Magda Zografou | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (original) (raw)

Papers by Magda Zografou

Dance Chronicle, Sep 1, 2011

... 4 4. See Michalis Meraklis, O sigxronos Ellinikos laikos politismos (Athens: Kallitehniko kai... more ... 4 4. See Michalis Meraklis, O sigxronos Ellinikos laikos politismos (Athens: Kallitehniko kai Pneumatiko kentro “Ora,” 1983), 51; Dimitrios ... Nikos Marantzidis, Yiasasin Millet/Zito to Ethnos: Prosfigia, Katoxi kai Emfilios, ethnotiki tautotita kai politici simperifora stous Tourkofonous ...

Yearbook for Traditional Music, 2007

The methodological shift in cultural studies from observation to meaning (Geertz 1973) resulted i... more The methodological shift in cultural studies from observation to meaning (Geertz 1973) resulted in “invisible” dance action coming to the forefront of contemporary speculation in the humanistic and social sciences (Farnell 2001b:2). As Adrienne Kaeppler observes, it cannot be considered adequate to pinpoint whatever message we receive from the visually perceived manifestation of any choreography, because this visible dimension constitutes only one component of a larger social action. In order to develop an opinion of what and how a dance communicates in a specific circumstance, we must comprehend it as a holistic entity. According to Kaeppler, the creative process of understanding dance can be interpreted in a more obvious way: from within the dancer's ability and the spectator's knowledge of the metaphor applied in the dance motion, in light of the more general social and cultural environment. Following this argument, that the “visible” and “invisible” may emerge in all their dimensions (Kaeppler 2001:31–39), dance cannot be perceived solely as form; it has a usage and an orbit that emphasize the “human” and the “social,” while most of the time concealing its invisible and loaded symbolic aspects.

In this paper we examine people's critical views about sociopolitical reality in a suburb of ... more In this paper we examine people's critical views about sociopolitical reality in a suburb of Athens due to Greek financial crisis. We are doing so by asking them to comment about certain dancing scenes in films. By giving people the chance to respond to what they see we come to achieve a certain degree of interaction, which enables us to shape our analysis. We draw upon recent anthropological research and its attention to visual and media systems. According to this perspective, we suggest that people can guide research to a fruitful fieldwork leaving aside several presuppositions that sometimes result in dilemmas. For avoiding it, we make use of a questionnaire with open-ended questions. This works as a methodological tool that can transform people answering it from commentators into communicators of exchanging thoughts. The result is a creative understanding of the issues involved.

This paper focuses on the study of embodied memory through the shared social experience of the &q... more This paper focuses on the study of embodied memory through the shared social experience of the "Tsakonikos" dance in Leonidio, a village in the Peloponnese. In this study, the dance is seen as an embodied practice, as a way and field, where the existing notions are realized while abolishing the binary relationship between body and mind. The body and its movements are not a passive object but a subject, creatively interconnecting the sentiment with the knowledge. Combining, on one hand, the tradition of the snake in "Platanes" and generally the snake in the conscious and unconscious expressions with "Tsakonikos" dance on the other, it is inve-1 Anastasia Hilari is a PhD candidate in Dancing Ethnography-Anthropology at the Dept. of Physical Education of the University of Athens. She has been working as a teacher in a secondary public school since 1988 and has been in charge of several traditional dancing events in Greece for many consecutive years, with e...

Yearbook for Traditional Music, 2007

... According to printed references and, particularly, interviews with people directly involved i... more ... According to printed references and, particularly, interviews with people directly involved in the shooting of the film, Stelios Katsivelakis is considered to be the "teacher" who initiated Anthony Quinn (the actor who played Zorba) into the "secrets of the choreography."' Despite ...

Journal of Mediterranean Studies, 2007

The present paper is concerned with the analysis and contextualisation of ‘Pontian’ dance perform... more The present paper is concerned with the analysis and contextualisation of ‘Pontian’ dance performances in Northern Greece as highly politicised sites for the articulation of identities, histories and ideological narratives of belonging. Following the argument that dance is an embodied discourse intimately related to the construction of identity, the paper explores collective, hegemonic representations of inclusion and exclusion, Sameness and Otherness as these are negotiated in time and space. The protagonists of this ethnography, confronted with the grand narrative of Hellenism, reflexively engage in a struggle to remain a distinct and yet central part of modern Greek culture by carefully and reflexively meditating in the politics of the dance, tradition, Pontianness and Greekness in Aegean Macedonia.

Περίληψη Οποιαδήποτε προσπάθεια να μελετηθεί και να κατανοηθεί ο χορός ως προϊόν, πέρα από τις εξ... more Περίληψη Οποιαδήποτε προσπάθεια να μελετηθεί και να κατανοηθεί ο χορός ως προϊόν, πέρα από τις εξαρτήσεις του από το πλαίσιο λειτουργίας και χρήσης του, εγκλωβίζεται στα εγγενή αδιέξοδα που το ίδιο το προϊόν θέτει. Αν και η δομή της ιδέας δε διαφέρει από τη δομή της έκφρασής της, αφήνοντας την ιστορία έξω από την αναλυτική οπτική, το πολιτισμικό προϊόν καθεαυτό ενέχει μια αθωότητα που επιτρέπει τη χρήση ή και την κατάχρησή του στον ιδεολογικό και πολιτικό στίβο. Η μελέτη αυτή εξετάζοντας την αλληλο-συσχέτιση τοπικού και εθνικού μέσα από το παράδειγμα των ετερομορφιών του χορού Καγκελάρι, ανιχνεύει, πως η έμφαση μεταφέρθηκε από το θρησκευτικό-κοινωνικό στο μονοπάτι της 'εθνικής ιδεολογίας', όταν οι τοπικές χορευτικές πρακτικές εντάχθηκαν στο παιχνίδι συγκρότησης της εθνικής κουλτούρας.

The present paper is concerned with the analysis and contextualisation of 'Pontian' dance perform... more The present paper is concerned with the analysis and contextualisation of 'Pontian' dance performances in Northern Greece as highly politicised sites for the articulation of identities, histories and ideological narratives of belonging. Following the argument that dance is an embodied discourse intimately related to the construction of identity, the paper explores collective, hegemonic representations of inclusion and exclusion, Sameness and Otherness as these are negotiated in time and space. The protagonists of this ethnography, confronted with the grand narrative of Hellenism, reflexively engage in a struggle to remain a distinct and yet central part of modern Greek culture by carefully and reflexively meditating in the politics of the dance, tradition, Pontianness and Greekness in Aegean Macedonia.

In this paper we examine people's critical views about sociopolitical reality in a suburb of Athe... more In this paper we examine people's critical views about sociopolitical reality in a suburb of Athens due to Greek financial crisis. We are doing so by asking them to comment about certain dancing scenes in films. By giving people the chance to respond to what they see we come to achieve a certain degree of interaction, which enables us to shape our analysis. We draw upon recent anthropological research and its attention to visual and media systems. According to this perspective, we suggest that people can guide research to a fruitful fieldwork leaving aside several presuppositions that sometimes result in dilemmas. For avoiding it, we make use of a questionnaire with open-ended questions. This works as a methodological tool that can transform people answering it from commentators into communicators of exchanging thoughts. The result is a creative understanding of the issues involved.

Dance Chronicle, Sep 1, 2011

... 4 4. See Michalis Meraklis, O sigxronos Ellinikos laikos politismos (Athens: Kallitehniko kai... more ... 4 4. See Michalis Meraklis, O sigxronos Ellinikos laikos politismos (Athens: Kallitehniko kai Pneumatiko kentro “Ora,” 1983), 51; Dimitrios ... Nikos Marantzidis, Yiasasin Millet/Zito to Ethnos: Prosfigia, Katoxi kai Emfilios, ethnotiki tautotita kai politici simperifora stous Tourkofonous ...

Yearbook for Traditional Music, 2007

The methodological shift in cultural studies from observation to meaning (Geertz 1973) resulted i... more The methodological shift in cultural studies from observation to meaning (Geertz 1973) resulted in “invisible” dance action coming to the forefront of contemporary speculation in the humanistic and social sciences (Farnell 2001b:2). As Adrienne Kaeppler observes, it cannot be considered adequate to pinpoint whatever message we receive from the visually perceived manifestation of any choreography, because this visible dimension constitutes only one component of a larger social action. In order to develop an opinion of what and how a dance communicates in a specific circumstance, we must comprehend it as a holistic entity. According to Kaeppler, the creative process of understanding dance can be interpreted in a more obvious way: from within the dancer's ability and the spectator's knowledge of the metaphor applied in the dance motion, in light of the more general social and cultural environment. Following this argument, that the “visible” and “invisible” may emerge in all their dimensions (Kaeppler 2001:31–39), dance cannot be perceived solely as form; it has a usage and an orbit that emphasize the “human” and the “social,” while most of the time concealing its invisible and loaded symbolic aspects.

In this paper we examine people's critical views about sociopolitical reality in a suburb of ... more In this paper we examine people's critical views about sociopolitical reality in a suburb of Athens due to Greek financial crisis. We are doing so by asking them to comment about certain dancing scenes in films. By giving people the chance to respond to what they see we come to achieve a certain degree of interaction, which enables us to shape our analysis. We draw upon recent anthropological research and its attention to visual and media systems. According to this perspective, we suggest that people can guide research to a fruitful fieldwork leaving aside several presuppositions that sometimes result in dilemmas. For avoiding it, we make use of a questionnaire with open-ended questions. This works as a methodological tool that can transform people answering it from commentators into communicators of exchanging thoughts. The result is a creative understanding of the issues involved.

This paper focuses on the study of embodied memory through the shared social experience of the &q... more This paper focuses on the study of embodied memory through the shared social experience of the "Tsakonikos" dance in Leonidio, a village in the Peloponnese. In this study, the dance is seen as an embodied practice, as a way and field, where the existing notions are realized while abolishing the binary relationship between body and mind. The body and its movements are not a passive object but a subject, creatively interconnecting the sentiment with the knowledge. Combining, on one hand, the tradition of the snake in "Platanes" and generally the snake in the conscious and unconscious expressions with "Tsakonikos" dance on the other, it is inve-1 Anastasia Hilari is a PhD candidate in Dancing Ethnography-Anthropology at the Dept. of Physical Education of the University of Athens. She has been working as a teacher in a secondary public school since 1988 and has been in charge of several traditional dancing events in Greece for many consecutive years, with e...

Yearbook for Traditional Music, 2007

... According to printed references and, particularly, interviews with people directly involved i... more ... According to printed references and, particularly, interviews with people directly involved in the shooting of the film, Stelios Katsivelakis is considered to be the "teacher" who initiated Anthony Quinn (the actor who played Zorba) into the "secrets of the choreography."' Despite ...

Journal of Mediterranean Studies, 2007

The present paper is concerned with the analysis and contextualisation of ‘Pontian’ dance perform... more The present paper is concerned with the analysis and contextualisation of ‘Pontian’ dance performances in Northern Greece as highly politicised sites for the articulation of identities, histories and ideological narratives of belonging. Following the argument that dance is an embodied discourse intimately related to the construction of identity, the paper explores collective, hegemonic representations of inclusion and exclusion, Sameness and Otherness as these are negotiated in time and space. The protagonists of this ethnography, confronted with the grand narrative of Hellenism, reflexively engage in a struggle to remain a distinct and yet central part of modern Greek culture by carefully and reflexively meditating in the politics of the dance, tradition, Pontianness and Greekness in Aegean Macedonia.

Περίληψη Οποιαδήποτε προσπάθεια να μελετηθεί και να κατανοηθεί ο χορός ως προϊόν, πέρα από τις εξ... more Περίληψη Οποιαδήποτε προσπάθεια να μελετηθεί και να κατανοηθεί ο χορός ως προϊόν, πέρα από τις εξαρτήσεις του από το πλαίσιο λειτουργίας και χρήσης του, εγκλωβίζεται στα εγγενή αδιέξοδα που το ίδιο το προϊόν θέτει. Αν και η δομή της ιδέας δε διαφέρει από τη δομή της έκφρασής της, αφήνοντας την ιστορία έξω από την αναλυτική οπτική, το πολιτισμικό προϊόν καθεαυτό ενέχει μια αθωότητα που επιτρέπει τη χρήση ή και την κατάχρησή του στον ιδεολογικό και πολιτικό στίβο. Η μελέτη αυτή εξετάζοντας την αλληλο-συσχέτιση τοπικού και εθνικού μέσα από το παράδειγμα των ετερομορφιών του χορού Καγκελάρι, ανιχνεύει, πως η έμφαση μεταφέρθηκε από το θρησκευτικό-κοινωνικό στο μονοπάτι της 'εθνικής ιδεολογίας', όταν οι τοπικές χορευτικές πρακτικές εντάχθηκαν στο παιχνίδι συγκρότησης της εθνικής κουλτούρας.

The present paper is concerned with the analysis and contextualisation of 'Pontian' dance perform... more The present paper is concerned with the analysis and contextualisation of 'Pontian' dance performances in Northern Greece as highly politicised sites for the articulation of identities, histories and ideological narratives of belonging. Following the argument that dance is an embodied discourse intimately related to the construction of identity, the paper explores collective, hegemonic representations of inclusion and exclusion, Sameness and Otherness as these are negotiated in time and space. The protagonists of this ethnography, confronted with the grand narrative of Hellenism, reflexively engage in a struggle to remain a distinct and yet central part of modern Greek culture by carefully and reflexively meditating in the politics of the dance, tradition, Pontianness and Greekness in Aegean Macedonia.

In this paper we examine people's critical views about sociopolitical reality in a suburb of Athe... more In this paper we examine people's critical views about sociopolitical reality in a suburb of Athens due to Greek financial crisis. We are doing so by asking them to comment about certain dancing scenes in films. By giving people the chance to respond to what they see we come to achieve a certain degree of interaction, which enables us to shape our analysis. We draw upon recent anthropological research and its attention to visual and media systems. According to this perspective, we suggest that people can guide research to a fruitful fieldwork leaving aside several presuppositions that sometimes result in dilemmas. For avoiding it, we make use of a questionnaire with open-ended questions. This works as a methodological tool that can transform people answering it from commentators into communicators of exchanging thoughts. The result is a creative understanding of the issues involved.