Dance, pantomime and theater at Volos festival
The balance between the classical and the contemporary is the main feature of this year’s International Festival of Music Theater in Volos, which kicks off on December 20 and runs to January 5. The festival will include dance, pantomime, modern theater and new circus artists from all over the world and spectacular shows combining art and technology. «This year’s festival will be a meeting point of the latest trends,» said the festival’s artistic director, Dimitris Marangopoulos, at a recent press conference. «The shows, which range from classic pantomime to the latest evolutions of performance, will combine entertainment with education and tourism with civilization.» The festival will start with the grande dame of Spanish flamenco Christina Hoyos, who will perform the show «In the Hour and the Rhythm» on December 20 and 21. This year’s honored guest will be well-known mime Marcel Marceau. Marceau, who has been described as the artist with the most expressive hands, will give two striking shows, one on December 23 and another on Christmas Day. In a special ceremony, the Municipality of Volos will honor the top French artist’s presence in the city and his participation in the festival. «Aurelia’s Oratorio» will follow, on December 26 and 27, a spectacular music, dance and puppet show directed by Charlie Chaplin’s daughter Victoria and performed by his granddaughter Aurelia Thierree. The Fiat Lux group from Normandy will perform the comedy «Nouvelle Folie,» which combines modern theater and pantomime, on December 29 and 30, while on January 3, 4 and 5 Italian Ennio Marchetto, appearing in Greece for the first time, will interpret 100 characters in just one hour, from Madonna to the Queen of England, changing paper costumes. A series of lectures and workshops will take place in the context of the International Festival of Music Theater in Volos, such as a spectacle-tribute to the Beatles on December 17 and 19, a lecture by Marceau, and other events.
