Syrtos

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!

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 the customs of the Dodekaimerou in Neo Monastiri. He has amassed a vast collection of field research and music from all areas of Greece.

He served as judge at the Hellenic Dance Festival in the Metropolis of Atlanta since 2011 and at the Greek Orthodox dance festival FDF in the Metropolis of San Francisco (2013). His greatest source of inspiration and drive for Greek dance excellence and preservation are his mother and father (may their memories be eternal).

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 attendee of over 33 FDF's, Lindsey has been fortunate to participate and in and instruct many award winning groups; most recently Deos as the recipient of the 2020 Division I Sweepstakes award - the realization of a partnership and shared dream of Lindsey and her incredible teacher and role model, Mr. Axilleas Tsiaras. 

Lindsey's goal in teaching is to continue the love and respect she has for our incredible shared culture with future generations and to help create an environment of authentic kefi - something that has been instilled in her from an early age by her incredible teachers. She believes that to dance perfectly is to dance with heart and soul, and she seeks to inspire that in each dancer. 

You can find Lindsey anywhere the zourna plays. :)

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 classes and dancing with the Charlotte-based troupe, Thrylos, Stacie also serves as the Director of Competition for the Metropolis of Atlanta’s annual Hellenic Dance Festival (HDF) and has recently transitioned to developing the virtual HDForum Series, an educational supplement sponsored by HDF. 

Stacie believes deeply in the magic of connection through dance - to music, to history, to others, and to self. 

Stavros Karagiorgis is a Winston-Salem, NC native where he's been actively involved in the local dance program at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. There, he has taught students of all ages and helps lead their program. Stavros has directed many award winning groups for his parish. Additionally, Stavros has taught various Greek folk dance workshops for Greek folk dance enthusiasts throughout the United States and Canada.

His main joy in the field of Greek folk dance is the ability to continuously learn. Stavros strives to continue to learn various dances, songs and traditions from local villagers in Greece. He has been on several research trips in Northern Greece and in the Cyclades. There he has had the unique opportunity to speak with countless villagers and musicians and been able to record both their oral and musical histories. To Stavros, this is the most rewarding part of his Greek folk dance hobby.

Stavros also plays an integral part in the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta’s Hellenic Dance Festival. He has served in various planning capacities over the last 12 years. Stavros currently serves as the co-chair of the Festival Implementation Team who presides over the organization and planning of the annual event. 2020’s event marked their biggest ever with over 50 competitive teams and nearly 2,000 attendees. 

https://www.hellenicdancefestival.com/

Christopher C. King is a Grammy-winning producer, musicologist as well as a prominent 78 rpm collector. He has been profiled in the New York Times Magazine and the Washington Post, and has written for the Paris Review, the Oxford American and Airmail News.

Christopher was born and raised in southwest Virginia and studied philosophy at Radford University. Over the course of the last ten years, he has researched the tradition of Greek demotika songs, especially in Epirus. In 2018, W.W. Norton published his book, Lament from Epirus: An Odyssey into Europe’s Oldest Surviving Folk Music, to wide critical acclaim. His book was named one of the top ten books of 2018 by the Wall Street Journal and Christopher has presented his work at the New York Public Library, the Gennadius Library of Athens as well as the Athens Conservatoire, among other venues.

He currently splits his time between the United States and Greece.

Lament From Epirus is available for purchase on Amazon.com

Sound Resources:

https://soundcloud.com/long-gone-sound

https://www.amazon.com/Lament-Style-1929-1931-Kitsos-Harisiadis/dp/B07CXBXRB2/ref=pd_sbs_1?pd_rd_w=r5806&pf_rd_p=527ea27c-adf6-4b67-9c5f-265eb29e0622&pf_rd_r=B3AESBYYWFX8E1T6FJG4&pd_rd_r=e828016d-282a-4fd5-8181-2aa73916ab0f&pd_rd_wg=mmzyu&pd_rd_i=B07CXBXRB2&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Mountains-Are-Black-1907-1960/dp/B019K8AMZK/ref=pd_sbs_2?pd_rd_w=r5806&pf_rd_p=527ea27c-adf6-4b67-9c5f-265eb29e0622&pf_rd_r=B3AESBYYWFX8E1T6FJG4&pd_rd_r=e828016d-282a-4fd5-8181-2aa73916ab0f&pd_rd_wg=mmzyu&pd_rd_i=B019K8AMZK&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Lament-Epirus-1926-1928-Alexis-Zoumbas/dp/B07XGSF26Y/ref=pd_sbs_3?pd_rd_w=r5806&pf_rd_p=527ea27c-adf6-4b67-9c5f-265eb29e0622&pf_rd_r=B3AESBYYWFX8E1T6FJG4&pd_rd_r=e828016d-282a-4fd5-8181-2aa73916ab0f&pd_rd_wg=mmzyu&pd_rd_i=B07XGSF26Y&psc=1

Bobby Garofalis is the currently the director of the Hellenic Youth Dancers at Saints Constantine and Helen in Newport News. Bobby has been involved with Greek dance for over 35 years. He is well versed in the dances of many areas of Greece (Pontos, Dodecanese, Thraki) with a special emphasis on Crete.

Bobby began as a dancer for the Hellenic Youth Dancers in 1990 and then became choreographer, director, and now lead Director/Administrator. He leads anywhere from 4-5 groups including the Adult Group Enosis who perform and compete in numerous events throughout the country. Bobby has been honored with 25 medals at HDF, including 13 platinum awards. At the 2012 Hellenic Dance Festival in Atlanta, Bobby was honored with the Director of the Year award.

Bobby was first introduced to Cretan dancing in the summer of 1985 when he was enrolled in the Xirouhakis Dance Studio in Chania. He has since been dancing Cretan for many years, and specifically in the last 6 years, he has researched and learned many of the old or "lost" Cretan dances. Bobby credits his research and expertise in Cretan Dancing to Vasili Contos from Long Beach, Manolis Fioretzis from Iraklion, Niko Archontakis from Chania, Petros Saridakis from Ethia and Stratis Skarakis from Kissamos. Most recently, Bobby befriended Nikos Giakoumakis from Chania, who collaborated with him to present a suite of dances and rizitika from the Rizinia region of Chania, a first in the United States which was awarded a Folk Expression award at HDF 2020.

Bobby believes that Greek dance is a lifelong journey, and that it is constantly evolving. It is a journey of learning and an opportunity to experience Greece's diverse culture and traditions.

Aris Yortzidis has been involved with Greek folk dancing for over 37 years in various capacities--as a dancer, director, and judge. He began dancing in his home parish of St. George in Downey, CA in 1982 and also performed with various groups in southern California. In 1995 and until his departure from Southern California in 2000, Aris directed groups at St. George, Downey, CA; Sts. Constantine and Helen, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA; and St. Katherine, Redondo Beach, CA. In 1996, Aris received an scholarship from the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco Folk Dance Festival that provided him the opportunity to research the dances of Serres; the dances and traditions of his father’s village of Chrysochorafa (Gagauzika; where his father is from), Serres; the dances of the Vlachs of Serres; and the dances of Pontos in Serres, Katerini (where his mother is from), and Thessaloniki. He has continued his research and has obtained broad knowledge of the dances of Thrace, Macedonia, the islands, and other regions of Greece. He continues to present at seminars and serve as a consultant to performing groups. He has also served as a judge at several Greek folk dance events and competitions in the United States (Hellenic Dance Festival, Metropolis of Atlanta; America's Greek Dance Competition) and in South America (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Buenos Aires and South America). Aris currently resides and works in the Washington, DC area and he is married to Anna Yortzidis, a native of Newport News, VA. Aris and Anna are also co-founders the Byzantio Greek Dance and Cultural Arts Program based in the Greater Metropolitan Washington, DC area (Web: byzantio.org | Instagram: @byzantiodc | Twitter: @ByzantioDC | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ByzantioDC).

Anna Yortzidis has been Greek folk dancing since 1985, starting with the Hellenic Youth Dancers of Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in her hometown of Newport News, Virginia. She represented her community in several events and competitions including the Metropolis of New Jersey Folk Dance Festival, Metropolis of San Francisco Folk Dance Festival, and Metropolis of Atlanta Hellenic Dance Festival. After dancing with the Hellenic Youth Dancers for nine years, Anna took over as program head and directed the five dance groups under the program before moving to Washington, DC in 2007. During her tenure with the Hellenic Youth Dancers, Anna conducted extensive research on various regions of Greece (Thrace, Pontos, Macedonia, Crete, and other islands) and greatly expanded the program’s dance repertoire. She also is an avid costume enthusiast and made significant investments to the Hellenic Youth Dancers costume library. Anna continues to perform with Enosis, the adult group of the program. After moving to Washington, DC, Anna co-founded the Byzantio Cultural Arts and Dance Program of the Greater Washington DC area in 2012 with her husband, Aris Yortzidis. The program consists of four groups and Anna performs and directs in the program. In addition to her extensive work as a director, Anna has also served as a judge at the Metropolis of Atlanta Hellenic Dance Festival, the Direct Archdiocese District Folk Dance Festival (Parathosi) in New York, and the Metropolis of San Francisco Folk Dance Festival.

** As a clarification to the episode, Clean Monday, is March 15, 2021**

Yvonne Hunt has been teaching and researching Greek dances for more than 30 years, working with Father Homer Dimopoulos to establish the dance program at Seattle’s St. Demetrios Church in 1974. During that time the “Paniyiri” dance group was formed under her direction and represented the Seattle Greek community at many functions throughout the state and British Columbia. Yvonne also taught Greek dances in the University of Washington dance department in 1975-76 and 1978-79, as well as Greek and other Balkan dances at the Experimental College there from 1972 to 1979.

Yvonne made her first research trip to Greece in 1975, returning there again in 1978 and finally moving there in 1979 for fourteen years. During seven of those years she was the assistant to the director, Simon Karas, at the Society for the Dissemination of National Music. While living in Greece, she taught for 6 years at the Hellenic American Union, 11 years at both the Athens Centre and the Tsiamoulis Elementary School, and for 3 years at the University of LaVerne (Athens campus), and at various dance groups and cultural societies. In addition to these many teaching positions she also conducted dance research throughout the country, from the southernmost islands to the northernmost prefectures. Yvonne is still a research associate at the Centre for Asia Minor Studies in Athens.

Yvonne was invited to be the sole instructor at the first summer dance seminar in Greece (Sitia), which was organized by dancers from Norway and France in 1981. In the ensuing years she organized, directed and taught at summer seminars throughout the country, and has been conducting carnival seminars in the Serres region since 2001. She has also taught seminars throughout Europe, the US and Canada. Yvonne was on the organizing staff of the IOFA (ΔΟΛΤ) conferences in Larissa from 1987-1990, has been a guest lecturer at Dora Stratou Theatre on more than one occasion, and had the privilege of presenting her work in Flambouro, Serres, both at a seminar there and at the theatre premier opening in 1989.

Since Yvonne’s return to the States in 1993, she has directed the dance program at Assumption Church in Seattle, has instructed the prize-winning college/adult group, Akrites, at St. Demetrios Church and has served as the resource person for the other dance directors there, and has directed several groups performing at FDF in Southern California and has judged the competitions there. Concurrently she taught classes both in Greek dance and the Modern Greek language at Seattle-area community colleges and several other venues. She continues to teach classes in dance, language and Greek culture today.

Yvonne has presented papers and appeared on panels at many international conferences and symposia in Europe and America. Her publications include both English and Greek versions of the book, Traditional Dance in Greek Culture (Ο Παραδοσιακός Χορός στον Ελληνικό Πολιτισμό) (1996); articles in both Greek and international periodicals and journals; the CD, Zourna Masters of Flambouro (with Christos Govetas and Neal Sandler, 1998); as well as liner notes for several other CD recordings of Greek music. Her book, A Nest of Gold (Μια Φωλιά από Χρυσάφι) (2015), on the dances and traditional music and customs of the Serres region of Macedonia, has been published by the Kyklos Cultural Society of Thessaloniki.

Mike has been dancing Greek folk dances for over 35 years. His love and interest in Greek folk dancing have led him to participate in several dance conferences throughout the east coast and Canada, learning from the best, authentic Greek folk dance instructors in the world. As the Dance Director for the Boston Lykeion Ellinidon, he has performed throughout New England and the east coast with the troupe. Outside of Greek dancing, Mike teaches 8th grade English Language Arts and Social Studies at a middle school in Framingham, Massachusetts.

For more information on the Boston Lykeion Ellinidon visit: https://www.bostonlykeion.org/

Or www.facebook.com/greekdance