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Saint Nicholas
Greek Orthodox
Church

San Jose, California

© 1999-2006 St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church of
San Jose, CA

Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church

FOLK DANCE GROUPS

Liana Bekakos, General Director

MISSION STATEMENT: The Dance Activity Groups are part of the youth organizations under the St. Nicholas Church and are dedicated to promoting, encouraging and perpetuating the Greek heritage and culture among individuals, families, and communities through expression in folk dance, folk art, music and language. Their purpose is to celebrate the Hellenic heritage through song and dance in a spirit of Christian fellowship and love. Dancing is not the end, it is the means in which Greek Orthodox youth are striving for the ultimate achievement of sharing, teaching, and love. In that spirit of Christian love, we seek to bring out the best in each dancer in terms of ethics, morality, unity and character. The folk dance program is one of many outreach activities for the youth of the Church, serving to create greater communication and stronger ties through interaction, as well as promoting ethical and moral standards befitting the life of an Orthodox Christian.

ORGANIZATION: There are approximately seven individual dance troupes serving youth in grades Kindergarten through High School, and often college. In our effort to help promote leadership skills and foster a sense of responsibility, the younger troupes are taught and directed by dancers from the older troupes, with adult advisors and supervisors.

ACTIVITIES: The dance groups participate in many performances throughout the year, mostly at local Greek Festivals, ethnic events, and international faires. They also participate in the annual Greek Orthodox Youth Folk Dance Festival (www.greece/fdf.org ) where they have won many medals and honors for their dancing and their costumes.

PRESENTATION: All troupes perform in authentic replicas of traditional folk costumes, with specific detail to embroidery and textiles. Folk dances are researched according to specific regions of Greece and are performed with an authentic character of the dance style and steps.

HOW TO JOIN: New dancers can join the program throughout the year, but the most convenient time is at the beginning of the school year in September. Committees exist that can guide new dancers in the making of the group costume, as well as other information. Age and grade specifications are strictly adhered to, especially in the younger groups. Kindergarten dancers are usually accepted every other year, upon the formation of a new group to accommodate dancers of those ages. All new dancers are required to complete a registration form. Once the form is returned completed to the Church, you will be contacted about the correct placement of your child in a group appropriate to their age/grade. You may contact the Church Office or the General Director for a registration form. The ages and grades listed below are meant to serve only as a guideline, with the committee making the final approval. As of September, 2001, the following groups are active at St. Nicholas Church. Ages and grades are strong approximations. Final assignment of new dancers will be carried out by the committee.

SPECIAL NOTES:

* a new dance group will be formed in October, 2001 for dancers ages 6 and 7 (approximately Kindergarten and First grades). Kindergarten level dancers who are age 5 need to express adequate social skills and physical coordination in order to participate. If they are not quite ready yet… please don’t rush them! We will always be here for you in years to come. Please keep in mind that many introductory ballet and dance classes for pre-school level children teach mostly balance, coordination, sharing, etc. Unlike such programs, our dance groups are not designed to teach such basics. Children need to be ready physically and socially for the dance groups since we teach sequences of steps in a group environment.

* Thessaloniki and Epanastates will announce their dance schedule in October.

* ALL GROUP practice days and times are subject to change! Always contact the group’s directors for the most up-to-date schedule.

For additional questions, please contact the Church Office (408-246-2770) or the General Director, Ms. Liana Bekakos at tsimbera@yahoo.com

FDF - Update
Congratulations to our Dance Groups!
(to see the FDF 2001 results visit here: http://greece.org/fdf/2001winners.html )

The 25^th Annual Folk Dance Festival was held in Pasadena Feb.15-18. This was a very special weekend as the FDF celebrated its 25 year Anniversary with a variety of unique presentations and events to honor the milestone date. Five of our Dance Groups participated in competition. Congratulations to all our St. Nicholas Dancers for their outstanding representation of our Parish, bringing back a total of 10 awards !! All our groups competed against 8 or 9 other groups in their categories. They all danced with enthusiasm and energy against a difficult field of participants. When the Awards Banquet finished on Sunday night, our groups had received 5 Dance medals, 3 Choir medals, and a Costume Award ! Their awards are as follows:

THANK YOU!! Every year we are blessed to have such a strong and caring community to support the dance program. Your donations make it possible for us to continue our research, purchase CD's, tapes and videos, hold workshops, and many other things which help contribute to our many successes. We are grateful to all our supporters for their generous donations.

Many thanks also to the directors and parents of our participating groups who made all of this possible. We wish to acknowledge the assistance offered to the dance groups during these FDF preparations (and throughout the year) by our General Director, Ms. Liana Bekakos. We also thank our wonderful directors who devote their time and energy to our youth: Mesologgi: Kosti Pries and Penny Pries; Meg' Alexandros: Venni Efstratiou, Christos Matheou and Maria Pries; Levendoyenia: Eva Perakis, Gerry Dunn and Vasiliki Xidias; Thessaloniki: Sofia Efstratiou and Vivian Matheou; Seirines: Liana Bekakos, Vivian Matheou and Sofia Efstratiou. And of course, we wish to thank all the parents who supported our hectic practice schedules these past months; words just simply aren't enough to express our appreciation. Kai tou Hronou!

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