We are invited to celebrate an evening dedicated to Orpheus, the mythical Thracian musician and poet, and to welcome a group of dancers and musicians from Alexandroupolis, led by teacher, writer, broadcaster and folklorist, Dimitris Vrachiologlou. The event is held in the Cultural Centre in Giannitsa which boasts the most beautiful bird sculptures on its front lawn. As we arrive, ladies of a local Thracian dance group, who with local musicians will also entertain us and their northern guests, are struggling into their costumes - layers of thick cotton which must be just as hot to dance in as in a kilt, if not more so. Some are gracious enough to pose beautifully for me and give me permission to post their picture.
Now we have been invited by our cousin, the ‘droll dentist‘, D, the smiling moustache here with Dimitris, the MC. Our cousin is one of the most dynamic people I know – with enthusiasms which range from traditional dance, gastronomy and viniculture; he’s a prodigious vintner as well, if we take that to mean wine-making, but not to include its retailing. D has generously offered to feed and water everyone involved, amounting to over seventy people. And when we say ‘water’, D has provided tsipouro and wine at every table – all his own produce. As we are in the middle of Orthodox fasting, the spread contains only ‘fasting food’ – and, as always, the Greek do that in style!! Strictly speaking, no animal products are allowed, but the board is groaning: as well as a fine range of salads and the ubiquitous chip, there are beans baked in tomato sauce (real stuff – not the 57 varieties!), cuttle-fish in spinach, king prawns, grilled octopus, snails cooked in a garlic sauce, and mushrooms - for the latter two dishes D himself has collected the ingredients! Very soon the dancers – now divested of their weighty costumes- are in high spirits and take to the floor in decidedly constrained space.
There’s only one thing for it – the mild weather is with us and the street beyond is a pedestrian precinct so – the event becomes an outdoor one! Accordion, bagpipes, violin and clarinet all move out there….. drumming up the atmosphere. Dancing is de rigueur and done with the usual Thracian measured tempo and dignity, though executing the tricky Baidoushka rhythms and side-stamps on the cobble-stones presented a slight additional challenge. But one we're up to!
One of my favourite comments was made by a little old lady up on her nearby balcony, watching the goings-on in the wee small hours, without much choice, really. When asked why she wasn’t asleep she said she had been, we’d woken her up…..and it was grand music! Bless her for her appreciation!
As D bids his well-sated guests farewell, a lady dancer recites a poem of thanks she has penned for him during the evening. On that cultural note, we’ll draw the curtain on our evening in honour of Orpheus.
