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The Delphic Preview 2025
Festival of the Muses: On the Sacred Way
Friday, August 22nd through Saturday, August 23rd, 2025
Hosted by Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington, D.C.
Join us for this two-day gathering that celebrates the living spirit of the ancient Delphic Games through a contemporary lens—where myth breathes, music resounds, and the Muses rise anew. Presented by Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies in collaboration with the Isadora Duncan International Institute, the Ecumenical Delphic Union, and the Committee for the Reinstatement of the Delphic Games, the Festival marks a vital step in the international movement to restore these sacred traditions globally.
Through lectures, performances, workshops, and discussions, participants engage with ancient Greek culture in vibrant, modern forms—poetry, dance, theater, sport, song, and ritual—culminating thematically in an experiential procession along the “Sacred Way.”
This “Delphic Preview” serves as a practicum for the upcoming full five-day Festival for the Reinstatement of the Delphic Games, to be held in Delphi, Greece, in Summer 2027, and extends into the Garden of the Muses, a growing archive of creative offerings in word, sound, and movement.
Scholars, artists, and the public are warmly invited to attend. We welcome proposals from academics and enthusiasts alike—whether presentations, performances, or workshops—on themes relating to Delphi, the Delphic Games, Apollo, the Muses, mythology, and their unique ties to the Delphic tradition in sport, art, music, dance, poetry, theater, and song.
Presented by
Panos Kaltsis, Founder and President, Ecumenical Delphic Union
Zoie Lafis, Festival Co-Chair, Executive Director, Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies
Jeanne Bresciani, Festival Founding Chair, Artistic Director, Isadora Duncan International Institute
with Committee Members
Rosemary Cooper, Isadora Duncan International Institute
Mary DiSanto-Rose, Skidmore College
Cynthia Word, Word Dance Theater
2025 Schedule Coming Soon...
A Sampling of Past 'Preview' Offerings
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Welcome from Zoie Lafis, Co-Chair
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Introduction, “A Return to Greece” by Jeanne Bresciani, Founding Chair
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Keynote Address “A Lifelong Delphic Vision” by the Honorable, Former Mayor of Delphi, Panagiotis Kaltsis
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Plenary Session on the “Delphic Ideal”
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Interdisciplinary ‘Tableaux Vivants’ in the Lively Arts - Intimations of Parnassus: The Dancing Grounds
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"Epic, Hymns, and Invocations" - Live solo musical performance by Bettina Joy de Guzman, followed by a discussion about ancient Greek music
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“Sensing Divinity: On Ancient Greek Spirituality” - Dr. Christoph Quarch, Philosopher, Author, Founder of The New Platonic Academy
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Variations on "Gaia Rise" - Artemis Herber, Chair of Material Culture
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“Ripples: Duncan & Wilde” Open Reading - Ravenna Wilde, Author and Playwright
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“The Pythian Games: The Real Modern Olympic Games” - Jeffrey O. Segrave, Ph.D., Olympic and Pythian Games Specialist, David H. Porter Endowed Chair, Skidmore College
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“Sappho and Isadora: Once Again This Time” - Cynthia Word, Soloist, Choreographer and Founding Director, Word Dance Theater
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“The Art of Improvisation - Jazz Improv and Artificial Intelligence” - Dimitri Vassilakis, Internationally Acclaimed Greek Saxophonist, Vocalist, Composer and Educator
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“The Greek Logos” - Pr. Paris Katsivelos - Pr. in European Communication Institut, University Kremps
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"Rekindling the Ancient World" - 3D Immersive Reconstructions of the Temple of Apollo, Vince Gagliardi
Event Details:
Date: Friday, August 22nd through Saturday, August 23rd, 2025
Location: The Center for Hellenic Studies
3100 Whitehaven St NW, Washington, DC 20008
Schedule:
Coming Soon