The group “Dryades” (Dryads) created within the dance studio of Maria Karapanagioti, who is the main choreographer and the president of the company, was the very core of the group “Dryades en plo” (Floating Dryads).
The group “Dryades” has taken part in a number of artistic events since 1987:
Ø Municipal Theatre of Karditsa (30 performances)
Ø Municipality of Trikala during the Naval Week
Ø Municipality of Efxeinoupoli, Almiros
Ø Association of Mavrahades
Ø Association of Teachers in Karditsa
Ø Association of Friends of Love (Filoi tis Agapis)
Ø Associations of Guides and Scouts
Ø Panhellenic Dance Festival
Ø Cultural Olympics in the Prefecture of Karditsa
Ø Cultural Centre of Farsala Municipality
Ø Dora Stratou Theatre, Athens
Ø Cultural events held in schools within the Prefectures of Karditsa and Thessaloniki
Ø Meetings of Greek choreographers 2009, Benaki Museum
Ø 8th Dance Festival of Greek Choreographers, Argo Theatre
The art group “Dryades en plo” has presented a number of performances since the very first day; some of them are as follows:
Ø “Astroganti and the lake of 20 wishes” attended by Mrs. Mirka Psaropoulou, President of the Greek department of International Dance Council – UNESCO and dance critic
Ø “The lost coin” in cooperation with Karditsa Art Club, attended by Mr. Bakopoulos, Secretary of the Greek department of International Dance Council – UNESCO. This performance was held at the opening of the book “The lost coin” written and designed by Mr. Ioannis Troukis
Ø Choreography during Christmas events for children with special needs
Ø Choreography dedicated to Fotis Metaxopoulos (one of the most important Greek choreographers) during the Theatre Festival of Karditsa
Ø “Deep red in ¾”; this performance was held in an artistically inspired venue and was repeated in Rastoni venue
Ø “Seven square stories - three pictures - five moments”; this performance was inspired by the homonymous poetic collection
The two last mentioned performances were presented during the 22nd International Dance Festival of UNESCO that was held in Athens, July 2008
Seminars held by the group:
Ø Creative Dance seminar in cooperation with Mrs. Argyropoulou, as a second circle of the seminar between the dance studio and Mrs. Matzarli
Ø Argentine Tango Seminar in cooperation with Mrs. Natasa Rouvoli
Ø Oriental Dance Seminar in cooperation with Mrs. Irene Marantei
Ø Seminar on Spot – line – colour - movement in cooperation with Mr. Ioannis Troukis, painter and sculptor
Ø Hip Hop seminar
Ø Classical – Modern Dance seminar
Ø Contemporary Dance seminar
Ø Dance therapy seminar
Action of the group:
Ø Presentation of Chorochroma (Dance and colour) and introduction to surrealism during conferences held by UNESCO
Ø The proposal on Chorochroma, a method of teaching art through dancing, is approved by the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs and is suggested for school visiting
Ø The group visits the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 13th Primary Schools of Karditsa, the Primary School of Makrihori village in Karditsa, the "Anatolia" Private School in Thessaloniki, the kindergarten of Sakkelaropoulos Schools and the kindergarten of the 3rd Primary School.
Ø The group has produced a DVD presenting Chorochroma through the following works written by Ioannis Troukis:
· Poetic collection “Deep red in ¾”
· Poetic collection “Seven square stories - three pictures - five moments”
· Fairytale “The lost coin”
Ø The group has inspired and presented original performances through almost all kind of art, like music, dance, theatre, aiming to artistic perfection and cultural development, as well as the actual communication with the audience through creative ways of expression.
Ø The group has contributed to the artistic, cultural and teaching education and research by holding seminars, conferences and open exhibitions, targeting to educators who follow about the same teaching approach.
Ø The group has cooperated with local artists having as their main objective the cultural awareness and development of the local population as well as the creation of new alternatives through culture for the youth in the area
Ø The group aims to the evolution of the very same artists along with the gradual and healthy sensitization of the audience on art through meetings and exchange of opinions during seminars and soirées on art, culture, education, evolution.
The group has met the following programmatic objectives for the period 2008-2009:
Ø Organization of workshops on dance, painting, eurhythmics, phonetics, attended by a large number of both youngsters and adults
Ø Participation through a Proposal made by the President of the company in the 22nd International Dance Festival of UNESCO as well as the performance “Seven square stories - three pictures - five moments” at Dora Stratou Theatre
Ø Successful circles of performances on Zeibekiko dance[1] - Argentine Tango under the title “Deep red in ¾”
Ø Performances inspired by the publications of the company (poetic collections and a fairytale) presented at special events in cooperation with the Art and Photography Clubs of Karditsa
Ø Promotion of Chorochroma, a method of teaching art through dancing, by holding workshops in Dance Studio of Maria Karapanagioti and visiting the following schools:
· 3rd Primary School of Karditsa
· 6th Primary School of Karditsa
· 1st and 12th Primary School of Karditsa
· Primary School Itea in Karditsa
· “Anatolia” Private School in Thessaloniki
Ø Introducing Chorochroma and Dance therapy to groups of children with special needs supported by “Horizons[2]”, “KEKAMEA[3]”, “KEPEP[4]” with tremendous results in their kinetics and psychological development
Ø Performance of “Seven square stories - three pictures - five moments” accompanied by music
Ø Performance of “Deep Roots – Brilliant Colours” given at the Municipal Theatre in the honour of those who died in Cyprus, in poetry of Aggelos Rodinis and Kyriakos Haralabidis
Ø Participation of the group in the Meetings of Greek choreographers 2009, Benaki Museum, Athens
Ø Participation in the 8th Dance Festival of Greek Choreographers Association with the performance "Thessaly"; the festival was held under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and with the support of the Hellenic National Centre of Theatre and Dance & the Greek department of International Dance Council – UNESCO
Ø Panhellenic seminar on Dance Therapy through primitive expression with Mrs. France Schott Billman that was held in N. Plastiras Lake, Karditsa
Special reference to the group is made in:
Ø Booklet “The Theatre in Karditsa and the wider area (1881-)” by Fotis Bogiatzis
Ø Dance Magazine, issue 54
Ø Dancemania, issue 10
Ø Dance and Tradition, issue 96
Ø Several magazines and local press host articles on the group
Ø Reviews on the performances by 8 local newspapers
Ø A special tribute to the group is also made by the press of Trikala, Volos and Larissa
Ø The book “Dalcroze Eurhythmics” by Lily Arzimanoglou-Matzarli
Ø IN LIFE Magazine
[1] Greek urban improvisational dance with a rhythmic pattern
[2] Urban company of Karditsa Municipality, Greece
[3] Centre for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities
[4] Centre for the care of children with chronic diseases
