Folk costume as theatrical costume

Abstract

This essay introduces an unpublished talk by Greek stage designer Ioanna Papantoniou (born 1936) entitled ‘Local costume in a theatrical performance’, originally presented at the First Panhellenic Meeting of Ephors (Curators) and Dance Teachers at the Lyceum Club of Greek Women in Athens, in November 1990. Prior to and alongside her professional design career in the field of theatre, Papantoniou was actively engaged as a researcher in ethnography studies on Greek local costumes and folk dances. Driven by her passion for the study of Greek local dress combined with her professional experience as a stage designer, Papantoniou has given several talks on the connections between theatrical performance and folk traditions, as well as on the interrelationship between local dress and theatrical costume on stage and in festivities. In this talk she conflates local costume and folk dance as a form of performance and discusses how these two elements become an artistic creation when it comes to staged performances outside their original setting in a village. Thus, she draws a line between the ‘authentic’ and the staged performance, the latter of which is what she considers contemporary folk dancing in reproduced folk costume to be. The published text is based on a transcript of the talk, translated into English, and further edited by costume designer and scholar Sofia Pantouvaki, who also provides an introduction and numerous annotations to make the talk accessible by an international audience.