Snow Whites – Mythical narration of an eternal conflict

This production is carried out within the framework of the 2024 programme of the

Hellenic Ministry of Culture “All of Greece, One Culture”.

THE PERFORMANCE IS IN GREEK

Snow Whites is a performance for two narrators and a four-member instrumental ensemble. In this performance, three Snow Whites come together to discuss the pains of growing up, the cost of coming of age, and the gifts of the woods. Snow Whites, like all folk tales, knows no language, religious, or cultural boundaries.

Relying on the most vulnerable of all musical instruments, the human voice, they cross over time and lands, undergo changes and offer us wonderful versions of their story from the Balkans, Europe and Africa. The magical folk tales are songs that pass down from one generation to another, each time dressed in the rhythms and melodies of the community of the storyteller who narrates them.

Original music by Stathis Giftakis

Christina Dimiza & Lilly Triantari – concept, narration & dramaturgy

Popi Malapani – piano 

Arionas Gyftakis – double bass

Yorgos Pavlakos – flutes & recorders 

Sofia Braila – voice 

A production of Popi Malapani and Mission Art AMKE

Many thanks to Valérie Petit for translating the African tale “Snow White of the Sun” into Greek.

Christina Dimiza was born, grew up, and is still growing… At the right moment and when necessary, she was sent to school to learn and become educated. She began her journey into Art and Knowledge by studying at the K. Koun Art Theatre and continued her studies in History, Archaeology, and Cultural Heritage Management. Very early on, she started working as a theatre educator with groups of children and teenagers. She wrote and directed plays with and for children. She has collaborated with the Art Theatre, the Municipal and Regional Theatre of Kalamata, the Experimental Stage of Kalamata and the Artistic Hangout. For the last 12 years, she has been working at the Bougas Schools as the Director of Academic Planning. She teaches in primary and secondary school while also facilitating literature and creative writing groups. She shares her thoughts and experience on children’s literature, reading promotion, theatrical play and puppet theatre with educators, kindergarten teachers and schoolteachers in adult workshops. She has been trained in group empowerment techniques, effective communication, mediation (non-violent communication) and mentoring educators. For the last ten years, she has been walking the path of folk tales, but she still has many pairs of iron shoes that have yet to wear out. Despite that, she feels lucky to be able to count herself as… another link in the noble lineage of the storytellers.

Lilly Triantari came into this world with a cheerful disposition on an autumn Sunday… tag, you’re it! She played, ran, climbed trees, and hid in the water square for many years. Then she studied dance at the National School of Dance (K.S.O.T.), flew away to the Laban Centre of Movement and Dance, and slid back to K.S.O.T. from where she graduated… tag, you’re it! In 1989, she and her friends set out for a city in the south. A city between the sea and the mountains with somewhat sleepy people. She worked at the Municipal Dance School of Kalamata. She taught young and older students creative movement, music and movement education, and contemporary dance. In 2006, she began walking the path of folk tales. Walking this path, she has shared her stories in secret and open gardens, in museums and schools, on rooftops and in barns, in small and slightly larger theatres, in cafes and orchards, on buses, by fireplaces, by rivers, and at celebrations under the stars.

If she were not a human, she would want to be a bird.

If she were not a bird, she would want to be a dream.

If she were not a dream, she would want to be a wish… tag, you’re free!

Popi Malapani studied piano at the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata with Stathis Giftakis, Maria Papapetropoulou and Neli Semitekolo. After graduating (Diploma), she continued her studies at the Folkwang University Music Essen in Germany with Michael Roll and Til Engel. She has attended many chamber music and solo piano seminars with Xavier Poncette, Alexander Shmalcz, Lilia Bojiadjieva, Domna Evnouchidou, Theodor Tzovanakis a.o. She has also studied Archaeology at the Athens State University. Furthermore, she has had many chamber music and solo concerts in Greece and abroad. Since 2014, she has worked at the Nakas Conservatory in Athens as a piano teacher and accompanist.

Arionas Gyftakis was born in Kalamata in 1995. At seven, he started violin lessons at the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata. He started electric bass lessons with Nikos Tsotras and Harry Charalampous four years later. His great interest in jazz music led him at 14 to start jazz bass with Sylvios Syrros. During these four years, he also studied jazz harmony, improvisation and workshop. During the same period, he also studied classical bass with Takis Kappogiannis. In May 2013, he took exams at the Berklee College of Music and won the Full Presidential Scholarship. There he studied with John Lockwood, Dave Santoro, Eddie Gomez and Hal Crook. Currently, he is teaching at Jazzart in Athens. His collaborations include musicians such as George Kontrafouris, Spiros Manesis, Takis Paterelis, Andreas Polyzogopoulos, Daniel Rotem, Anastasis Gouliaris, Davis Whitfield, Gabriele Milozzi and others.

Yorgos Pavlakos was born in Athens in 1978. His musical studies started in the Conservatory of Kalamata, where he took recorder lessons from Manos Avarakis. Later, he moved to the Netherlands and continued his studies on the recorder. He graduated from the Historical Instruments Department of the Conservatorium of Utrecht under the guidance of Heiko ter Schegget. Among his teachers are Wilbert Hazelzet and Bert Honig. He followed masterclasses with Marion Verbruggen and Conrad Steinmann. In the Netherlands, he worked as a recorder teacher and ensemble coach. He co-founded the ensemble Oriana and has given several performances in the Netherlands. He has also appeared on stage in Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic. Since 2017, he has been teaching recorder at the Conservatory of Kalamata and appears regularly in concerts as a soloist and an ensemble player. Ηe still, naively, believes that music can change the world.

Sofia Braila was born in Athens. Her involvement with music began at a young age with classical piano lessons. Later, she studied vocals with Lia Hide at Musical Praxis Conservatory while also participating in the conservatory’s jazz ensembles under the guidance of Yiannis Papanastasiou and George Argyropoulos. Since 2020, she has been studying jazz improvisation with Sylvios Syrros and is a student of the Jazzart Music School. She has collaborated with various musicians including Spyros Manesis, Arionas Gyftakis, Tryfonas Typou, Anastasis Gouliaris, Gabriele Milozzi, Dionysis Polygenis, Yiannis Papadopoulos, Yiannis Papadoulis, Orestis Petrakis, Grigoris Theodoridis, Manouchedrome and others, and performed at festivals and well-known concert venues such as Djangofest – Technopolis City of Athens, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata and Koroni Arts Festival. In addition to her musical activities, she holds a degree in Graphic Design from the Technological Educational Institute of Athens and currently works as a freelance designer.