once. These dances, the νισιωτικα,were mostly born on Naxos, before beingpassed on to the rest of the archipelago.

Today, for the first time on Naxos, weoffer you the chance to learn them onNaxos, in the villages where they wereborn, with the dancers, and dance teacherswho come from these villages.

It will also be an opportunity for you tomeet the Naxians and the villagers, toexperience contact with the ancestral, for-gotten and magic Greece of the past, andto share in rare, joyous and cordialmoments with a community of islanderswith whom we have prepared this seminar,the first of its kind, with great pleasure onboth sides.

A UNIQUE, ORIGINALAND AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE

For the first time, you are being offereda seminar on Naxos, designed, prepared,led and organized with the Naxiotes.

We invite you to share with the Naxiotestheir tradition and their attachment to itover a 12-day period.

We want, with you, to get closer to theirculture, their everyday life, their history,their music and their dance.

We therefore included them in the pro-ject in advance, by drawing up the pro-gramme with them, step by step.

Getting to know the habitants of Naxos,there where the tradition was born, whereit springs from, where it is still alive, whereit is shared and passed on, with energy, pas-sion and authenticity.

So it will be in the villages that we will bedancing, in the morning, afternoon andevening, and not in a hotel room, far remo-ved from the everyday life of the Naxians.

Our seminars and our celebrations willtake place in the heart of the villages : inthe squares, in front of the café or thechurch, or in the schoolyard, etc : therewhere the Naxiotes dance, there where theyoung Naxians also learn to dance : a steptowards the Naxiotes, on our part, and aninvitation on their part at the same time.

Our dance teachers, of which we haveseveral, are leading dancers and teachers,commanding respect in their own village ofcourse and on the island, but also inGreece and abroad. Each one has comefrom a different village, and it is these vil-lages, where the Naxiote and Nisiote tradi-tion is rooted, that will welcome us.

The dances of the islands, the Nisiotikas,were born on Naxos, from the extraordi-nary alchemy which occurred when theviolin and the lute arrived from AsiaMinor, when the Greek refugees fleeingthe Turkish yoke arrived there. A uniquefusion then occurred between the local andancestral instruments : the flute, the tsam-bouna, and the tambour.

This entrancing music then spread to theother islands and the rest of Greece, thento the rest of the world, taken by Greek emi-grants into all countries, and thus becomingthe symbol of the much loved Aegean.

Because Naxos was the thus startingpoint for music in many of the islands, andin particular the rest of the Cyclads, we willalso be dancing several very beautiful dan-ces, sometimes neglected or forgotten, butall equally captivating, from Amorgos,Andros, Kythnos, Mykonos, Paros,Seriphos, Sikinos, Siphnos, etc.

THE NISIOTE υυφφοοςςTHE NAXIOTE υυφφοοςς

Dance cannot be reduced to a series ofsteps; dance is not summed up by a rhythmor a series of movements.

Steps and movements in rhythm are todance what breathing is to life: the mini-mum, a starting point.

But breathing does not mean “living”,and “knowing” and “doing” does notmean dancing.

Dance is a vibration inside you, anexpression of feelings and emotion, trans-lated into movements of the body.

It’s the “Nissiote” spirit which is expres-sed through the Nissiotika, and it isbecause this spirit is particular to them thata non-Nissiote does not dance with theisland style, character or spirit.

But there are also differences betweenthe islands, between the different villagesin an island, and between families in thesame village, etc.

For example, each village has its “vlaha”,its carnival dance, and there are therefore 7on Naxos, and not just one or two as youmight think !

And then, according to whether the dan-cer is amorous, drunk, tired or melancho-lic, or even all of those things at the sametime, he dances differently.

A good musician, a good player of theβιολη or the λαουτο will know how tocatch all the nuances, and play along withthe first dancer, who responds in kind.

You may for example, during a festival atKorniaki, a village on Naxos, hear a dancertell a musician to stop playing the “apeiran-thitika”, that’s to say the same music, butwith a rhythm that belongs more toApeiranthos than to Korniaki, even thoughthe villages are hardly 10 km apart!

This seminar also offers you the chanceto immerse yourself in this very particularυφος of the islands.

When you dance the nissiotikas, theymake more sense to you, and you get moreout of them because you experience themfrom within, and perform them with grea-ter strength, energy and authenticity. It iswithout doubt this profound and impor-tant work that brings the dancer closer tothe essence of the dance, and helps him tobecome immersed in it, so that he can put all his heart into it and remain faithful tothe spirit and soul of the dance. He no lon-ger dances it on a superficial level, butfrom within and becomes radiant. Thedance transports him as he leads the dance,and his freedom gives the impression thathe is taking off and flying like a bird.

It was on Naxos that Zeus grew up, in acave that is still visible, and it was on thesummit of Mount Zas, which today stillbears his name, that an eagle one day offe-red him thunder and lightning, the magicwhich allowed him to reign on MountOlympus…

Come in your turn to Naxos to find themagic of the island, and immerse yourselfin a culture, a tradition and a life whichwill make dance and song part of yourdaily existence.

“I had met a rich Naxian,the Lord Lazaros, who had a magnificentorchard, one hour away from Naxos : heinvited us and we stayed two weeks ; suchabundance, so many trees loaded withfruit, such blessedness ! Crete became afiction, a far off troublesome cloud, nomore fear, blood or fighting for freedom ;it all melted away in the blissful drowsinessof Naxos”. Nikos Kazantzakis

www.nisiotis.grwww.νησιωτης.gr

www.nisiotis.net www.nisiotis.eu

www.nisiotis.comwww.nisiotis.fr

OUR TEACHERS, DANCERSAND CHOREOGRAPHERSFive leading dancers will assist us during thisseminar:• Apostolis, for all the dances of Koronos,and for all the Cyclades. Apostolis lives inAthens during the winter, but like everyNaxiote, he is deeply attached to his islandand his village and returns every summer. InAthens he founded a student dance troupewhich he leads, and all the students of Athenswho are passionate about traditional dancehave joined his group. In summer, with theNaxiote members of his troupe who alsocome back to the island for their holidays, heorganises a tour around the small hamlets ofthe island. • Sophia, assisted by Katerina, for the dancesof Komiaki. Sophia is a great lady of theNaxian tradition, and has been interviewedseveral times by the press, the radio and thetelevision. She learnt music with her father, aviolinist, at the age of 2. It is said on Naxosthat children learn to dance before birth, intheir mother’s womb, by sensing the vibra-tions and that of the music around them. It istrue that the natural beauty and fluidity oftheir dances has a certain innate quality.• Vicky, for the dances of Kinidaros. Kinidarosis undoubtedly the most vibrant, most danceoriented village of the Naxian tradition. Vickyhas already lived abroad, where she createdher own centre for traditional Greek dance.She has now returned, and teaches the youngchildren of the village. Every year she organi-ses many cultural events based on tradition, ofwhich she is an expert.• Stephanos, for the dances of Apeiranthos.Stephanos is also passionate about dance,music and tradition. He plays the lyre and theviolin. As a primary school teacher, he has aunique gift for teaching. Every day in summer,he gathers together all the children of the vil-lage and organizes cultural, sporting or funactivities for them.• Maria, also from Apeiranthos. She leads hervillage’s association in Athens. For each villagein Naxos has its own cultural association, bothin the village and in Athens, for the “formerinhabitants” of the village, who come back tothe island during the summer period.

AN EXCITING PROGRAMM, BOTH OFDANCE AND MUSIC !

We will dance for eight days : two days ineach of the main villages of the Naxiotetradition: Apeiranthos, Kinidaros, Komiaki,Koronos, etc.

Each evening we will have a celebrationin a village square, with the musicians ofthe village.

On the last evening, we will have a grandparty with the Naxiotes.

In the evening, we will have dinner indifferent family taverns which serve tradi-tional, delicious Naxian food.

We will also take part in the “panagiri” ofa village.

We will also be given a private concert byone of the local masters of Naxian music.

We will be transported in a coach whichwill be reserved for us.

A young, completely bilingual Naxiotewill be available throughout to interpret.

We will sleep in a family hotel that iswarm and welcoming in a little fishing vil-lage near to the villages we will be visitingduring the day, and whose owner is also pas-sionate about dance, music and tradition.

The bedrooms of the quiet and convivialhotel have all the comfort you will need:your own bathroom, television, air condi-tioning, refrigerator and balcony with viewof the sea 20 metres away, or of the won-derful countryside.

We will have two days of rest.On the first rest day, we will explore

other aspects of Naxian tradition: the eve-ryday life that is expressed in dance andsong in the nissiotikas:• Visit to a maker, player and teacher ofthe Tsambouna, Vaggelis, with magic fin-gers, who is reviving the instrument andteaches it to children of 5 or 6 years old.He makes them for all the islands, and willshow you the differences between theTsambounas of all the Greek islands.• Visit to an old olive oil press.• Visit to a weaver’s workshop, making theNaxian fabric which all clothing used to bemade of, including the costumes of thedancers, and all the fabric for the home. Itis said that the women of Naxos weavewith so much love and passion that whenyou get near to their cloth, many yearslater, you can still hear their songs…• Visit to a farmer who makes cheese, wineand raki where you can sample and alsobuy some provisions!• Visit to a kitron distillery, the famousliqueur of Naxos, made from the leaves ofthe citron tree.• Visit to an emery mine, the preciousmetal which the prosperity of the islandwas based on in the old days, but whichalso made the everyday lives of the minersvery harsh, a fact commemorated in hun-dreds of songs and dances.• etc.

On the second rest day, if the weather isgood, (the meltem blows strongly in theCyclades in summer) we will go in a rowingboat to explore the nearby little Cycladesislands: Irakleïa, Shinousa, Koufounisi,Donousa, Keros, etc.

A PROGRAMM THAT ISOPEN TO ALL WITHOUTEXCEPTION : FORADVANCED DANCERS ASWELL AS BEGINNERS,BUT ALSO TO PARTNERSAND COMPANIONS

The non-dancing companions will ofcourse be able to plan their own activitiesevery day (not included in the seminar):• Walks with a multilingual photographer, afine expert on the island and its hiddentreasures. A guide-book of walking trailson Naxos is available.• Days on the sea in a sailing boat with acompletely independent skipper, a great sai-lor from the Cyclads (depart from Chora) • Visit to neighbouring islands, with manydaily connections from Chora : Delos,Paros, Antiparos, Mykonos, etc (departfrom Chora)• Visit to museums, to Byzantine churches(more than 400 on Naxos !), to castles andsmall villages• Hire of scooters, motorbikes, mountainbikes or cars (in Chora) • Windsurfing (in Agios Georgios andMikri Vigla)• Water skiing• Horse riding• Deep sea diving• Fishing (if you have brought equipment,or bought some on arrival in Chora)• Taking it easy…

This seminar is of course not run for profit.

For more information,please do reach us at:

(00) (33) (0)6 03 78 28 77Philippos / Φιλιππος

[email protected]

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