Larissa Vesci’s “Land of Grace” dance shines beneath the Acropolis of Athens

The dance of Larissa Vesci shines again in Hellenic lands. The “Dora Stratou” Theatre located under the Acropolis of Athens and next to the
Pniyx Hill, the exact point of birth of democracy in the world, has been the setting for the most recent performance of this Venezuelan dancer with Italian-Spanish family roots within the framework of the 61st World Dance Congress sponsored by UNESCO through its International Dance Council (CID).

In the presence of its president, Dr. Alkis Raftis, the board of directors of the “Dora Stratou” Theatre (the most important dance theatre in Greece and home of the -eponymous- national company of Greek folk dances) and a select group of dance professionals, including teachers, choreographers, researchers and dancers from five continents, Larissa Vesci’s act made a great impact on the audience due to its exoticism and novelty, in which she mixed elements of flamenco dance and Andalusian folklore from her adopted country, Spain, and from her native land, Venezuela, using aboriginal elements, joropo and Venezuelan drum in a work called “Tierra de Gracia” (inspired by the name given by Christopher Columbus to Venezuela when he first set foot on that territory on his third voyage to America).

It is important to note that it was the president of the CID himself who, in a previous meeting with Larissa in his office, proposed to her that she present manifestations of Venezuelan dances through her style in the context of UNESCO CID events and in Greece, a country with which Larissa is closely connected.

In fact, Larissa has been travelling there for more than five years consecutively, both to Athens and to other cities in mainland Greece and the islands of the Dodecanese archipelago, the Saronic Gulf and the Cyclades due to her links with Greek dance, while during this period she has coincided with the renowned Cretan teacher, dancer and choreographer Giannis Megalakakis, who has played the role of artistic partner of Larissa in stage works that have linked Spain and Greece with repercussions in important Greek audiovisual media. Simultaneously, the career of this unique dancer in her style had been attracting the attention of the UNESCO CID (an organization of worldwide projection to which Larissa currently belongs) which led to her nomination and subsequent nomination as a member of said organization by Dr. Alkis Raftis.

In this context, Larissa shines as a soloist and teacher on her own merits, not only before the professional dance community belonging to the UNESCO CID, but also among her Greek peers. It is worth noting that this dancer, who is one of the emblematic artists of world dance today, has also had the responsibility of giving workshops on oriental flamenco dance and Venezuelan drums at the magnificent “Serafio” Sports and Cultural Complex of the Athens City Hall.

Her technique, rhythm, style and artistic imprint brought her recent season in Greece to a close with a flourish, receiving countless public congratulations for both her stage and teaching performances: accompanied, in turn, by new invitations to other countries to offer workshops and shows. Larissa Vesci’s short and medium-term plans include going to Ireland, returning to the United Kingdom and, as expected, to Greece, a place where she enjoys great respect and appreciation (just as she does in the different countries of the Eastern Mediterranean where she has performed and taught). Thanks to this dancer with an exotic air, the Venezuelan drum and oriental flamenco have arrived to stay with institutional “blessing” in the cradle of Western civilization.

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