Joining a very busy October agenda is an event that arrives for the first time: the Poetry Moves International Festival is based on the thought that the beginning of everything is poetry.
With events spanning across three weeks, this new initiative aims to strengthen the ties and develop the dialogue of poetry with other arts to redefine Eugène Delacroix’s phrase “there is no art without poetry”.
The theme of this first edition, from October 3 to 25, is Women’s World Poetry and different venues will host the events, all with free entry. The poems will be recited in their original language with translation into English and Greek.
The first event on October 3 blends poetry with photography to present the PhOETRY – When Words Become Images exhibition at EKATE. Selected photographers will present images they created inspired by poems of American poet Emily Dickinson and the Greek poet Kikis Dimoula. The event will open at 8pm and the exhibition will run until October 13.
Then on October 6, poetry will meet jazz as artists from Cyprus and the USA present a poetic jazz showcase. Under the title Women’s Poetry and Jazz in Concert, Fred Berman, Eleonora Rousou and Glafkos Kontemeniotis will present improvised pieces and original compositions inspired by the poems of Daphne Nikita, Christiana Avraamidou, Emily Dickinson, Blaga Dimitrova and Maya Angelou. A day before their concert, Kontemeniotis and Berman will hold a jazz workshop at 4pm at Arte Music Academy, where their performance will also take place.
A few days later a performance and video poetry will fill ARTos House, featuring a live dialogue between women poets of today and the past. The second part of the evening (on October 10) will show an anthology of video poems that were presented at the Berlin Zebra Poetry Festival among other art events.
Dance will be the next art form to interact with poetry as two solo choreographies by Elena Christodoulidou will be presented at the Engomio Culture Centre on October 17. The event will also include a dance choreographed by Fotis Nicolaou, all inspired by poetry.
Concluding the festival’s events is the Sound & Poetryscapes performance on October 25 at Satiriko Theatro. The performance will include 14 soundscapes for piano, cello and voice with poetry recitals and voice recordings, composed by Savvas Savva. Once again, the poems will highlight women poets and artists, wrapping up the first edition of the festival. And all for free!
Poetry Moves International Festival
1st edition of poetry festival with a variety of art events. October 3-25. Around Nicosia. Free. www.poetry-moves-international-festival.com
