NEW YORK – ‘I Am Kalli’ is a performance rooted in Pontian Greek heritage. Weaving together ancestral memory, myth, and movement, the work explores cultural identity, the diaspora experience, and the resilience that lives inside a family’s history.
Performer Kalli Siamidou traces her lineage through the body, moving between traditional Pontian dances (Tik, Serra/Pyrrichios), European waltz, and salsa to tell a story that travels across centuries and continents. Live music is performed throughout by her father, the renowned lyra player Kostas Siamidis.
The piece blends stand-up comedy with stand-up tragedy. It serves Greek coffee to its audience. It asks who we become when we leave, and what we owe to those who stayed.
‘I Am Kalli’ has been awarded support from the NYFA Queens Arts Fund, administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts.
I Am Kalli: A Solo Family Constellation runs May 14-17 in New York City. Photo: Courtesy of Kalli Siamidou
Performance Schedule:
Thursday, May 14, 9 PM, Pontian Dances Workshop at Cucala Dance Company in Long Island City.
Friday, May 15, 9 PM, Pontian Music Feast with Kostas Siamidis at the Komninoi Pontian Society in Astoria.
Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, 6 PM and 8 PM, Performances, 9 PM Q&A at Cucala Dance Company in Long Island City.
Artist Kalli Siamidou is a Greek-born Pontian performer, choreographer, and salsa dancer based in New York City. As the daughter of Pontian Greek parents, she has spent her career working at the intersection of traditional and contemporary performance. She is also the founder of a salsa dance studio in New York — itself a reflection of the cultural hybridity at the heart of this work.
I Am Kalli: A Solo Family Constellation runs May 14-17 in New York City. Photo: Courtesy of Kalli Siamidou
Musician Kostas Siamidis is one of the most celebrated lyra players in Greece, widely regarded as a defining voice of Pontian musical tradition.
Dramaturg-Director Arturo Gui is an artistic director and concept architect working across theater, dance, and film.
Combining art forms to create collaborative, emotion-driven performances, his work is inspired by the healing frequencies of music and the moving language of art.
Tickets available online: https://shorturl.at/nITCe
Support the Project: https://shorturl.at/wu5gA
Watch the teaser video on YouTube: https://shorturl.at/ppROd
