It opens with a subsidy 2 million. dollars from the Australian government

A subsidy of two million Australian dollars for the construction of a Greek Cultural Center in Melbourne will be granted by the Australian government according to an announcement signed by the Prime Minister of the country Mrs. Julia Gillard, the Minister of Culture Mr. Simon Crean and Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Mrs Kate Lundy.

The news was first announced by the Prime Minister of the country last Saturday at an event in the context of the Greek festival "Antipodes" in Melbourne.

The new cultural center will be located in the heart of Melbourne's Greek community and will be housed in a multi-purpose space in the city's Central Business District. "The modernized space will house the proud history of the Greek community, will showcase valuable archives created over the decades and host special exhibitions and performances”, stated in the announcement. "It will also provide assistance to members of the Greek community through programs implemented by the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria".

"The center will symbolize the enormous contribution of the Greek-Australian community to Australian society and will highlight the special cultural and historical ties between Greece and Australia," the announcement continues..

Australia has changed significantly over the past two decades and the multicultural makeup of its population is greater than ever. "As a government we recognize the important contribution of the Greek community. Our nation has been enriched by the contribution of generations of Greeks who settled in Australia, they raised their families and built strong communities here. Greek-Australians have played an important role in our national history and Greek culture has been a source of inspiration for the arts, the letters, the academic knowledge and the architecture" is noted in the announcement, which ends: “As the Australian Government prepares to announce its first National Cultural Policy, this new center will help highlight Australia's multicultural heritage. The height subsidy 2 million Australian dollars from the Australian Government demonstrates our commitment to deliver programs that empower the nation's cultural diversity".

Source : tovima.gr

On Friday at 15.00 the funeral, from the Amarousiou cemetery.

The well-known and much-loved actor Vassilis Tsivilikas passed away on Wednesday morning, in age 70 years, during his transfer to Sismanoglio General Hospital where he was rushed with severe chest pain. He breathed his last in the ambulance, shortly after seven in the morning, from a heart attack.

As the director of the Sismanoglio Hospital reported to Mega, attempts were made to revive him inside the ambulance, while the same attempt was made on 40 minutes and from the hospital doctors without finally succeeding.

Vassilis Tsivilikas was born in Thessaloniki in 1942. Even from school, his teachers urged him to turn to the theater. Despite the fact that he entered English Literature, decided to go down to Athens and take exams at the Drama school of the Art Theater – he didn't pass there but at the school of Pelos Katselis from where he graduated.

It first appeared in the theater 1965 and a little later he finally collaborated with Karolos Koon and the Art Theater. His first film appearance, in the early 70s, was in Alekos Sakellariou's movie "My aunt the hippie". Since then he has participated in several films, while his presence in the theater was constant.

Thiasarchis has been performing every year on stage for many years, in comedies, Greek and foreign, where he directed and starred. This year, for the second season he played in the comedy "Bicycle Life" together with Yiannis Bostanzoglou, Petros Xekoukis et al.

Vassilis Tsivilikas, a naturally comedic actor, enjoyed great success both in prose and in the revue. He was married and had two children.

In a statement, the Ministry of Culture states: "Vassilis Tsivilikas served the theatrical art for a long time with consistency and ethics and was especially loved by the public".

The mayor of Athens also sent his warm condolences to the actor's family, George Kaminis. "The untimely death of actor and leading comedian Vassilis Tsivilikas is a great loss for modern Greek cinema and theater. Υπηρέτησε αγόγγυστα την ελληνική επιθεώρηση, προσφέροντας γέλιο και χαρά».

Η κηδεία του Βασίλη Τσιβιλίκα θα τελεστεί στις 3 το μεσημέρι της Παρασκευής από το νεκροταφείο Αμαρουσίου.

Thrill and sadness in the art world

Shocked by the news of the death of Vassilis Tsivilikas, the actor declares to APE-MPE, George Constantine. "I didn't expect something like this. He was a very healthy man. I worked with him for the last four years. He was a great theater person. A man I admired for his courage, his strength and beliefs, which he was very supportive of. Vassilis Tsivilikas was a man “votarist” in the theater, it was his whole life. I'm sorry because it's really a big loss for us.".

George Partsalakis also spoke about Vassilis Tsivilikas: "He was a man of culture, educated, with a lot of humor, theater connoisseur, with humanity. Vassilis and his generation were supports for young people. We also had something else in common. We had both finished the School of Pelos Katselis. And Katselis primarily taught us to be colleagues off stage as well. Vassilis had morals both on and off the stage".

Kind, active and always optimistic describes the comic actor Spyros Bibilas. "He loved young people very much, theater worker and gentleman with a capital K. I am shocked because his death was so unexpected, he was active and into things. Although we never had the chance to work together, we knew each other very well and our contact was very frequent. His death was a sudden event that has shocked us all.".

The story of Peter Pan directed by G. Kalantzopoulos at KTHBE

And who hasn't dreamed, like peter pan, to never grow up; Who, he really didn't want to remain a child and, why not, to move to the land of Never-Never; That is why the story of Peter Pan remains eternally charming for adults and children. It is no coincidence that he returns to the scene, this time of the State Theater of Northern Greece, to charm her audience again. Based on the play by James Matthew Barry, the show is staged by Yiannis Kalatzopoulos, who also wrote the text.

After re-reading the original, after seeing and re-watching the animated films but also with actors, after flipping through comics, Yiannis Kalatzopoulos, as he says "I recalled to my memory what,what had i seen, i had heard, or I had thought about’ this unlikely bobber who didn't want to grow up, I talked to educators and psychologists and at some point I felt ready to go’ start". Thus his arrangement began to take shape. He admits he struggled because the myth is so powerful, so charming. Don't forget that on the journey that Peter Pan suggests we follow him, takes us to Neverland, where pirates live, fairies, mermaids and Indians while gold dust helps solve our problems…

"So I decided to leave too, and go myself to the land of Never-Never", points out, “so I can meet the Lost Children and the Pirates. Without thinking about it, I left my coffee half finished and ran to wash up, to comb my hair, and then start the journey…». And so, somewhere between the land of Peter Pan and the “unknown and magical land that dwells within us, the show was made", he concludes and invites us to follow him.
The text and direction are by Yiannis Kalatzopoulos, the sets and sets and costumes by Katerina Papageorgiou, the music of Giorgos Kazantzis, the choreography of Katerina Andriopoulou, the videos of Yiannis Piralis, the musical teaching of Nikos Voudouris and the lighting of Tasos Dailidis. They play: Thanos Feretzelis, Ioanna Payatakis, Yannis Kalantzopoulos, Eva Oikonomou-Vamvaka, Lucia Vassiliou, Thanasis Dislis, Christos Stylianou, Marianna Tandou, Yannis Tsatsaris, Yannis Tsiakmakis, Anne Tsolakidou, Marina Hatziioannou.

"Peter Pan" at the Royal Theatre – White Tower Square. The premiere of the show will be given on Sunday 4 Of March. For the public, the performances will be given every Sunday at 11.00 and on 15.00. For reservations: 2315 200200.

Source : tovima.gr

Series of live events, book presentations and photo exhibition

A series of four events on the theme of the relationship between Jazz and Literature and a jazz photography exhibition will be hosted at RIFIFI restaurant-bar (Emm. Benaki 69A, Expiration)  every Thursday in March. The aim of the events is the presentation of literary books inspired by jazz or books that reflect the aesthetic climate of the musician of this genre. The presentation of the books is accompanied by live music from jazz groups and singers.

The books to be presented are 'Who Still Listens to Jazz;» (Cedar) of John N. Bascozu (1 March). It is presented by the author himself and the band Swing Shoes plays with the participation of the singer Irini Dimopoulou. The second book to be presented (8 Of March) it is probably the best text that talks about jazzmen who wrote history, that of Geoff Dyer “And yet, nicely…» (Papyrus). Presented by Thanasis Minas and performed by the band Human Touch. The third book to be presented (15 Of March) is the "Marseille Trilogy" Jean – Claude Izzo (City), which reflects the jazz atmosphere of the detective book. Presented by Giorgos – Ikaros Babasakis and the band John Floros plays- Music soup. The month will close with the presentation (22 Of March) of Jack Kerouac's book Peak (Attempt), indicative of the love the beats had for jazz. Presented by Thanasis Minas and G. Micky Pantelus plays Basque.

At the RIFIFI site, the photo exhibition "Jazz moments" by Andreas Zaharatos with photos of Greek and foreign jazz artists who gave concerts in our country is presented throughout the month.

All events start after 10pm.

Details of the books that will be presented:

THURSDAY 1 MARCH

Yannis N. Bascozos – Who still listens to jazz?; and other strange stories

Cedar, 2011

(the author presents it)

"Music is your experience, your thoughts, your wisdom, if you don't live it, it will not come out of your horn", said Charlie Parker.

Most of the stories in this book go the other way around: the experience, the thoughts, the actions of the protagonists are shaped, for some inexplicable reason, through music.

Music of many genres that become a narrative field on which stories of everyday people unfold.

Stories about misplaced friendships, difficult relationships, sudden ones, small and sometimes betrayed loves, little vices, great expectations. Stories about people sticking out their tongues p’ The,what does not suit them and for others, who are the most numerous and retreat in front of a society that simply tolerates them.

Among human entanglements, once dominant, sometimes accompanying, even silent, it shines, everything, the music.

THURSDAY 8 MARCH

Geoff Dyer – And yet, nicely… A book about jazz

translation: Danai Stefanou

Papyrus, 2008

(it is presented by Thanasis Minas)

Lester Young, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Ben Webster, Charles Minkus, Art Pepper, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie…: the author creates portraits of creators who sealed the evolution of jazz with their music. The verb "philosophize" is used literally; Dyer does not merely list biographical facts, nor does he develop with the language of a music critic some theoretical opinions about their work, but resorts to fiction and poetic language to be able to recreate the experiential space in which their music was born. Accepting that the standard criticism, as a mediator between the creator and the listener, it usually functions as a simple substitute that fails to bring out the essence, the soul of the project, Dyer talks about jazz in the maker's way, combining criticism and fiction.

Dyer "writes" like a jazz musician: the raw material he used are sayings of musicians, information about their lives from various sources, but also photos of musicians on stage. These are his "constants"., which, however, function as a starting point for a creative improvisation which leads him to the field of fiction, in the same way that a jazz musician relies on the "constants" of his musical tradition to improvise. The way in which he utilizes the photographic material is revealing: “even though it only captures a fraction of a second, the experienced duration of the image is extended several seconds before and after this still moment to include […] The,what just happened or what,what is going to happen…Dyer therefore transforms images, sounds and information in speech art to help the reader - who at times feels like he is becoming a listener, that "reads sounds"- to hear the soul of Lester Young, of Thelonious Monk or Bud Powell, to "hear" the soul of jazz.

THURSDAY 15 MARCH

Jean – Claude Izzo – The Marseille Trilogy

(The black song of Marseille. The crowd. Solea)

translation: Richard Someritis, Alexis Emmanuel

City, 2011

(George presents it- Ikaros Babasakis )

Under the title "The Marseille Trilogy" the novels of Jean-Claude Izzo "The Black Song of Marseille" were republished in one volume, "The Crowd", "Usual", with Fabio Modal as the hero, this sensitive policeman, descendant of immigrants, enemy of violence, who loves poetry, the jazz, the fishing, his women and his city, Marseille: a city at the crossroads of peoples and cultures, the great port of France.

Marseille, with the port and its people, the streets and her girls, where French racists cross, corrupt cops, Islamic fanatics, while the shadow of the Mafia spreads everywhere, it is the ideal setting for noir stories.

And the hero, full of self-doubt, always determined to make it to the end, continues his wanderings in the streets of lost innocence. Struggling between nostalgia and rebellion, it acts for the sake of companionship and friendship with humanity itself.

Izzo, child of "illegal immigration" too, as is Zidane, he gave his city something that his city now returns with love and gratitude: a new image, a new life. A myth. "I envy Marseille. I would very much like to find Fonfon's bar one day - its good time- and shout at him: “Patron, a pastis!”». In memory of Izzo.

THURSDAY 22 MARCH

Jack Kerouac – Pic

translation: Yannis Livadas

Attempt, 2008

(it is presented by Yiannis Baskozos and Thanasis Minas)

Little Pike escapes from his aunt's house in North Carolina with the help of his big brother. They go to New York, and from there they end up in the coveted California. Jack Kerouac seems to recall the romanticism of the old American tradition, and to deliver his last literary child to her: a new kind of Huckleberry Finn, which constitutes an already completed, finished snapshot of american quest.

The central character of the narrative is an integral part of the American zero or otherwise the futile attempt to escape from the nightmare of Barba-Sam.

It is not difficult to see the similarities with the life course of Jack Kerouac himself . The constants of the outcast, of the street, of jazz and the cult of the American landscape remain.

Source : tovima.gr

Performances based on his texts continue in theaters inside and outside of Athens

If the 2011 it was dedicated to Alexandros Papadiamantis, due to the centenary of his death (3/1/1911), the 2012 it seems to be a continuation of the anniversary. At least this is proven through the ever-increasing number of performances staged on the Athenian stages or repeated in and outside the capital, as is the festival "Dream on the wave" which will (again)is premiering, this time at the Acropolis Theater, at 13 Of March, with Thanasis Sarandos. A little earlier, at 3 "Dark Tales" begins in March, a performance based on three dramatized short stories of his edited and directed by Stamatis Bandouna.

"I think especially in this day and age, with the economic but above all the moral crisis, the search for the lost Greek identity is what stimulates the viewer above all. He wants to see and hear the Greek language. He wants to remember that in addition to debt, Greece has also produced people who touched our souls very deeply", says Thanasis Sarandos who directs "Dream on the Wave" and performs the monologue. "The world seeks the purity and truth of Papadiamantis", adds as his experience of the Skiathite poet begins with his engagement with the "American, which he uploaded three years ago, a show that recently completed its cycle. “I noticed that if the audience was older in the beginning, little by little, more and more young people began to come".

Takis Chrysikakos is aimed at viewers of all ages as well as high school students, through "The flower of Gialos", one of the top short stories of Alexandros Papadiamantis turned into a theatrical monologue by Errico Belier. The performance directed by Mania Papadimitriou, has taken to the stage of the Anesis theatre, and will be played for two more weekends (25-26/2 and 3-4/3, at 18.00). "We also give some shows for high school students, who also taught him. I admit that to such a difficult audience as teenagers, not even a whisper is heard. Even their teachers are surprised by the behavior of the students", says the actor who bows to Papadiamantis' linguistic richness "with the 13.500 words, at a time when young people talk to few". And in times as difficult as our current ones, I feel like I'm resisting by letting the richness of Papadiamantis be heard".

Since its inception, the theater season 2011-2012 defined by a series of works by Papadiamantis: Starting with "Fonissa" which Stathis Livathinos chose to direct at the Kefallinia Street theater, with Betty Arvanitis. "Nostalgo" is proposed by the Free Expression stage, directed by Dimos Avdeliodi with Mary Inglesi, while Antonis and Konstantinos Koufalis continue, until 28 February, with the "Poor and Saints", a compilation of his adapted short stories (at the Vasilakou theater).

End, "The merchants of the nations" who went up to the House of Letters and Arts, they moved to Thessaloniki and are now performed at the Avlaia theater. The performance of the OPERA group is directed by Thodoris Abazis "Alithinos, he had devalued money and material values. Fighter for Greek morals and Greek identity, with a political reason, still expresses our time today. Besides", reminds Thanasis Sarandos, "had experienced the bankruptcy during Trikoupis and the waste in the preparation of the Olympiad". Ο times o manners…..

Source : tovima.gr

Eminent Byzantine scholars react to the construction of a multi-storey building in their place

The mobilization is unprecedented in Turkish history 50 of prominent Turkish Byzantine scholars for the protection of the history of Constantinople on the occasion of the construction of a multi-storey building on the Byzantine walls of the city. The scientists, specialists in Byzantine history, art, of architecture and archeology appeal to the officials and residents of Istanbul to prevent the destruction of its historical heritage. Because as they mention in their text "The underground and above ground monuments of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman period located in the old city do not belong only to Turkey. As can be seen from their presence on the list of World Heritage Sites, they are important for the whole world".

The issue concerns the Sultanahmet area, in a building block of which, when the newer buildings were demolished a few months ago, walls belonging to the Byzantine and Pro-Byzantine periods were discovered in their foundations. Despite the contrary report of the Archaeological Museum of Constantinople on the subject last December, from the beginning of February, construction of a five-story building began on the site. The Protection Committee also had an opposing opinion, while the officials of the Fatih municipality, where the plots belong, repeatedly carried out inspections and the construction site was sealed twice. Nevertheless, the construction of the building continued. New decision, this time from the Ministry of Culture of Turkey with a date 8 ordered the demolition of the newly erected building. Whether it will happen is unknown, just as the fate of the walls, which were probably destroyed, is also unknown. “In the future, the first promotion of the importance of an issue instead of trying to solve it after a holiday will prevent the destruction of other historical works", scientists point out, who also report:

"The area of ​​Sultanahmet in particular needs to be protected more because it hosts works that represent the religious and political centers of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. All construction activities p’ this area must be inspected with the active participation and scientific input of local authorities, of museums, of protection committees and academics. The historical heritage of Istanbul must not fall victim to the greed of the people and the indifference of the authorities".

Source : tovima.gr