‘Zorba the Greek’ says farewell to Ankara

ANKARA

The world popular ballet “Zorba the Greek” will take the stage for the last time April 29 and 30 after a six-year run in Ankara, said Volkan Ersoy, director of Ankara State Opera and Ballet in an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency.

The farewell performances of the ballet by Nikos Kazancakis are set for World Dance Day April 29 and the next day, April 30.

World Dance Day was launched by UNESCO in 1982 in memory of famous choreographer Jean George Nover, Ersoy said.

We wanted to celebrate this day with this work. One of the reasons is the enthusiasm of its finale. Its finale draws great interest from the audience,” the director said.

The finale involving a lively performance of the folk dance, the Greek syrtos, is repeated several times, and by the end, “the audience is dancing with us” he said.

The ballet is set to music by Mikis Theodorakis.

“The civilization, dance and music of the two countries are intertwined in this work, a beautiful work with similar dance steps. There are stylized folkloric steps in it, too,” Ersoy said.

The story of Marina, killed for love

Ballet dancer Mine İzgi, who plays the dramatic character Marina, said she is pleased that she’ll be performing one of the final shows on World Dance Day.

Describing Marina, İzgi said: “She falls in love with a foreigner, but the public does not accept it. She is killed for her love.”

Burak Kayıhan, who plays the character Zorba, said that the work was very important to him and to ADOB.

"We represented our country in many places abroad. There is a bitter happiness [in] the last two representations for this work. I have had great feelings playing this character.”
Ballet dancer Eren Keleş, who performs the American John character, said he and the other performers are sad to say goodbye to this work.

“We will perform before 3,000 people on World Dance Day. We previously played before 6,000 people. We invite everyone to our last performance,” he said.

The ballet’s orchestra conductor is Bujor Hoinic. The choreographer is Lorca Massine, and costumes were designed by Gürcan Kubilay.