The Alkis Raftis Affair
C.I.D. (acronym for Conseil International de la Danse) could be formally defined as “a world-wide organization in formal consultive relations with UNESCO”. That means that it has a direct and strong connection to this humanitarian organization. It was founded almost 35 years ago by Kurt Jooss, and today, counts more than 2300 members –both individuals and organizations- in 140 countries. It has national committees and permanent programs, out of which the most well known in Greece, is the (over-ambitious) annual Dance Research Congress. Despite its list of members in this country, it has not managed to gain widespread trust and be recognized as other than a lobbying and canvassing opportunity for “dinosaurs” and people “cut out from the reality and needs of the contemporary dance scene of Greece.” The president of C.I.D., Mr Alkis Raftis, has been through a great upheaval for the past one year and a half, because of a severe opposition within the organization which led to law suits and accusations not withstanding the reputation such an organization is supposed to have. Allegations about embezzlement of funds, and inappropriateness to hold the position of president were heard. One then wonders what is the true nature and potential of such an organization for dance, and whether C.I.D. is solely about politics within a small group of opposing forces really “cut off from the real problems of the dance scene”, the same scene it was set out to “sreve and protect.”
Alkis Raftis, the ever so talked about president of the C.I.D., has his headquarters in Plaka, a central area of Athens, colorfully named in past decades “the quarter of the gods”, probably due to its vicinity to the Acropolis, the ancient theatre of Dionysus and other tourist attractions. Except from being the president of a prestigious organization of worldwide reputation such as the C.I.D., Mr. Raftis is (or has been) also the founder or president of numerous other organizations, one of which is the Greek Dance Theatre Dora Stratou, housed in a 19th century beautiful building right at the centre of Plaka. Approaching the offices of Dora Stratou Thetare for my interview with Alkis Raftis, I happen to notice the cheap posters advertising a tattoo salon nearby with a cyber “doll” armed with huge boobies. How come the decency of the dance shrine which lies in close proximity allows for such exhibition of trashy taste? It is almost ironic, especially as the Dora Stratou Theatre specializes in folk dancing, which in Greece is tied to notions of tradition and its safekeeping, a pillar of which has been morality…
I am about to meet Alkis Raftis any time soon now, so I am trying to make a comprehensive list of my prejudices quickly in order to get rid of as many as possible before I start talking to him: spontaneous revolt regarding an environment of traditional/folk dancing (check); rumors regarding Alkis Raftis’ disposition for power (check); recent stories about law suits with members of the C.I.D. (International Dance Council) which threatened to overthrow him from his his position as president for the past seven years (check, and the reason I am here); rumors regarding his alleged machismo and flirtatious charm (check); des-respect, snobbery or suspicions on the part of the greek dance community regarding his numerous publications on subjects other than folk dancing (check); memories of his presentation on his book on Isadora Duncan in which a slang word was used to describe Isadora’s misacarriage or possible act of ridding of the child (check); surprise at the fact that Mr. Raftis has fierce critics as well as an equal number of faithful praetorians who have faithfully been working with him for years in his numerous projects (check); a tendency to justify mistrust towards him, coming to think his choice of people in various projects and organizations he has run or still runs –some of them related to the Unesco- heavily associated with and representing the most conservative or old-fashioned dance culture in Greece (check).
Very warmly welcome from his associates and himself, I sit for more than an hour with Alkis Raftis who is always the laughing extrovert that I remember from our last, ill-fated interview a few years ago for a TV show. Willing to speak for his recent adventures, he is very careful in his choice of words and does not express the least sign of aggression regarding his colleagues and members of the Chair of the C.I.D. who created a very negative climate and “a year of difficulties, that is 2005, with lawyers, hundreds of phone calls, law suits”, and a race to win the case (I add secretly). Mr. Raftis’ complaint will be tried in a couple of years’ time, in Paris, and he has no intention of withdrawing it, “because it will look as if the whole thing was part of a “scheme” between us all involved in this case, and it will finally harm my reputation as well as the well-being of the organization. I want to pursue my case and win it. I want compensation for a whole year of hell”, he says calmly.
Worst part of a situation which started out as –one might say- a battle of opposing interests, inherent or expected up to a point in any organization, were according to Alkis Raftis, his opponents’ “allegations of embezzlement of funds which were put into a letter and sent to the Greek Embassy in Paris.” I guess this caused an escalation of war, which according to him, “they lost” and he won after his “recent election with a very high percentage and consequent accreditation from Unesco with control of the bank account of the organization and all his privileges restored.” He claims to have returned full speed with plans to lend his experience in managerial issues to Unesco, as well as the upgrading of the various local offices of C.I.D. throughout the world. The “greek office” is desperately in need of upgrading too if he is to prove himself right and appeal to a whole different part of the dance community; the majority of the dance community in this country has no faith at all in the power of the greek branch of the C.I.D. to provide them with any kind of a network. (How could they anyway, since they have not the slightest idea as to what this is or how things should be done. I tell him that for the greek department, time seems to have stopped long ago, and that it has already started to look like Miss Havisham and her famous entry and exit to present times: dressed in the shredded wedding gown of her youth, living in a room full of dust and spiders, but able to still communicate a few things to her contemporaries…) Great expectations, one might say, but still, he readily promises the world…
And what about the fair play of the “duel” within the C.I.D.? Was everything done “according to the book”? Well…no…but I only manage to extract one example: after the outbreak of hostilities, they blocked the bank account, while Mr. Raftis did not provide his opponents with the full list of all the members of the C.I.D (almost 2.500). It was “a man to man battle, very tough and rough from both sides” he admits. Nonetheless, he managed to clear his name and came out a winner in the elections which followed. “It should be noted”, he says, “that I did not do any lobbying for my case, and I never tried to involve the members of the organization to act on my behalf, because I understood that it could only destroy the spirit of good will and unity, and in the long run everyone would look at each other with suspicion.” At the moment, his “opponents” within the organization have not paid their annual subscription and “made some efforts towards reconciliation” a few months ago, but he refused to give up his claim. “I was right, because everything was a power game, which furthermore started with irregular procedures: I could only be denied the right to act as president or be removed from my position by the General Assembly and not by members of the Chair of the C.I.D., no matter how much they wanted to get rid of me. When they tried to do this, I consulted a lawyer and proceeded with injunction; I won the temporary measures against them and could consequently keep up with the forthcoming elections. I had a good lawyer.” (O.J. Simpson had said the same thing for Johnny Cochran; didn’t he?)
(published in Ballet/Tanz, January 2007)
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου