One Night in the Mediterranean

By Staff Writer Maria Cianfichi

Upbeat, cheerful music filled the air as the smell of home-cooked food wafted under the noses of students who attended the Mediterranean Cultural Night last Tuesday. Several minutes after 7 p.m., the line for food wrapped around the interior of Dewberry Hall, but this did not turn students away.

With a food spread ranging from Italian spaghetti and meatballs, pesto and spinach manicotti, to Greek lamb gyros, who could resist the temptation of such a delicious dinner? The meal was topped off with a variety of French pastries.

“The food was delicious and it was free,” said sophomore global affairs major Katie Rendon.

The goal of Mediterranean Night was to show the George Mason University community the different cultural identities of countries from southern Europe.

The event featured food from France, Italy and Greece. As plates slowly began to empty, the entertainment began. There were performances from the various cultural clubs and organizations, which included a French poetry reading, a medley of Italian love songs and performances by the Greek Hellenic Society.

Economics major Alberto Batinti sang three different songs in Italian while playing the guitar. According to Batinti, his songs portrayed three different styles of love: the passionate love, the love that is never forgotten and a strange love.

The Greek Hellenic Society had the crowd clapping along to the peppy Greek music. There were a total of seven dancers who performed in the traditional Greek style of dancing complete with shouts of “Opa!”

The Greek Hellenic Society practiced for their performance for two weeks, although most of the dancers have been involved in traditional Greek dancing since elementary school.

“It was really exhausting, but so much fun at the same time,” said sophomore biology major Evangelia Tsapos. “The performance tonight was a sequence of many dances that we had learned in the past. Many of the dances are named after the places in Greece they originated from.”

The Greek Hellenic Society danced a total of six dances, each with a unique history.
“The fourth [dance] is called the zembekiko, which is known as the drunk dance. There is no set footwork for this dance, just as long as you look like a drunken dancer,” said Tsapos.

“The fifth one we performed was called the pontiako. This dance used to be danced by people called the Pontioi. This is Greece's typical war dance. It incorporates a lot of sudden movements and foot stomping to make it look intimidating.”

After the performances, the crowd was able to join in on the dancing and learn traditional Greek steps.

“The food, the music and the performances are typical of what you would experience in the Mediterranean,” said Tsapos. What we thought most important though was that everyone come, eat a lot of food and have a good time.”