| Orpheus New Year's Party | |||||
Your welcoming committee for the evening, Theresa and
Tina. For the first time a New Year's party for members and
friends of Orpheus took place to benefit the upcoming trip to Greece.
The event took place at Jimmy's restaurant. |
There was plenty of food for all the guests to enjoy.
The appetizer buffet was frequently gotten mixed up with the dinner
buffet! |
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Elena, Patricia, Christina and Christina |
It is time to start the dancing and the youth members
were the first ones to join the line. |
Lyceum of Hellinidon of Athens director
Hara Deligiannis with her son Rafael during an Issios dance
moment |
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Louiza, Katerina, Mariel, Demin and Eleni |
Marinos, Eleni, Emma and Tina |
It is time for Pentozalis |
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Harry gets into a trance dancing Zeibekiko |
It is the Jimmy and Paul Zeibekiko show |
Daughter and father Zeibekiko moment |
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Jimmy's Restaurant owner Jim with his son Peter enjoy
a Tsamiko dance |
Georgia, Nina and Aggeliki |
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| Museum of Science and Industry - "Christmas Around the World" | |||||
Youth and adult members getting ready to sing the New
Year's carols from the island of Ikaria |
Youth members in front of the Greek Christmas tree |
Youth members performing Zonaradikos
from Thrace |
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Youth members performing Zonaradikos |
An enthusiastic ending of Palamakia from Epirus from
the youth members |
Youth members performing Sfarlis from Thrace |
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A capacity crowd watched the youth and adult members
of the Orpheus dance group perform |
The adult group performed a suite of
dances from the island of Mykonos and Kythnos |
The adult group pose for a picture at the conclusion
of the its performance |
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| Greek Day - Lincoln Hall Middle School | |||||
Students at Lincoln Hall Middle School had a great day celebrating the many achievements by the ancient Greeks. Students simulated an agora (marketplace) by selling goods to either 5th, 7th, or 8th graders, learned Greek dancing, designed and painted a scene on a Greek vase, simulated Greek science inventions such as the compass, learned about Pythagoras and geometric shapes of numbers in math, and created an advertisement with a logo and slogan for a particular business using Greek mythology. (Lincolnwood, IL - December 2006) |
Lincoln Hall teacher and Orpheus member Christina
Economou taught several Greek dances to her enthusiastic sixth graders.
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Students brought in food and crafts to
simulate an ancient Greek agora. |
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| Museum of Science and Industry Reception - "Christmas Around the World" | |||||
Members of the Orpheus dance group with family members
pictured in front of the Greek Christmas tree during the Museum of
Science and Industry reception given to participating organizations. |
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And just in case you need a reminder,
the performance of the Orpheus Youth and Adult group will take place on
Saturday, December 9th at 2:45 p.m. |
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| Guest Instructor Joe Graziosi Conducts Workshops | |||||
Dance instructor Joe Graziosi was invited by the
Orpheus dance group to conduct workshops during the second weekend of
November. During the Thursday session dances from the Greek
islands of Amorgos, Naxos were shown. |
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On Saturday morning a special session
of instructional techniques was conducted. During the afternoon
session dances from island of Chios, Pontos and Epiros were shown. |
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| Consul General of Greece Reception for Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece | |||||
Members of the Orpheus Youth group had the distinction
of welcoming the Honorable Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece
Mr. Theodoros Kassimis at a reception given by the Consulate General of
Greece in Chicago. |
Roxani, Katerina, Mariel, Stavroula, Louiza, Elpida,
Athanasia, Paul and Christos waiting the arrival of the Deputy Minister of
Greece |
The Deputy Minister of Greece Theodoros
Kassimis escorted by the General Consul of Greece in Chicago, Aliki
Hatzi |
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| Ethnic Fest - The Many Faces of Lincolnwood | |||||
The Orpheus dance group presented a suite of Greek
folk dances from the Greek islands during the Ethnic Fest festivities
held at the Lincolnwood library. Pictured with Julie Anne Nitz-Weiss,
head of Community Relations & Library Programs. |
The map of Greece was put in good use indicating the
different regions of the dances presented |
The program started with a rendition of
a Kalamatiano song from the island of Kythnos accompanied by the
tsabouna (Mitsos) and the toumbaki (Christina) |
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Kostas and Nina performing Ballos from the
island of Myconos |
Vicky and Zaharias during a Sousta moment |
Dancing Pidihtos from the island
of Rhodes |
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| "OPA! A celebration of Greektown" - GreekCircle Magazine 5th Anniversary | |||||
The Union League Club Membership Committee and the
GreekCircle Magazine celebrated the 5th year anniversary of GreekCircle
and the recent publication of the book Greektown Chicago: Its
History-Its Recipes. Members of the Orpheus dance group with
editor Alexa Ganatos. |
Orpheus members Bessie Grosso and Yannis Economou
with Alexa Ganatos and her mother Sandra Ganatos |
At the end of the dance presentation guests
of the event joined the dance line with members of the Orpheus dance group |
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The event took place at the elegant Union League Club
of Chicago in downtown Chicago. |
Alex and Yannis get into the spirit of the
theme from the wall paintings that decorated the room |
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| Greek Night - St. John Lutheran Church | |||||
A variety of Greek folk dances dances were
presented during 'Greek Night' for the St. John Lutheran Church congregation
which is where we practice every Thursday. Orpheus members pose a
picture before the start of the presentation. |
The girls performing 'Kori Eleni' |
Mitso and Christina provided the music for
the presentation |
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Nina and Barbara demonstrating the
'Karagouna' costume. A brief history of the dances and costumes was
presented. |
At the end of the presentation it was
time for members of the St. John Church to join the dancing. |
More dancing.... |
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Evolution of a Dance: Zeibekiko Read more about the event... |
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A good luck message from Kairol the
director of the presentation to all performers. |
Yannis and Kostas Economou presented a
couple of folk samples of the Zeibekiko/Karsilama dances. |
Andreas, Kostas, Harry accompany singer
Voula Karahalios. |
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Popi performing one of the Zeibekiko dances |
Mitsos and Popi performing a couples'
Karsilamas |
Popi and Mitsos |
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Members of the cast Nikos, Popi, Kostas,
Mitsos Yannis, Dave and Asimina |
Part of the presentation included a
question and answer session |
At the conclusion of the presentation, the
cast takes a bow. |
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| Orpheus Youth
Group 2006-2007 Read more about the event... |
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The 2006-2007 Orpheus Youth year started
the first week of September. Members of the Northbrook branch pose for
a picture. |
Members of the Orpheus Youth group at
the Glenview branch pose for a group picture |
Practicing at the Northbrook branch under
the watchful eye of Orpheus Youth instructors Alex Kapotas and Stefanie
Lialios |
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| North Shore Greek Festival - Hellenic American Academy | |||||
The second North Shore Greek Festival
benefiting the Hellenic American Academy took place during the Labor Day
weekend. On Sunday night Orpheus performed in front of an overflowing
crowd |
The girls performing Greek folk dances
from Thrace and Macedonia |
The guys had a chance to show their
acrobatic abilities during Tsamikos. |
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| Greek Town Festival | |||||
Getting pumped up before the start of the
performance |
Members of the adult and youth group
participated at this year's performance. |
Christina and Alex |
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| Saints Peter and Paul Church Greek Festival | |||||
It is time to start the performance.
A set of Greek folk dances from Thrace and the Greek isles were presented. |
The program started with Hasapikos
from the region of Thrace. |
Performing a modern song version of
Zonaradikos by Glykeria |
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Performing Pyrgousikos from the
island of Chios |
It was also an opportunity to include in
the program a couple of dance from the island of Leros that were taught
during the 2006 Yasoo dance conference in Seattle. The dances Lerikos
and Kariotika were presented. |
Performing Pentozali from the island
of Crete which was the final dance of the program. It is time for the
summer break and for some lucky people an opportunity to visit
Greece again. See you at the Greek Town Festival! |
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| North America Bridge Championships | |||||
Orpheus members getting ready to perform at
the 2006 North America Bridge Championships that took place at the Chicago
Hyatt Hotel |
Performing Zonaradikos. |
The crowd had a chance not only to play
bridge but also sharpen their skills in Greek dancing |
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| St. John The Baptist Family Picnic | |||||
Members of the Orpheus dance group
presented a suite of dances from Thrace and the Greek isles during the
annual family picnic at St. John church |
Alex and Christina during a Mantilatos
moment |
Yannis, Katerina and Jamie during
Pyrgousikos from the island of Chios |
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Guys performing Patima from the
island of Lymnos |
The guys are getting ready to perform |
Performing Pentozalis from the
island of Crete |
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| Chicago Folk & Roots Festival | |||||
Orpheus instructors Yannis and Kostas
Economou had the opportunity to showcase Greek folk dances during the 9th
Annual Chicago Folk & Roots Festival organized by the
Old Town
School of Folk Music. |
Festival participants had the chance to
learn Greek folk dances from different regions of Greece. |
It did not take long for the eager audience
to join the dance line. |
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Old Town School of Folk Music
representative Sarah Dandelles with Yanni Economou at the conclusion of the
workshop |
The Dance Tent where two straight days of
participatory workshops took place. Lessons in West African dance,
Samba, Mambo, Salsa, Go Go Dancing, Yoga and much more were given. |
The Main Stage featured artists from
Louisiana, Congo and many local performers. The crowds filled up
Welles Park for a weekend of music, dance and culture from around the world. |
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|
Yasoo! 2006 Dance Conference - Seattle Read more about the event... |
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Orpheus members Alex (left) and
Kostas(right) with dance instructors Antonis and Roula Dallaris (island of
Leros) and Yvonne Hunt (center, Seattle) |
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David Billides (santouri, Seattle), Nikolas
Koutouzos (violin, island of Leros), Christos Govetas (laouto, Seattle) and
Antonis Dallaris (vocals, island of Leros) during the Saturday night glendi. |
Antonis Platis (Tuscon), dance instructor
Yvonne Hunt (Seattle) and Reverend Father John Angelis of the St. Demetrios
Church during the Sunday picnic. |
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Violinist Nikolas Koutouzos from the island
of Leros with fellow Seattle musicians Sandra and David Billides at the
Sunday picnic |
Antonis was right when he said a couple of
hours earlier, "I start feeling the effects of the jet lag today". The
results are obvious. |
During the trip we had a chance to visit
the beautiful city of Seattle. This is a picture from the ferry on the
way to the Brainbridge island |
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After visiting the towns of Port Townsend
and Port Angeles, we had the thrill of visiting Hurricane Ridge at the
Olympic National Park. Needless to say the scenery was spectacular. |
Hiking through the mountain and a little
friend came out to greet us. |
Getting a chance to play with the snow on a
70 degree day. Can somebody please explain why the snow does not melt
any faster? |
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| Passport to the World: Greece - Chicago Children's Museum | |||||
The Chicago Children's Museum in
cooperation with the Hellenic Museum presented an exhibit that celebrated
Greek music, dance and crafts. One of the events featured the Orpheus
dance group presenting Greek folk dances. |
Jamie, Elena, Patricia and Christina |
Performing Zonaradikos from the
region of Thrace |
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The guys performing Pousnitsa from
the region of Macedonia |
Kostas and Louiza during a Kalamatiano
moment |
It did not take long for the audience to
join the dance line at the conclusion of the dance presentation |
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Yvonne Hunt Workshops Read more about the event... |
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At the conclusion of the Saturday
workshops. Members of the Apollo dance group and members of the St.
Spyridon dance group attended the workshops given by Yvonne Hunt. The
workshops were organized by the Orpheus dance group. |
Dance instructor Yvonne Hunt conducting one
of the workshops. Dances from Macedonia, Thessaly, Epiros and the
island of Leros were presented during the day long workshops. |
Relaxing during during the lunch break |
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Members of the Orpheus dance group enjoying
the lunch |
Kostas Economou with members of the St.
Spyridon dance group |
More lunch pictures... |
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Yvonne Hunt with Joanne. |
Yvonne with Mitso Dallas |
Yvonne Hunt conducted the Thursday practice
class for the Orpheus dance group where dances from the Serres region were
taught |
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| Assumption Church Greek Festival - St. Louis | |||||
Pictured with Dean Bellos, director of the
Kyklos dance group of the Assumption church |
Girls performing Fysouni |
Small guys, big guys |
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Having fun before a performance |
Family moment |
Dancing continued after the conclusion of
the performances |
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Young and old made new acquaintances in St.
Louis |
Ok, everybody out of the van, time to hit
the pool |
Pool moment |
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A visit to St. Louis would not be complete
without visiting the Gateway Arch |
Doing some old fashion weighting at the
bottom of the Arch |
Group picture before riding the tram to the
top of the Arch |
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Inside the tram on the way to the top of
the Arch. |
Another family moment |
Enjoying the view of the city at the top of
the Arch |
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Orpheus Youth - End of Year Celebration Read more about the event... |
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The Orpheus Youth group poses for a group
picture at the conclusion of the event |
The Orpheus dance group established the
'Dina Sianis Merit Awards' to be given to two exemplary youth members in
memory of our beloved Mrs. Dina Sianis. This year recipients were
Christos and Chrsitina pictured here with Dr. George Sianis and Yannis
Econmou |
Group I youth members performing
Zonaradikos |
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The Orpheus music ensemble accompanied the
Youth group for most of the program |
Nicole introduced the dance Bella Olympia
assisted by Joseph |
Group II youth members performing
Pyrgousikos from the island of Chios |
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Group III youth members performing
Pentozalis from the island of Crete |
The program concluded with all youth
members singing and dancing 'Pantrevoune to Kavoura' from Peloponnese. |
Many Youth members and their families had
the opportunity to have their picture portraits taken that day. |
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One of the highlights of the afternoon were
the speeches that several Youth members made as they transition to the adult
group. They all spoke about their experience with the Youth group and how
they are looking forward to continuing as members of the adult group.
Pictured here is Christos Michelis. |
Dean Karahalios during his speech. |
Anna-Maria Siavelis during her speech |
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Christina Grosso during her speech |
After the event the dancing and fun
continued at the Giordanos Pizza restaurant courtesy of the Mavrakis family.
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Youth members enjoying the food |
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| Skokie Festival of Cultures | |||||
The Orpheus dance group has been performing
at the Skokie Festival for the last 15 years. |
Performing dances from Macedonia and Thrace |
Bessie, Joanna and Barbara |
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Kostas, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas
and Hellenic booth organizer Napoleon Damianides |
Kostas with members of the Pontian dance
group during the opening ceremonies of the festival |
Live music provided by Kosta, Mitso and
Christina |
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| Chicago Hellenic Youth Choir Spring Recital | |||||
The Chicago Youth
Choir during their Spring Recital under the direction of Eftihia
Papageorgiou. The Orpheus Hellenic Folklore Society also participated
at this year's recital. |
Chicago Hellenic
Youth Choir director and Orpheus choral instructor Eftihia Papageorgiou
(middle) with her father (right) and brother (left) |
Members of the
Orpheus Hellenic Folklore Society having fun at the dressing rooms where a
collection of wigs were discovered. |
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| Family Service Center Benefit - Kenilworth Club | |||||
Group picture after
the performance |
Sophia, Barbara and
Alex |
Bessie with a lot of
lemons. Basket of lemons made up the center pieces for the event. |
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The Hellenic Five
with Jim Stoyanoff provided the music entertainment for the night |
It is time for the
dinner guests to join the dance line. It did not take much to convince
everybody to do so. |
More dancing after
the performance. |
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| Concordia
University - "World and Music Cultures" Class Presentation Read more about the event... |
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Pictured with
professor Jean Harrison after the conclusion of the presentation at the
"World Music and Cultures" class |
Class students were
more than willing to join in the fun and try a couple of dance steps |
Sophia and class
studenta admire their cell phone pictures they took during the dance
presentation |
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| Greek American Parade - Greek Town | |||||
Group picture at the
annual Greek American parade at Chicago's Greek Town. |
Paul and Elpida |
Umbrella moment:
Christina, Christina and Bessie |
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On top of the SAE
float |
Just in case you
wanted to take a closer look at the Orpheus banner. |
Getting ready for
the parade |
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Harry managed to
find a musical instrument to practice. |
On top of the
Parthenon restaurant float |
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| Barnes & Noble Bookstore - Book Signing | |||||
Orpheus members
performing Greek folk dances at the Barnes & Noble bookstore |
Orpheus members with Alexa Ganakos author
of the book "GreekTown Chicago: Its History and its Recipes" |
It is time to get
some coffee |
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| Consul General of Greece - Greek Independence Day Reception | |||||
Pictured with the
Consul General Mrs. Aliki Hatzi |
At the stairs of the
Preston Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center |
Pre-youth, youth and adult Orpheus
members |
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| Balkan Spring Festival - University of Chicago | |||||
The Orpheus music
ensemble with Jim Stoynoff was in full force |
Jim Stoynoff with
Christina |
Jim Stoynoff, Mitsos and Christina |
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Sophia singing |
Tina, Yannis and
Balkan dance aficionado Paul Collins |
Demetris Peroulas in violin |
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| Glenbrook South High School V(ariety) - Show | |||||
Students from the
Hellenic club presented a suite of dances at the annual V-show. Most
of of the students are current and past members of the Orpheus dance group. |
The guys were
willing enough not only to put their costumes back for a group picture but
also get creative with their pose! |
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Choral and Folk Dance Festival - San Diego, California Click here to read about the trip and see more pictures... |
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Getting ready for
the opening ceremonies |
At the conclusion of
the choral presentation |
Practicing outside the hotel rooms |
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Group picture before
the first dance presentation of the Thracian suite of dances |
Pictured with
Orpheus choral instructor Eftyhia Papageorgiou before the presentation of
the Thassos suite of dances |
Having fun at the photo shoot |
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| International Night - Hoffman Middle School | |||||
Members of the
Orpheus Youth group presented a suite of Greek folk dances |
Performing
Zonaradikos |
Hoffman students
Mariel and Katerina show a step or two about Greek dancing to the young
visitors of the Greek designated classroom |
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| Arie Crown School Benefit | |||||
This is what happens
when you forget your camera at your car. You end up getting pictures
at the parking lot of Navy Pier after the event. |
Alex, Peter, Babis
and Mitsos waiting at the parking lot at Navy Pier. |
Guess what Jimmy found at Kosta's car.
A left over bottle of Coke from the Vasilopita event. |
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| Orpheus Vasilopita Celebration | |||||
Homemade Vasilopites that were prepared for
the night. Members and friends of the Orpheus Hellenic Folklore Society
gathered to celebrate the annual Vasilopita event, an evening that featured
a presentation of several choral pieces under the direction of Eftihia
Papageorgiou, music by the Orpheus music ensemble and plenty of dancing.
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Father John Rallis, Pastor of St. John Church, with Yanni Economou, Marianna Damianides and Alex Kapotas during the blessing of the Vasilopites. (Des Plaines, IL - January 2006) |
The Orpheus music ensemble provided
music and singing entertainment for most of the night |
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The dancing action was non-stop
throughout the night. |
Kostas, Peter, Matt, Georgia |
Tony, Marjan, Alex, John and baby
Effie. Everybody had a chance to sing happy birthday for Tony's 50th
birthday. |
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Joanna and Christina |
Yannis, Alex, Harry |
Christos, Dimitri, Paul, George and
another George |
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Winter Dance Conference - Tarpon Springs, Florida 2006 Patriarchal Epiphany Centennial Celebration Click here for information about the trip... |
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Orpheus group picture before the
Epiphany Day procession |
Members of conference dance groups
pose for a group picture at St. Nicholas Community Center |
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Members of the Orpheus dance group
jump start the music and dancing while waiting for the Epiphany procession
to begin |
Dancing and music continued throughout
the procession |
In front of St. Nicholas Church at
Tarpon Springs |
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Diving for the
Cross at Spring Bayou
officiated by
Ecumenical Patriarch
His All Holiness
Bartholomew |
Orpheus members pictured with his
Eminence Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago during the Epiphany Day Celebration |
At Spring Bayou
at the conclusion of the diving for the Cross ceremony |
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Renowned singer Mario Frangoulis with
Bessie, Christina and Catherine after an exciting concert at the University
of South Florida. Members of conference dance groups had a chance to
perform two dances during the concert. |
Pictured with Ambassador of Greece
Alexandros Mallias and SAE of America president Christos Tomaras |
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios with Ecumenical Patriarch
His All Holiness
Bartholomew and singer Mario Frangoulis surrounded by members of the
Archdiocese of New York Youth Choral |
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Performing dances from Thrace under
the big tent |
Taking a scroll at the Sponge Docks
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His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas of
Hong Kong cuts the Vasilopitas at the Community Center of St. Nicholas
Church during the Friday night event |
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His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas
Lulias of Hong Kong, Bessie and WDC director John Lulias |
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Dancing and music continued every day
at the lobby of the hotel |
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Guess who managed to join us late at
the conference during a business trip, our own Jimmy !(second from right) |
The renowned folk band Ziyia provided
top quality entertainment during the Friday and Saturday events |
Kiriakos, Dionisis, Yannis, Jordan,
Yannis and Yannis dancing Stis Treis during the Saturday might event.
Passing by behind is Yannis Lulias. Names day wishes for all the
Yannis! |
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