Hellenic Dance Troupe

Almost since the founding of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Rocky River, young parishoners have learned folk dances for church festivals and Greek School programs. Over the years, the heritage of Greek dancing has been taught by Greek school teachers such as Vicky Papouras, Litta Klidas and Helen Papadorotheou, as well as young women who had been dancers themselves.

In 1999, one such alumnus, Eleni Papouras, took over the reigns of the dance troupe, along with Kathy (Ntakos) Katrakazos and Irene Steffas, two transplanted Toledo girls, who brought dances from that parish’s excellent group into our repertoire. In 2001, Olga Asimou took over for Kathy and Irene as assistant director. And in 2003, the group even had a visiting co-instructor, Staci Lagouteris, who taught the group several new dances done by the dance group in Orlando, Florida.

Since 1999, the group has expanded its performance schedule to include the annual Greek Independence Day Parade, IOCC picnics, the 2000 Greek-themed Home and Flower Shower at the IX Center, Lake Ridge Academy’s annual Culturefest, Greek Family Day at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2003 and Middle Bass Island’s Fine Arts Festival in 2004

Dancers must be at least 7 years of age at the time of registration. Registration is held every fall, for those wanting to participate in the festival the following June.

Dancers whose families are members in Good Standing must be the age required by each dance group, as of Jan. 1st of that year. Registration is held between February and spring for Festival performances.

Rehearsal days and times for each group will be announced in the church bulletins.”

Rehearsals usually take place on Sundays, during the coffee hour. Extra weekday rehearsals are scheduled and announced prior to various events. Practices for the festival begin in April, with daily rehearsals starting when schools close.

Attendance Policy

Dancers must attend at least half (50%) of the scheduled rehearsals for any given event to be eligible to perform in that event.

Dance has been an integral part of Greek culture since ancient times. Although, unfortunately, no records of written music or choreography survived antiquity, it is believed that at least one dance, the Tsagonikos, as depicted in an ancient black and orange vase, is still performed.

Although not necessarily ancient, most of the dances known to us now have been passed down for innumberable generations, as there have always been celebrations at weddings, births and seasonal festivals. And while many sects of the Medieval western Church banned dancing, the link between the Greek Orthodox Church and Greek dances continued to be very strong. Dancing is, even today, a big part of the celebrations of the sacraments of marriage and baptism, as well as church feastdays.

Some songs/dances were born out of the 1821 Revolution, and at least one commemorates the “modern” diving bell of the early 20th Century. Due to the westernization of Greek culture, some folk dances have been truly relegated to the realm of history, as young people leave their villages for the urban setting of Athens. But the basic syrto (line dance) and some of the improvisational dances like tsiftetli and zebekiko, are still very much a part of Greek culture. Vivid proof of this is the thriving recording industry of Greece, which every year, produces music which can be danced to the syrto. And even more western-styled Greek recording artists have at least one song or album with a more traditional sound.

One of the biggest challenges of a folk dance group is acquiring the specialized, authentic music of a region. Many dances are only done to one particular song or using instruments that may not be commercially viable for current recording artists.

The music we use in our performances has been acquired from different sources: cassette tape recordings of (some live) traditional music from Greece, handed down by past instructors; tapes/CDs from the professional instructors at the annual Diocese dance workshops, who supply music to the dances they teach; even CDs of modern artists’ live concerts, which always tend to feature a traditional dance-along section.

There are hundreds of Greek dances but every Greek folk dance group knows several basic dances, done by all Greeks, such as the Kalamtiano syrto (literally meaning “to pull”). But the background of each church’s parishoners does certainly influence which others will be taught and performed. Many families of St. Demetrios come from the Aegean Islands and Crete. But in 2003, when the theme of our festival show was “Dances of Our Ancestors,” we discovered that every region of Greece, and even Asia Minor, was represented by at least one of our dancers’ families, so we try to teach as much a variety as possible.

Each year, our festival shows have a different theme: “A Tour of Greece-1999”, “Tribute to the 20th Century-2000”, “A Village Wedding-2001,” “Remembering Asia Minor-2002,” “Dances of Our Ancestors-2003”, and “The Olympic Games-2004.” In creating these programs, we strive to focus on various dances of the many regions. We are always trying to expand the number of dances in our repertoire. In addition to the ones handed down by past instructors at St. Demetrios, we have also learned from instructors from the other Cleveland churches, Olympia Christides of Sts. Constantine and Helen and Freda Vassilakis of Annunciation. Our own Presvytera Kathryn shared some choreography from Cincinnati, where she grew up. And our 2003 guest instructor, Staci Lagouteris, taught us several dances done by the adult dance group in Orlando, Florida.

We also attend the annual Diocese of Pittsburgh Dance Workshops, taught by visiting professional folk groups such as the Hellas Dancers of Clearwater, Florida, led by Keith Mastorides.

And we encourage any dancers who visit Greece with their families, to observe the dances done in their region and bring back recordings, if possible.