Kinitiras

Do you love dance, movement, and singing? Have you studied it but are looking for new approaches? Have you never dared to try it and want a safe environment filled with love, understanding, and care to give it a shot? Have you done it before, stopped, and now want to try it again?

The lifelong learning group Kinitiras (Dance Theatre) with choreographer Antigone Gyra as its main coordinator is opening its doors once again this year and looks forward to seeing you!

“Would You Like a Little Poetry?”

Two educational performing series dedicated to 13 female poets who wrote unique poetry during the last century. This year, we’ll explore their lives and work through their biographies and images, their poetry and dreams, seeking ways to bring their stories and voices to life on stage.

The meetings will begin in November and will take place every Wednesday and Friday, from 19.00. to 20.30, at Technourgeio (63 Psaron Street).

1st Cycle | November – February
The first cycle will take place at Technourgeio and will conclude with a performance at the same venue.

2nd Cycle | March – June
The second cycle will continue at Technourgeio and will conclude in June with an outdoor performance at Metaxourgeio.

The group will be intergenerational and open to new participants during the first month of each cycle, while in the final meetings before the performances, an additional hour will be added sometimes (19.00-21.30) by mutual agreement.

The group will also include professionals from the fields of music and the performing arts, invited by Kinitiras.

“We, who have found ourselves here and walk with dreams,
who strive to keep everything standing upright” Koralia Theotoka

The poems by Koralia Theotoka, by Anthoula Stathopoulou-Vafopoulou, and by Kaiti Drosou will form the core dramatic framework for the creation of the first performance, which will take place at the Technourgeio in the form of a salon performance featuring a dialogue between spoken word, dance, live music, and song. These women were known more as the wives of great writers (Theotokas, Vafopoulos, Alexandrou) than as independent figures in contemporary poetry. This fact in itself creates an even greater need to establish an artistic legacy that speaks not only to their poetry but also to their identity as women- both as a source of inspiration and, at the same time, as an obstacle to their recognition.

“The root of my fate
is that they press me down so I lean
and upright
as if stretched out on a rope
I dry up” Kaiti Drosou

Each of them has been a source of inspiration for different reasons, and through their work they continue to shed light on aspects of womanhood that are absent from the works of well-known and famous Greek male poets.

“Other
seashores and sunsets may beguile me,
and I may find loves even greater,
a slave to them forever.
But I may come back again,
with a wounded heart,
into your loving embrace,
like wayward, wild children.” Anthoula Stathopoulou-Vafopoulou (her poem “inspired” Tsitsanis to write the well-known song “Akrogialies Deilina” and others)

We will work on creating a ritualistic atmosphere that synchronizes the past with the present in every aspect of the aesthetic approach. The group will recite, dance, sing, and invite the audience to a shared reading as a first encounter.

The goal is for this initiative to spark a fruitful dialogue with the community about women’s poetry and to serve as a source of tender inspiration for everyday life in the city. In the second cycle, additional female poets may be included, and the performance format will change as it will be presented in an outdoor venue in the area. These cycles are based on months of research by two members of the Kinitiras group, Ariadne Kalokyri and Katerina Mardakioupi, both of whom are contemporary poets with distinguished careers.

The dance practice in the meetings of Kinitiras focuses on:

• gentle physical strengthening through exercises for each body part activating the muscular and bony system gently,
• physical endurance through endurance movement games that increase rhythm and heart rate by blushing the cheeks,
• improvisational practices exploring the space inside and outside our bodies, time and rhythm, physical contact and the relationships it creates,
• the inspiration provided by other art forms such as music, painting, photography, literature, poetry,
• combined practices of automatic writing and movement, painting and movement, meditative movement.

Vocal practice focuses on breathing, a fundamental prerequisite for sound and voice production:

• Strengthening the diaphragm and developing respiratory endurance.
• Controlling and effectively managing airflow.
• Coordinating breathing with the organs responsible for sound production and articulation.
• Activation and improved coordination of the vocal cords, oral cavity, tongue, lips, and teeth.
• Gradual transition from breathing → to air → to sound → to voice.
• Ultimate goal: a free, functional, and expressive voice.

When: Wednesdays and Fridays, 19.00-20.30
Where: Technourgeio, 63 Psaron St., Athens
Information / reservations: info@kinitiras.com and +30 69 40 576461 every Tuesday & Friday 11.00-13.00 and Thursday 18.00-20.00.

Participants may attend once or twice a week; attending twice is recommended for greater strengthening and group progress.

Sliding scale cost so that it is affordable for every budget:
– once a week: 55 to 65 euros per month (plus 24% VAT)
– twice a week: 70 to 85 euros per month (plus 24% VAT)

There will be no other discounts, and each person can contribute whatever amount works for them each month. For example, in November, someone might contribute 75 euros for twice a week, and in December, they might contribute 85 euros or vice versa.

Bios

Antigone Gyra founded the Kinitiras Chorotheama company in 1996; since then, she has choreographed and directed dozens of works- either independently or with funding from the Ministry of Culture and other organizations- which have been presented in Greece and abroad. From 2008 to 2019, she coordinated Greece’s first residency centre for the performing arts, enriching Athens’ cultural landscape through initiatives focused on research, artist exchange, and artistic residencies. Through Kinitiras, she introduces dance and physical theatre to primary and secondary education and runs Erasmus+ youth exchange and adult education programs centered on social awareness issues (such as LGBTQ+ rights, the refugee crisis, hate speech, ecology, and ageism). In recent years, with support from international bodies and the Ministry of Culture, she has conducted two choreographic research projects (*Femininity in Transition* and *Contemporary Dance and the Third Age*) and began documenting her thirty-year teaching practice- titled “Inside Out, Outside In”- with the support of the J.F. Costopoulos Foundation. As a choreographer, she has collaborated with prominent directors and companies at the National Theatre, in the independent theatre scene, at the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, and at the Greek National Opera. She has been teaching movement and choreography at professional theatre and dance schools since 1995. During the 2025–26 season, she collaborated as a workshop coordinator with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the Greek National Opera (Cooperative). Since 2022, she has returned to the stage as a performer in the following works: *10, Freedom Needs Watering, My Dear* by the MAN group (Artemis Lampiri); *ehS comes from Another Planet* (presented at the 1st International Jerusalem Solo Dance Festival and Dance Days Chania), co-created with Amalia Bennett; and an open performance-based research project titled *The Archaeology of a Relationship: What Remains, What Endures*, directed by Paris Erotokritou. Her recent directorial works include the solo performance *Sunset in Voula* (2024–25) and the café-style staged reading *The Woman of Zakynthos and Other Eternal Memories* (2025–26), based on the poetic work of Dionysios Solomos.

Aliki Avdelopoulou is a native of Athens. A scholarship recipient and graduate of the National Theatre, she studied piano and music theory at the National Conservatory and voice with A. Leigh and M. Yementzaki, while also receiving training in theatre and music through various programs and workshops. She is a founding member of the “Viomichaniki” theatre group and the “Lithografeion” theatre in Patras. Since 2006, she has been a member of Kinitiras, teaching within the Erasmus+ program (Crooked House Theatre Company – Kairos Youth Exchange – Ireland ’18) and conducting workshops (Kinitiras Studio). Since 2017, she has taught voice and theatre to the “Kinitiras Ω” group (65+ years old), participating in events such as the stAGE festival (Germany ’18), Ana Sánchez-Colberg’s *Seven to Seventh* (Summer Nostos Festival – SNFCC ’19), and the Akropoditi International Dance Festival (Syros ’21). She was a member of the OTE Athens Mixed Choir for a decade—earning distinctions at Greek and international choral festivals—and is currently a member of the National Conservatory choir (Nea Smyrni branch). Since 1995, she has collaborated professionally with Athenian theatre companies and Regional Municipal Theatres (DI.PE.THE.). She has worked on repertory theatre, musicals, and dance-theatre productions- serving as an actor, director, musical assistant, production manager, and vocal coach- and has participated in Greek and international theatre festivals alongside prominent creators such as S. Evangelatos, A. Antypas, E. Karaindrou, S. Tsakiris, D. Avdeliodis, G. Theofanous, F. Evangelinos, K. Samara, A. Gyra, V. Myrianthopoulos, F. Diplas, V. Adamou, and others. As the frontwoman of the electro duo “MONITOR” and as a solo artist, she has contributed to recordings and performed in concerts and musical events with various ensembles. She directed the one-act opera *La Voix Humaine* and worked as a vocal coach on television talent shows (*Music School* and *Junior Music Stars*).