Athens System has been planned to bring people close.
This year, before anything else, I would like to start with a “thank you”.

I would like to thank the Hellenic National Centre of Theatre & Dance and especially its President Mr George Dragonas. Athens System is a reality due to the essential, calm and close cooperation with the new and totally indispensable institution of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The quality and for the first time the realization through steady steps of this cooperation between the two institutions, the Hellenic National Centre of Theatre & Dance and the Hellenic Centre of the I.T.I, is a fact that I could only regard as joyful.

This third edition of the Athens System also encompasses another joy. From this year not only Theatre but also Dance is hosted in Athens System. This makes all of us richer, since these two arts in Greece already owe a lot to each other.

Finally, we welcome in Greece all of you, our honorable guests, to these RAW steps of a guided tour and presentation of a adequate part of Greek creativity in Theatre and in Dance.

From its very start the Hellenic National Centre of Theatre & Dance has aimed at supporting the extroversion of national artistic production.

In Greece the “import” of foreign artistic creation has developed lately, mainly due to the new profile of the Athens-Epidaurus Festival and the hosting of theatrical events produced by private companies. Regarding dance, noteworthy to report is the fifteen-year-old International Dance Festival of Kalamata.

However, the “export” of artistic theatre product is more complex for various reasons: For example the mobility of Greek theatre groups is limited because of failings on on-time scheduling and financial shortcomings. The Hellenic National Centre of Theatre & Dance works systematically to improve these conditions.

On the other hand, the procedure of selecting Greek theatre and dance groups to participate in festivals abroad and other international events is usually fulfilled through audio-visual material sent to prospective buyers. This mediated material can not reflect the artistic reality fully and it is not rare that surprises, mistakes, and misunderstandings occur.

The initiative of the Hellenic Centre of the International Theatre Institute to invite to Greece renowned directors, festival directors and other theatre personalities to watch live performances within the range of a few days of selected Greek theatre (and from this year also dance) and enable all these people to invite modern Greek theatre and dance art to their country, festival etc., provided that they find it interesting, is of special importance. 

I am deeply honoured to welcome, on behalf of the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO, the participants and audiences of the Dance and Theatre Platform - Athens System 2009, which is co organised by the Hellenic Centre of the International Theatre Institute and the National Centre for Theatre and Dance, under the patronage of the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO.

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization founded in 1945. Since its inception, it promotes the expansion of full and equal opportunities for education for all, the protection of culture in all its forms, including the tangible and intangible cultural heritage, the reinforcement of sciences and the increase of the means of communication between different nations and peoples, aiming at the mutual understanding and the respect of cultural diversity.

The Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO, supporting, among others, cultural activities in Greece, granted its patronage to the Dance and Theatre Platform, believing that dance is a cultural action of great importance and of universal value. The Athens System 2009 is an important initiative which will, not only offer Greek audiences the opportunity to see a selection of interesting plays, but will also set the basis for international co-operations with the invitation of Greek performances in Festivals worldwide. Last but not least, as a result of the filming of all performances, a digital archive will be created. The latter can function as an educational tool, while at the same time, acting as an example that maps down the agonies and questions posed by artists in contemporary Greek society.

In an era, when many people highlight the elements that separate cultures, UNESCO stands against this confrontational logic and strongly endeavours to promote those elements which unite our cultures through an open dialogue based on the respect of cultural diversity. This constructive dialogue requires substantial knowledge of the different cultures and their traditions with a view to giving the opportunity to all peoples to co-exist in harmony, to prosper, to create and to dream.

Theatre, according to Shakespeare, is the mirror upon which society sees its image being reflected. I would add that theatre, as well as dance –the expression of rhythm and harmony- is the mirror upon which society sees the image it wants to have being reflected.

And it is true that the City of Athens’ cultural proposal could not be left without a system. The theatre and dance platform Athens System 2009 co-organised by the Hellenic Centre of the International Theatre Institute, the Hellenic Theatre Centre and the National Centre for Theatre and Dance, under the aegis and support of the UNESCO’s Hellenic National Committee, the City of Athens and the Cultural Organisation of the City of Athens constitutes a cultural event that functions as an initiation for all Athenians to the various artistic forms of theatre and dance.

In this manner, the City of Athens gives fertile ground for the development of the multifaceted modern art, contributes to the enhancement of the dialectics for the role modern art plays nowadays, serves as a stepping stone for the extrovert trend for the arts of theatre and dance and constitutes a means of communication between the Greek and international Theatre and Dance stage.

Therefore, I invite you all, on November 27-30 to join us in enjoying the cultural proposal of Athens System 2009 and in this manner become yourselves senders and receivers of the messages of art and experience unforgettable moments of true inspiration and creation

Based on the applications submitted (by October 30, 2009) to the Hellenic Centre of the International Theatre Institute for the participation in Athens System 2009, and taking into consideration the most unfortunate fact that practical reasons


prevent both the national stages as well as most professional companies (subsidized and non-subsidized) to put back together again most of their productions of  last season, the Special Committee has chosen the performances to participate in Athens System 2009 on the grounds of their dramaturgical, aesthetic and performative merits, the originality of their overall concept and its stage execution as well as their representative variety.

Our wish is that the practical problems which thus far have prevented many Theatre and Dance Companies to participate in Athens System, will eventually be overcome so that we have a  far richer range of representation of Greece’s theatre potential and possibilities.  Also, our wish is that through this initiative Greek Theatre and Dance will find the place we believe they deserve in the international theatre scene.

Special Critic Committee of Athens System

President
Savas Patsalidis
Professor of American and European theatre history and theory at Aristotle University and theatre critic

Vice-President
Dimitris Kamarotos
Musicologist, composer

General Secretary
Matina Kaltaki
Theatrologist, theatre critic/journalist

Members
Maria Efstathiadi
Writer, translator

Grigoris Ioannidis
Lecturer at the Department of Theatre Studies, at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, theatre critic

Dionisis Kavathas
Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Aesthetics of Media, Panteion University Athens

Eleni Petassi
Theatre critic

Christos Polymenakos
Performative writer, performer, dance editor

Manos Stefanidis
Historian and art critic, lecturer at the Department of Theatre Studies, at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens

Students from the Departments of Theatre Studies from the Greek Universities
Christina Zikou, Iasonas Kokkinakis, Yiorgos Kritharas, Melina Markaki, Leda Bouzoukou.