At the dance school Playground for the Arts in the Votanikos area in Athens, Greece, there is anticipation in the air for the Coetáni Experimental Flamenco Festival. The festival brings together dancers from Spain, Austria, Canada and Greece. “The aim,” said Yiota Peklari, one of the school teachers, “is to adapt this traditional dance to our personality. It is a unique experiment and serves to create new forms of expression that one day may become the norm – like flamenco, which was once considered experimental.” The evening is livened by a tap dance performance by Thanos, one of the teachers and creator of the school, alongside Yiota and Petros. Playground for the Arts was opened in 2009, and then the crisis hit. “At the beginning we didn’t feel it. But then, when the first revolts started,” said Peklari, who studied dance in Greece and Spain, “I lost the desire to dance. The situation outside these walls was serious. But later I understood that I needed it. I understood that when I walked into a class, it was like entering a different universe where we are all equals, where there is respect and were we create together. This was a strong motivator that made me stronger when I left the class. I understood that dancing was even more important during the crisis, and people understood this… it is like a sort of meditation that clears the mind.” The school currently has about sixty students and rents space for events, seminars and lessons for disciplines such as Pilates. Thanos and Yiota mix moves from flamenco and tap dancing amid applause and jazz played by a group providing musical accompaniment. The atmosphere is happy and positive. And the dancing goes on. (source: ANSA)
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