Greece’s Stefania has taken to the stage inside the Rotterdam Ahoy for her first rehearsal of “Last Dance” at Eurovision 2021.
Greece’s Stefania “Last Dance” — Eurovision 2021 first rehearsal
Oliver: Purple neon seems to be a theme this year in line with the 1980s retro aesthetic. Stefania is wearing a purple Bond girl catsuit with cutouts at the chest and abdomen, complete with crystals, thigh high boots and long evening gloves. The staging isn’t anything to rave about, but there’s some interesting ideas that will keep viewers fixed to their screens. Stefania’s dancers are wearing green screen undergarments beneath their hoodies, hats and trousers — they’re keyed out to create the illusion of invisibility. At one point, Stefania’s torso was also keyed out as if being sawn in half by a magician, although this was perhaps a mistake. The backdrop itself is comparable to Ariana Grande’s “no tears left to cry” music video with an 80s touch. Overall it’s quite garish. A good vocal performance though, even with the complicated movements.
Padraig: Purple! Lots and lots of purple! Stefania’s stage show is flooded with all shades — mauve, violet, splashes of pink. And the singer herself wears a gorgeous catsuit, long gloves and boots that are also purple. The staging is odd. It relies heavily on green screen, which sees the dancers turn invisible. Although we can still see their outfits. At one point, Stefania does like Sergey Lazarev and climbs a set of invisible stairs… albeit in a much more leisurely and less dramatic fashion. Paradoxically, the whole thing comes across as both innovative and dated. Stefania herself delivered a fine performance, even if there were a few discombobulating glitches that saw her midriff completely vanish.
Reaction to Greece’s first rehearsal at Eurovision 2021
Greek staging explained
Stage designer Fokas Evangelinos gave the following explanation to wiwibloggs:
“The stage presence captures the journey that we can all make when using our imagination. Stefania, is at times making an earthly journey or floats, by moving in an urban landscape, where the pace of life shapes people’s relationships as impersonal. Her zestfulness brings her to a ‘last dance’ knowing that this marks a new beginning.”
The delegation continues:
“During Stefania’s stage performance, special visual effects – that have never been used before on the Eurovision stage – will be showcased without weakening or overshadowing the dynamic presence and beauty of Stefania, who is the youngest participant in this year’s competition. The Greek delegation worked methodically and intensively in the implementation of the idea and collaborated with exceptional professionals. The internationally renowned Greek fashion designer Vrettos Vrettakos, who’s designed Stefania’s costume appearance. Giannis Mourikis, as the set designer. George Segredakis, who’s designed the costumes of the dancers. Asterman Company, who’s undertook the creation of graphics. The experienced dancers who appear on stage with Stefania: George Papadopoulos, Markos Giakoumoglou, Nikos Koukakis, Costas Poulopoulos.
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What do you think? Did Stefania live up to your expectations? Let us know in the comments below.
Read more Greece Eurovision 2021 news here
Photos: EBU / ANDRES PUTTING
Hrm. We will show a few seconds from a rehearsal. Let’s pick… a failed attempt of the high note…… I wonder how the rest of her rehearsal was
She reminds me of some actress, can’t figure out the name.
Mila Kunis?
Alexis Bledel… Rory Gilmore.
Judy Dench?
Ok, got it, I meant young Denise Richards
not a fan of the song, but she looks stunning!
I want Greece to win with all my heart. Stefania has the best pop song this year, it’s something we could hear from worldwide singers like Dua Lipa. The production is top notch. I’ve been listening to it on repeat every freaking day from the first day she released it. I loved the official music video, it had a story with ancient Greek mythological elements. There was darkness in the beginning both vocally and visually and through the end everything has started to become bright and fresh again both vocally and visually. It was epic omg, I can’t remember when… Read more »
Omg you’re so right! It’s a copy of Dua Lipa’s Physical, thought it sounded familiar!
She is gorgeous and her voice is great but i still don’t get what’s gpoing on the stage. I am waiting for the 2nd rehearsal to see some camera shots.
Wait! Random notice, but what happened to the comments of @’who am I’ ?
Was he kicked off? LOL
She writes so good on camera, vocals on point, amazing dress. Like the purple urban fond. Concerning the…rest 90% of the staging that is actually VR, we’ve to wait till the semi.
Certainly qualifier.
We’ll see for first time the whole thing in semi final. 95% of the show is vr, so do not except nothing till the semi. The press today just saw only the 60% of the whole….totally invisible to us.
I love her outfit, she looks incredible. And she sounds good too. Just like with Ireland, I can’t say much of the staging without knowing the tricks they’re using, but I like what I’ve seen so far, especially the color scheme. They nuanced well their purple, as Malta could had done with their intense pink (but hey, there’s still time).
Greeks should be proud,
not only she sounds great and commands the stage ( on a hard song to sing live )
but Fokas just made the song way more memorable too, so kudos to both of them.
Its the first time in MANY years that Greece is rising up in the odds after the first rehearsal instead of falling like a rock or staying steady.
Stefania will give us a show, I am glad its not just another dance act like Malta, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus etc. Nothing to complain here about
Aren’t you Greek yourself?
So, Greece has climbed 6 positions since this morning, from 14th to 8th but Sóren from Franstilskagèn or Franz from Schwttzigmichkonhausen still think this was a lame performance ???
It has now fallen down again.
Clap clap clap for everything <3
She is 8th from 14th in the betting odds in a couple of hours. In this video you only saw about 5% of the whole performance.
She is still in place 12 however the numbers are green.
I usually look at the site where all Odds are Bunched together. Here she still was on place 12 but slightly moving up.
I looked at the image of Stephania before watching the review and got flashback on her outfit and hair of Sonia 93 UK. Check it out
Great shout
I need a wow like the staging of Zero Gravity but this seems alright.
It is looking like a school girl. But the outfit and performance suits someone older with more attitude. It is nice but as far as I can see it is not matching the lyrics. It makes me confused. Cyphrus and Malta are way better.
I forgot to say a school girl behind a wall of dancing men in white. I think she would have been better off with a bunch of kids in her own age. The whole staging fits a more mature woman or someone in her age that has extreme charisma and sass. Now it is awkward.
You just dont like her, we got it.
I have nothing against her I just don’t think the song and the staging fits – such a young girl she would have been better with a bunch of kids in her own age. It is not working. Do you think she had anything to say about the staging? It feels like someone took charge and put those men There and her in those clothes. They don’t fit.
Stefania looks and sounds amazing!
As a greek fan I have to say that as long as the staging doesn’t include white-blue colours and forced ancient-greek references I am happy!
I’d love to see some Ancient Greek references
Good performance from Stefania but the staging was overhyped by those saying it hasn’t been done before.
While it’s great and all, it’s certainly not new or unique.
LMFAO..
LOL
Please do that
the problem is that when it comes to eurovision, the greek media every year give the big fat headline that we’re gonna se something never done before.. and we’ve all seen how the last entries turned out
Very true
Mr Bean I like you and its your right to dislike the performance but after you watch it please 😛 You are throwing shade before you even watch the thing.
Her vocals are great and I really love her outfit
Vocals didn’t seem on cue and I was underwhelmed with the staging. I was expecting so much more.
Vocally she is very very good, but that outfit, god No, we’ve seen something like that 100 times already..
I am sure that every song is gonna be great during the semis and the grand final! Mark my words. Stefania was wonderful!!
FACTS: Stefania looks good. The outfit really flatters her. Her vocals were good too. However, I fail to understand how come this Greek (Dreamteam or whatever they are called), almost always think they can win if they have a good gimmick. It helps, but it starts with a good song (and Last Dance is a rather boring retro attempt, which could have probably been amped by a good lyric and a more original title). They need a change of ideas because now it’s too much of the same, that it verges on boring. Having said this, I believe this act… Read more »
Can anyone explain the Stefania climbing on invisible stairs part? Is she climbing on a Green screen wall or are the stairs just digital effects added on the performance. I’m confused.
What is unique with that performance is their attempt to use green screen live and the fact that the dancers are dancing without legs and head. I have heard that its about our community, a community devastated by anonymity.
She’s absolutely stunning. My 4th before the contest. Go young lady!!
All in all I’m glad that Stefania can pull this off vocally (she was obviously holding back, or at least I hope so). The staging was quite messy as I realized from the wiwi-live, and I guess we’ll have to wait for the 2nd rehearsal-exclusive clip to see if it works.
Tbh I’m not really impressed….The staging looked quite boring or basic should I say. The skyscraper backgroud idk. But she looks great tho
have you read the article?
Yes. It says “the staging is nothing to rave about” and “the staging is odd”. Why?
I’m pretty sweet, I said she looks good 🙁
Yep I know. I was being sarcastic….what could you expect from me Vanilla rly. And yay!
Okay but purple LED + 4 background dancers is getting annoying at this point
Amazing ! Top 3 material as expected
ain’t you whiny today?!
My god , if he infiltrates wiwibloggs I’m running for life
Imagine being so pressed that whenever you see a good comment about greece you spit venom lmao, find some friends dude
You really need friends and some psychiatric help, something is going seriously wrong with your brain lmao
You know, self-awareness doesn’t hurt, maybe visit a psychologist to help you with that??
AHAHAHA I must say when I read some of your comments I’m like: I hate him/her/they sooo much
But then there are others like this one that have me loving you.
them*
Love wins always indeed <3
Winner!!! Slay girl!!
I really think it’s one of those rehearsals that we should wait to say much. The clip reveals nothing from the green screen, so we shouldn’t rush to be positive or negative.
Yet you adore and stan Slovenia. The same can be said about them: the only good thing is the singer herself. Nothing special about the rest or her outfit.
It was pretty boring tbh. I liked more when they were just on stage with all these lights. Green screen doesn’t look as good as expected. Neither do graphics unfortunately.
Lol, love the specificness. Want to see this on a camera sketch
The greek goddess doesn’t need a pegasus!
She is just flying to the top.
I like her so much, like her face, outfit, everything on her!
Actually, I cannot stop looking at her! Gorgeous!
I’m so embarrassed every year by the greek comments. Why can’t we for once let our actions speak for ourselves? In this case we have to let Stefania shine on her own. She doesn’t need us to talk her up to Europe.
We keep talking and talking about how great the staging is going to be. Just let it be. People are going to see it when the time comes.
Aggressive and arrogant promotion like this doesn’t help our entry.
Esma I’m so sorry that the greek trolls came after you in the youtube live.
Greek fans remind me of Walter the Vietnam veteran in the Big Lebowski. He gets so worked up and obsessed about things but when they don’t go his way he would easily dismiss them, as in “F*** it dude, let’s go bowling”
Yeah well that’s Greeks in general. When things don’t go our way we’re like: “F*** it dude, let’s blame someone else for our own sh*t”
And don’t get me wrong I love my country.
P.S. Greek downvoters, I dare you to prove me wrong.
As much as disrespectful fans are to blame for their offensive comments, “that’s Greeks in general” is an even more insulting generalisation. As a Greek, do you socialise outside the toxic eurovision fandom bubble? It seems you don’t. If you love your country as you say, keep calling out and isolating misbehaving and insulting voices but stop perpetuating stereotypes inflicted on Greeks during the financial crisis. Bashing your own country is not a decent way of making yourself likeable to foreigners.
AHAHAHAHAHA wow go after the eurofans now! Are you even living in Greece? Financial crisis or not there are so many problems in this country that I’m not willing to discuss in a Eurovision blog.
Open your eyes. And please, stop getting all the information in your life from Greek media.
What do you mean? Acting like a mindless fanatic does?
As a humble Greek, completely agree with your comments my friend. Tell me another devilish egoist on earth to dance in 9/8…beginning the dance with his foot already in the air !
Heehee !
Watch my dance…
I am Greek and I can confidently say that those Greek fans are THE sickest part of tbe Eurovision season. They ALWAYS think we’re winning every year when… no. And hyping the staging is NOT going to help your case at all. Especially since we saw the reception of Yianna and Katerine ?tbe latter of which I personally liked but clearly was the only one). And stanning her online on every opportune moment is only making you tiresome. And that cringe reaction when her rehearsals took place? What were they thinking? This isn’t a football match, and promotion is not… Read more »
…so right !!!
The press room was going crazy and gave the loudest applause we’ve heard so far. She’s also rising in the odds. That must mean something.
Vocally she was perfect. Can’t wait to see this live! Maybe a France vs Greece vs Malta this year? we’ll see…
Lol no
T O P 1 0
Agree, I never bought the whole thing about Russia in 2016, I always knew it was a bad/average song with an unnecessary staging, trying to deceive us with magic tricks
Honestly people have been sleeping on this and now she proved everyone wrong. I thought it had winner potential from the get go. We haven’t seen much from the staging yet as they’re working with special effects and a green screen so anything could happen but vocally she gave a winner performance. I definitely could see a top 5 spot for Greece. Also, Stefania is one hell of a performer, those vocals and that confidence wow!
They have been sleeping on this for a reason tho.
Iam so relieved that my country finally sends something professional and not someone who does instagram lives all day with an attitude and lies that Portugal sabotaged her because she had no stage presence. I am so happy.
Wait, who said that? You said portugal so I assume it’s yianna?
yes. There were also rumors that the lasers for the perfomance got stuck in customs, but she (or people close to her) made this up to stop the angry comments of people who didnt like the non existent staging
a blue hand without explanation or context for an average european viewer. This is not a staging.
Oh my god yes the infamous blue-laser hand, with which she would control the whole staging. Blue paint definitely did not work for “Yianni” (as she was shown on screen lmao)
thats the ultimate eurovision urban legend. Never ever they were gonna do that, but they create this rumor to focus on the drama and not on staging
well she thought she is the new jamala…. for real…
Hahaha !!! Terrible…idea….from her ego, straight to hell. One of the silliest moments in the whole Gr esc history.
Dear Greece as much as I love you, stop creating hype without having something wow to deliver. You create expectations that lead to disappointment. Nevertheless, it is a good song and I hope it qualifies but in the final things will be tough.
Most of the wow factor will come on the semi itself because of the green screen and other effects.
It looks quite interesting rn without it so we know Stefania and Greece will deliver an amazing performance
Is this what yall are freaking out over?
Yeah malta has personality, sass, great vocals and a likeable singer. Not that stefania isnt likeable but its very cold and calculated
did you just called a SJB staging not calculated? I AM CRYINGGGG
No im saying it doesnt come off like that
Russia
This is the type of performance you can’t judge unless you see the finished product.
From what I’ve from the press, half of them seem impressed and another half left confused.
Whether this entry is deserving of a top 10 placement or not, I urge certain fans and press not to attack anyone who didn’t praise this performance. Poor Esma in the livestream felt sorry after saying she didn’t love it. In any case, constructive criticism can always be helpful.
And Esma was not even offensive, I think she was just confused because the graphics still need a lot of finetuning and testing. I think even the Greek delegation are left a bit confused but they should by now know how to deal with any issues. Stefania was vocally on point though, which is really important at this stage.
As a Greek I apologize for the stupid people in YouTube who were attacking Suzanne and Esma. They aren’t the actual picture of Greeks and they ruin us everyday
THANK U! i was absolutely disgusted by their behavior. not everyone has to like our song!
our staging* esma said she liked the song sorry for that!
She was stunning but there was no need for the dancers. She slayed by herself
Her vocals were as good as anyone’s so far, I think Stefania can be a top 10 act this year, once the graphical kinks are ironed out.
Winner vibes indeed.. it sounds it’s the next step following amazing Lazarev’s stage performance years ago..
Some people forget that on first technical rehearsal of You are the only one we’re many technical issues they had to address.
We should be thanking artists like Fokas for being innovative.
Top 10 for sure.. Top 5? Why not… Good luck Greece!!!
I don’t feel Greece performance this year ..
how can you feel something you havent seen boo?
What do you mean? I heard the song several times and I don’t like it.
you wrote perfomance, not song. lol
As a Greek, I apologize for any toxic greek eurofans comments coming, everyone should have their own opinion and thats fine, as lons as it is not offensive. Lets all keep in mind that what we see are rehearsals, things are meant to go wrong so they can fix them on time for the show.
Equally the people/journalists should be more careful with their choice of words. To call something “cheap” is a bit offensive for the effort any team has put towards it. Especially, when we are only on the very first rehearsal.
First of all English isn’t her native language and it’s a livestream so it’s all about having no filter and saying what you think. She didn’t call the whole performance cheap just one effect that they used that she tought was unnecessary. Later on she corrected herself and she explained that she didn’t mean it that way. Either way there’s still no excuse for these toxic attacks.