With a dazzling existential party presented by the The Ballet of the Greek National Opera (GNO), the curtain rises on the Nicosia International Festival 2025. On Thursday 18 and Friday 19 September 2025 (20:30), the Nicosia Municipal Theatre welcomes “The Golden Age” by Konstantinos Rigos, Director of the GNO Ballet. This international tour is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.
This explosive dance production is a dizzying party set in an opera house – breathtaking and bold. Its world premiere took place in Novi Sad at the Belgrade Dance Festival, followed by a presentation at the packed Stavros Niarchos Hall in Athens, receiving standing ovations and rave reviews. Now it’s Nicosia’s turn to proudly showcase this multifaceted creator – the man to whom contemporary Greek dance owes so much – and “The Golden Age”, a manifesto for tomorrow.
Set in a space reminiscent of a nightclub, with electronic music, blinding lights, and choreography confronting sorrow, melancholy, and the yearning for acceptance, “The Golden Age” offers the perfect counterweight to unstable, wildly unpredictable times. As Rigos says: “The Golden Age – a new wave that will sweep everything away. Images from the past or the future, reflections on love, faith, absence, abandonment. The individual, but also the place. Are we clothed or naked like the emperor? Are we free or besieged? Are we God’s puppets or travellers in winter, always carrying within us the nights of summer? In a ring, are we fighting ourselves or our shadows? Do we live in Neverland, in utopian Arcadias, in enchanted Kithaerons, in utopias or invisible cities? Events that marked our lives and humanity at large – a mixtape of music and songs on gramophones, reels, turntables, Walkmans, boomboxes, and a small orchestra that, like on the Titanic, accompanies humanity on the brink. A musical Babel.”
Rigos signs a declaration of a new faith – one that places its belief not in God, but in humanity; not “in heaven” but “on Earth” – a declaration that does not promise salvation but ensures an exit from hell. Drawing on the references, obsessions, and images that have marked his life, he creates a manifesto for a generation ready to sweep everything away. The Golden Age speaks to the present and future of dance, while also serving as a mirror of Rigos’ 35-year artistic journey, where irony and nostalgia have become interchangeable.
The original compositions by Ted Regklis, paired with Rigos’ inspired selections, span from remixed melancholic pieces by Verdi and Bizet to Greek songs by Chiotis, Loizos, and Mamangakis, along with rock and jazz hits from the ’60s and ’70s. From the aria “Addio del passato” to songs featuring voices by Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Myrto Vassiliou, Dimitris Kapouranis, Idra Kayne, Dorothea Merkouri, Konstantinos Bibis, and Elena Topalidou, “The Golden Age” aims to remind us that, since we cannot escape who we are, we must keep dancing in order to exist.
What they said about the show
Konstantinos Rigos’ “The Golden Age” was met with resounding applause from audiences and critics alike, praised for its dynamic theatrical language and deep existential charge.
The audience’s overwhelming response affirmed Rigos’ artistic credo:
“I believe in applause, in bowing at the end of a performance, in the welcoming smiles of theatre and gallery staff, in the words of critics, in the audience’s bravos, in the beauty of all bodies, in their betrayal, in others’ tolerance of my perversions.”
Stelios Parris at Elculture.gr, swept away by the show’s power, wrote his own version of a “Creed”:
“I believe in one Dance, the almighty Father.
I believe in Konstantinos Rigos, the choreographer, whose every work overflows with magical images.
I believe in Konstantinos Rigos, the director, who breaks forms, burns brain cells and hearts.
I believe that 35 years of Konstantinos Rigos’ career is just a brilliant beginning…”
Maria Kryou in Athinorama observes:
“Konstantinos Rigos is a rare artist who effortlessly moves between the institutional and the alternative, the lyrical and the punk, the personal and the collective. His work is a living map of Greek contemporary theatre and dance of the past 35 years.”
From the show’s premiere in Belgrade, Tina Mandilara (Proto Thema) writes:
“The audience stood in ovation for a long time, applauding the Greek creator who reminded them that dance – essentially the wild party staged in the form of a performance – is a beautiful existential commentary on the angst of our times.”
Maro Vasiliadou in Kathimerini adds:
“The choreographer, director, visual artist, and creator of multifaceted spectacles prefers to create images rather than explain them. In The Golden Age, through his own text projected on the digital stage screen, he comments on the power of silence.”
About Konstantinos Rigos
Born in Athens, with roots in Syros and Tinos, Konstantinos Rigos studied Economics at the University of Athens and Dance at the State School of Dance (KSOT). In 1990, he founded the groundbreaking OKTANA Dance Theater, which played a pivotal role in developing contemporary dance in Greece. He has directed and choreographed numerous works for major theatres and institutions in Greece and abroad and has received numerous awards. His contribution to modern Greek dance holds a distinct place in its history.
Since February 2018, he has served as Director of the Ballet of the Greek National Opera, and since October 2019, as Chairman of the Board of the State School of Dance (KSOT).
Credits
Concept, choreography, set, track selection: Konstantinos Rigos
Music: Ted Regklis
Dramaturgy: Erie Kyrgia
Art installation: Petros Touloudis
Costumes: Daglara
Lighting: Christos Tziogkas
Video: Vasilis Kehagias
Dancers:
Vangelis Bikos, Manex Alberdi, Yannis Gantsios, Stavros Ikbal, Elena Kekkou, Yannis Mitrakis, Petros Nikolidis, Marita Nikolitsa, Daniele Pecorari, Stefano Pietragalla, Ariadni Filippaki, Yorgos Hatzopoulos, Despina Chrysostomou
Lead GNO & Tour Donor: Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)
Duration: 80΄
Age group: 12+
*Intense lighting is used in the performance.
Tickets:
Available online via more.com: http://bit.ly/4grNxB8 and the Nicosia Municipal Theatre box office (Monday – Friday 10:00-13:00).
Ticket prices:
VIP: €30/ 33
ΖONE Α: €26/ €28
ΖONE Β: €24/ €26
ΖONE C: €22/ €24
ΖONE D: €20/ €22
Reduced tickets are valid for: Children, students, soldiers, pensioners, large families, unemployed, actors, people with disabilities (free) with presentation of relevant ID.
Information: 22797979 (Monday – Friday 10:00-13:00)
& http://bit.ly/3VjZ0ZG
Festival identity
Organisers: Nicosia Municipality, Nicosia For Art
Festival sponsors:
Silver Sponsor: OPAP Cyprus, more.com
Bronze Sponsor: Italian Embassy, Cyprus Public Transport
Supporters: Travelhouse, UCLan Cyprus, WINECORE
Media sponsors: DIAS Publishing & SIGMA TV, LOVE FM 100.7, and “KATHIMERINH” newspaper
