We sat down for a great conversation with Maria Koulouris Glanz and Christos Pantieras of Ethos Greek Folklore Association based out of Ottawa, Canada. They shared with us their journeys in Greek dance, and how Ethos is supporting the preservation of Hellenic Folklore today. You can learn more about Ethos using the link below. Maria and Christos, we loved having you on, and can't wait to chat again about some of the deeper topics that did not fully make it into this...

Rania Samartzis- born in NYC, moved to Athens, Greece until I was 8 yo, then moved to Port Richey, FL and currently living in Palm Harbor,FL. My mom is from Kastoria (Macedonia) and my dad is Athenian (his mom from Smyrna & his dad from Thiva). 
I started dancing when i was in school in Greece as part of the school curriculum, then when we moved to Florida with my family, i joined the local church dance group with my brother. As my brother went into college, the group did not have a...

Joe Kaloyanides Graziosi, from the Boston area, has done extensive research on regional dance in Greece and among Greek communities in the U.S. Drawn to Greek music and dance from a young age Joe was an enthusiastic participant in the Greek church dance and New England area community music scene and danced and taught in the Boston area amateur dance groups “Helios Dancers” and “Meraklides” in the latter 1970s after returning from a semester abroad program in Greece in 1975 where he did dance...

The man who needs no introduction, 54Thirty himself, joined me on this week's podcast. We had a good time talking about Greek dance and 900 other things. Enjoy!

We had an absolutely amazing time with the Zoumberakis family! Don't miss some outtakes at the end of the episode! Check out Stacie's bio below: Anastacia (Stacie) Zoumberakis has been involved in The Metropolis of San Francisco’s Folk Dance Festival Ministry for over 30 years.  Starting her Greek dance career at 7 years old, she continued dancing for 20 years, ten of which were with the Olympian dancers.  She has directed for over 20 years, including groups of all different ages, including...

John Peppes was born in Athens, Greece, and came to America at a young age. He was raised in Tarpon Springs, Florida – a community populated largely by individuals of Greek descent, allowing him to be exposed to the Greek culture all throughout his youth. At the age of six, John started dancing with the St. Nicholas church dance group. Years later, this group would eventually become the Levendia Dance Troupe in Tarpon Springs, Florida under the direction of John Lulias. In the summer of 1983,...

Caterina Vasilaki was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She has been dancing ever since she can remember herself. At first following her yiayia and aunts at various panigiria in the Epirus region (homeland to her mother) during the summer vacations and then taking ballet classes in Athens. Then she got in touch with Latin dancing and how dance can be a part of everyday life in a trip she took in Latin America. As a kindergarten teacher employed by the Greek state she moved around different...

Panayotis (Paddy) League is a performer, composer, ethnomusicologist, and author specializing in the traditional music, oral poetry, and dance of the Greek Aegean islands (as well as Northeast Brazil, the West of Ireland, and the wide world of electric guitar music). He focuses in particular on the violin, laouto (steel-string lute), and tsambouna (goatskin bagpipe) music of Kalymnos and Western Crete, performing and recording throughout Greece and the diaspora and publishing widely in...

Panayotis (Paddy) League is a performer, composer, ethnomusicologist, and author specializing in the traditional music, oral poetry, and dance of the Greek Aegean islands (as well as Northeast Brazil, the West of Ireland, and the wide world of electric guitar music). He focuses in particular on the violin, laouto (steel-string lute), and tsambouna (goatskin bagpipe) music of Kalymnos and Western Crete, performing and recording throughout Greece and the diaspora and publishing widely in...

With over 35 years experience as a dancer and 20 years as a dance instructor, Aki’s passion and knowledge for Greek dance has been a large part of his life. His goal is to learn, teach, and preserve Hellenic dance and culture by passing on his knowledge to others. His philosophy entails a holistic approach to teaching and showcasing authentic Greek dances and traditions to all generations and audiences. He began his teaching career as secondary instructor for the Greek School and Romiosyni’s...

Diesi  is  a  traditional  Greek  band  based  in  Montreal  and  consists  of  Panagiotis Bakalis  (Clarinet,  Flute, Tsambouna),  Harry  Karavitis  (Violin,  Vocals),  Panagiotis Bournakis (Laouto), and Chris Darsaklis (Percussion). The  members  of  Diesi  each  developed  an  appreciation  for  traditional  Greek  music from a young age due to their involvement in traditional Greek dance groups. Through performances and seminars, they developed a network of contacts, which includes many...

Paul Calzada was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL before moving to Hollywood, FL at a young age. He recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from University of Florida and is currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Engineering from there as well. He is a "Gruban" (Greek Cuban) American; His father is from Cuba and his mother's parents are from Greece, specifically Kremasti, Rhodes and Agrosikia, Pellas (Pontian roots). He began his dance journey in Hollywood, FL...

Peter has been dancing since the age of 6 within various cultural associations in the Greater Montreal area. Since 2001, he has been dancing exclusively with the performing group, La Troupe Folklorique Grecque Syrtaki (Montreal). He began teaching within La Troupe Folklorique Grecque Syrtaki beginning in 2006 with dances from all regions of Greece. As of 2008, he began more extensively researching dances, ethnographic data and music related to our traditions and created a personal...

Evan and Maria sit down, in person, for the first time ever to record this episode of Syrtos. It's a little bit motivational, a little therapeutic, and a bit punch happy. Thank you all for your support for Season 1 of the Syrtos podcast!

Dimitri Papadimitriou is a native of Atlanta, GA. His dance and music journey began at the age of five. Under the direction of Eleni Apostolakos-Hopes, his knowledge and love for dance grew like wildfire. He and his sister were some of the first and youngest children in the community to perform with the adult dance group. Through the years, he has attended seminars around the US learning from instructors such as Joe Graziosi, Nikos Zournatzidis, Lazaros Hatzipanayiotou, Christos Papakostas,...

Dimitrios Dallas began his musical career at age 10 when local Chicago legend Vasilis Gaitanos pulled him on stage to play bouzouki during one of his live performances. Since then, Dallas has learned to play the violin, laouto, klarino (clarinet) and tsabouna (Greek island bagpipe), among other instruments. He plays in several traveling bands throughout the United States, including Endasi, Zephyros Quartet, To Kreitikos Stavrodromi and Ormi Orchestra. He has also served as the Director of...

John Themelis John grew up listening to Greek, Armenian, Turkish and Arabic music, and was interested in the sounds of the Balkans and Near East. Over the years, he has learned to perform on countless musical instruments from all parts of the Balkan/Near Eastern world. Of all of these instruments, the laouto, violin and tsampouna, have been his main focus, learning to recreate the strumming and playing style of the Cyclades, Dodekanese, Crete and the Mainland of Greece. He has performed...

Jordan Elrod has been dancing since a young age, instructing for the past 20 years, and was the director at St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church in Boca Raton, Florida for ten of those years. He has taught and participated in many workshops across the United States and Greece, as well as organized workshops in South Florida including The Winter Dance Conference in 2005. He served on the board for the Metropolis of Atlanta’s HDF where he has also been a judge for the past 3 years. He has performed...

Mr. Sarantos N. Kaperonis was born and raised in Charlotte, NC, and graduated pharmacy school at South Carolina’s College of Pharmacy. His parents are from Karyes (Arachova), Lakonia, a village in southern Greece. He has been involved in Greek Folk dance from a very young age where he started dancing for his home parish, Holy Trinity, under the direction of Stacie Peroulas and Marina Photopoulos. They were the first people to introduce him to many important characteristics of Greek folk...

Nikos Antonopoulos Greek Dance instructor, director, student and performer, originally from Seattle, WA now finds himself in the San Francisco Bay area. Over the years has lived between the USA and Greece participating with dance groups, festivals, panigiria, and ethima (local holiday traditions) throughout all of Greece. Having attended seminars in Greece, the USA, and Canada, Niko continues to assist and share these experiences with his students. He is a participant and award winning...

We sat down with Dimitris, the founder of the Psyxi Weekender to chat about the weekend's instructors, musicians, resort venue, and COVID-19 precautions. Tickets for the weekender are on sale now,we hope to see you there! http://www.psyxiweekend.com/?fbclid=IwAR1UjNc4KByDzBk7olUOqEV-DkfSZfYdZiXIl0uyY80NseyzQRsCwTqpvJc (www.psyxiweekend.com) FB: Psyxi Weekender IG: Psyxi.AZ

Dean Avdalas has been a dancer and dance instructor in the Greek community of the Bay Area for over 30 years. His passion and love for Greek culture has led him to develop exemplary skills as a dancer, director, choreographer, and researcher. His main areas of research and interest include Epiros, Sarakatsan villages, and Megalo Monastiri (refugees residing in Neo Monastiri, Domokou, Thessalia). Dean has presented groundbreaking work with the Albanian border villages of Northern Epiros and...

Jimmy Debekos, native of Seattle, grew up between the States and Greece, specifically Arachova (Karyes Lakonia) When Jimmy returned to the States, he joined the local church dance troupe, in his late teens, early 20s, He found his love for dance washing dishes in his family’s restaurant to tape recordings. A natural performer, Jimmy shares with us his experiences with FDF, dance in Seattle, and his life on TikTok.

Lindsey Fostinis Kivetos, from Sacramento California, is a lifelong lover (and student!) of Greek dancing. A native of Anchorage, Alaska, with formative years spent dancing and directing in the small but mighty community of Modesto, she currently is the director of the young adult group, Deos in the Annunciation parish. She has done extensive research in many regions, but her specialty and passion are the traditions, dances, and songs from Roumlouki, Macedonia (present day Alexandreia). As an...

Stacie is the board Chair of the Greek Folk Dance Program at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Charlotte, the largest program of its kind in the U.S. A native of Hampton, VA, Stacie was first exposed to Greek folk dance as a young child at her hometown church in Newport News, VA. Since moving to Charlotte in 2001, Stacie has overseen the growth of Holy Trinity’s program, including the development of a grade-level curriculum that serves almost 400 students. In addition to teaching...