30.06.2014

Tower crane ballet

Last Wednesday the Greek National Opera presented the ‘Dance of the Cranes’ open air concert/ballet involving 10 large tower cranes on the construction site of the new Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC) in Athens, Greece.

The 10 cranes, which have been helping build the new centre, were choreographed by Renato Zanella to music from Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Special lighting and visual effects highlighted the cranes, as they moved to the accompanying music with the Parthenon in the background.
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The scene on Wednesday June 25th

The idea came from the centre’s architect, Renzo Piano, was effectively the first performance at the centre, which is due to open in 2016 and will provide new homes for the Greek National Opera and the National Library of Greece, as well as a 170,000 square metre public park. Click here to watch the 15 minute video

The €566 million SNFCC is one of the biggest, single, privately funded cultural projects in Europe, and it is a gift by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation to the Greek State.