Greek Folk Dancers of NSW

The Greek Folk Dancers of NSW was founded in 1992, under the instruction of Vasilios Aligiannis. In the year 2002 the dancing group celebrated its 10 years of existence and has well established itself as an independent entity in the Greek Community.
The group had a small beginning at the local church hall of St. Euphemia in Bankstown. The group started out with no costumes and a very limited dance repertoire. Within the span of three years, the group had its first set of costumes from the Island of Hyrda. Our first performance in the costumes was at the St. Euphemia Afternoon Greek School Dinner Dance.

The group moved on to expanding its costume wardrobe and dance repertoire. In 1997, 1998 and 1999, the dancing school closed for 4 weeks during Easter, so that our dance Instructor could attend Folk Dance Seminars in Greece to expand our dance repertoire.
Since then the group has progressed the traditional costume wardrobe has increased to include some authentic pieces from Greece. The group has also established links with dancing groups in Greece and Cyprus. Our friendship group is based in Cyprus, they have sent us authentic Cypriot costumes to add to our collection.

In attending dance seminars in Greece our dance instructor has increased our repertoire of dances to include specialized regions such as Anatoliki Roumelia (Eastern Rumelia), Sarakatsaneika, Arvanitika, Cappadocia, Pontus, Megara Attikis, and Cyprus. The Groups now can perform dances from all the regions of Greece and Cyprus in costume.

The group is also registered with the International Organization of Folk Arts Greek Section. A UNESCO founded organization aimed at preserving Traditional Folk Arts, Dances and traditions. The group is kept up-to-date with Dance Seminars and Research on dance through the internet and e-mail. We have also established an e-group on the net to update dancers and link our group to the rest of the world.

In 2007 - the dancing group will performed in Adelaide under the Thallasa Project run by The Hellenic Lyceum of SA Inc. In 2009 the group performed in Hervey Bay at the Cultural Festival, in Queensland. In 2010, the group is looking into performing in Melbourne.