For those who are unfamiliar with Elli Solomonidou Balanou, let me just say that she is an iconic figure of the Greek Newspaper “Kathimerini” where since 1974 she has traced the most important performances of Theater, Dance and Opera in Greece.
She studied with the most important painters such as Tsarouhis , Moralis, Tassos and Vassiliou, as well as studying painting at the University of Peruggia.
Nearly all the important personalities of music theater and dance have paraded in the pages of the newspaper immortalized by her eloquent ink drawings which have the unique ability to depict the moment at hand, as if she takes a photograph, capturing to perfection the spirit of the moment.With two huge volumes of her work published, she recently had her long awaited private show, at “Skoufa” Gallery in Athens.
A tiny part of her work was exhibited at an exhibition worthy of her work. There were three sections: Theater, Dance and Music.
The exhibition run for almost two weeks, and attracted a lot of people, famous and not so famous. It was a joy to meet her and almost have a private tour of the exhibition which illuminated her talent and sparkling personality.
Elli Solomonidou-Balanou is an active member of the Greek Union of Theatre and Music Critics.