Comments about Orpheus 20th Anniversary Event

John Peppes
I cannot thank you enough for the wonderful hospitality and friendship that you, Kosta and the entire Orpheus group showed me over the last few days. Many times long weekends tend to wear you out and you look forward to going home. In this case, I must honestly say that I was sad to leave. I feel I have made friends for life.
I am honored to have been able to celebrate Orpheus' great achievement with everyone. I hope that I contributed to the overall success of the program and your mission. Please pass on a sincerely thank you and hello to the entire group for me; Christina, Tina, Bessie, Marianna, Nina, Presvytera Stephanie, Jimmy, and the many others...I am sure I am forgetting names.
I look forward to hopefully collaborating with Orpheus in the future.

Andegone Boufas
Great show tonight!  Everyone did a great job!  Congratulations, you should all be very proud! 

Asimina Chremos
You were awesome onstage last night! Congratulations to everyone :) All the dances were so beautifully presented. The kids were so adorable �and impressive! And the singing!!!! so good. The opening Easter song was just so moving. My friend Timothy really liked it too. He liked the athletic male dancing, of course, since he is a young guy.

Linda Karras
I just wanted to tell you that we so very much enjoyed ourselves last night.  You can tell you all take this very serious and I am excited for Elena to start next year. Thank You for letting me know about it.   

George, Harriet, Nico ,  Alex and Eva Pappas
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!  We had a great evening last night. The kids were so excited to see all of the singing and dancing and especially Catherine. I'm so proud of her. To see you dancing and singing was fabulous. I really did not realize how wonderful the performance was going to be. I really enjoyed watching everything. I also didn't realize that my cousins son is in the group. It was nice that many of my family members were there as well. You have a beautiful and loving family. You really set a good example of the true Greek spirit, Family, Love and Friendship! Congratulations on a successful evening and 20 years of keeping the traditions alive. Thank you again. 

John Petenes 
Thank you again, very much for inviting me to your 20th Celebration.  It was wonderful, very enjoyable and entertaining. I will never forget it.!!!! My cousin (Maria) and I had a good time. God bless you with the energy and passion in the next 20 years that led you to this monumental 20th year.

John Damianos
I have to say that that was the best $100.00 I've ever spent at a Greek affair. 

Margot Vaselopoulos
Dear Kostas, Yannis, Bessie and all Orpheus staff,
BRAVO. What a fantastic show! It started off with a bang and continued to get better and better. You should all be commended for your hard work and dedication.  All of the performers and singers were exceptional. The pianist, saxophonist, bouzouki, clarinetist, guitarist and all of the musicians were phenomenal. The videos, choreographing and performances came together to make the show absolutely spectacular. Our entire family thoroughly enjoyed it, as did all the people in the audience, making positive comments. Thank you again for all of your hard work.

Nikos Bokas
Please tell Anna Mavrou that I will forever remember her--for her beauty, her grace, and her warm and loving heart. She gave us all such a beautiful gift that we will always remember and appreciate. Thank you Yannis, and please tell Kosta and Marianna the same, for all you've done for Orpheus. 

Frank Rose
I wanted to thank you for your preparedness and positive attitude � things went very smoothly, I thought, thanks to your diligence. It was a pleasure working with all of you.  I hope we can see you again soon!
Technical Director, NSCPAS

Gregory Kontos
Συγχαρητήρια για 20 χρόνια!

Just wanted to let you know that we really enjoyed the performance this past Saturday.  It is incredible what you and your directors have been able to accomplish over the last 20 years.  My son, who is just starting to dance with the intermediate group, especially enjoyed the performance of the dances from Kalymnos and the live musicians.  In fact, as soon as I got to my car in the parking lot, I was on the phone to my parents and Ellena letting them know what an exciting evening it was. I wish you all the best and many more years. Again, please thank all of your directors and dancers for a wonderful evening!

Christina Sampras
Two words to describe the performance on Saturday. ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!!  

Melissa Thodos
Hello Yannis,
I want to thank you so very much for the tickets to your wonderful 20th anniversary celebration. It was a fantastic evening and we thoroughly enjoyed all of the live performance in addition to the enlightening and informative video montages.
My mother who was with me was able to identify all of the regions where the dances were from based on her knowledge of both music, choreography, and costuming. It brought back many memories for her. She is from Konitsa near Ioanina and we will be traveling to Greece in June and taking my twin daughters for their first trip there.   Thank you for your kind words regarding Thodos Dance Chicago, and I look forward to keeping in touch,

Christine Burikas
You all were awesome last night. We enjoyed the show so much!!!! 

Eleni Markos
I just wanted to take a moment of your time and congratulate you and everyone who participated in the performance on Saturday.  Everything was amazing, to the dancing, the band and the choir. So congratulations to you and Costa for a job well done.  You guys definitely made the Greek community very proud. 

Kathy, Chris, Estelle and Ian Pappas
Yianni, Kosta and Bessie,
Thank you again for an absolutely incredible evening!  All my guests were so impressed, prepare yourselves for increased enrollments!!
God Bless You!

Barbara Kalobratsos
Truthfully, I did not know what to expect�I will admit, I was pleasantly surprised; the show was absolutely fabulous, very well executed and really thought provoking.  Thank you for all the hard work and please pass my thanks on to the rest of the crew.


Pres. Stefanie
Dear Yanni, Kosta & Marianna~ Saturday evening was absolutely beautiful!  Everyone should really be commended for all your efforts and hard work!  I was telling Marianna that I was tearing up during the choral part..every moment was so touching!  Thank you so much for passing on your knowledge and love for Greek Dance!  I feel very proud to be a part of the troupe and I hope and pray that it will be around for many years to come!  Thank you again! 

Ronnie Malley
I just want to say congratulations on 20 years of Orpheus. The production was outstanding and very inspiring. Everyone in the Lamajamal group had a great time. Orpheus' role in the Greek community is immeasurable and it serves as a model of excellence for other cultural community groups.

Fr. Panteleimon
Dear Alex, Christ is risen.
Thanks for having us come - it was great.  In fact I was telling people that, had I known how impressive it was going to be, I would have come even if I hadn't known you or anyone in it. 

Pauline
Thank you everybody.  I'm so happy everything turned out so fabulous. The t-shirts were so fun to look at and a great idea.  I too got a really positive response to the displays and the entire show in general.  The shoe project was a little challenging at times, but the final product made it so worthwhile.  I know Louisa's mom was very moved by the display, but my sister (who doesn't know the OHFS members) said that the worn shoes represented the hard work each dancer dedicates to learning this skill.  It gave her a new appreciation for Greek folklore dancing.

I want to thank everyone for providing the shoes, providing/reviewing the text and overall cooperation.  Nikki and I joke that we've known each other since our girls were in pre-school together, but we really didn't get to know each other until we started working on this project together!!  It was a pleasure working with all of you,  you are a creative and fun group.  I hope we can do it again!

Well, you got what you wished for...the show was wonderful and "seamless"!!  (I know that was a word I heard Yannis use repeatedly.). I know you have probably received a ton of e-mails on the show, but here is one more. My family and friends were so impressed by the show.  It exceeded their expectations and left everyone feeling really good.  It doesn't get any better than that. My mother ( a hard woman to impress) said, "I have been in this country for 50 years and have attended many Greek functions/shows, but this one was truly outstanding."  Now that's a compliment!!! Congratulations to you all!

Alex Kapotas
The t-shirts were cool, but the entire exhibit ROCKED!!!  The retired shoe display really tugged at people's heartstrings--you should talk to Louisa's mother about her reaction.  The way the shoes were displayed and the accompanying text made them come to life--almost like a "who's who" of OHFS.  Just awesome.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again on Thursday--post-stress. 

Fr. Tilemahos
Hello John and Kosta!
I can't begin to tell you how wonderful the event was Saturday night.  I was truly impressed how far you have taken this group and how much you offer to these kids and to our heritage.  Thank you so much for the tickets. The children really enjoyed it.  My goal was to get them excited about the group, and it worked, so I mailed the registration forms today.  There are a couple of kids from the parish that wish to come as well.  I hope there is still room.  I would love for them to have the opportunity to experience everything that Orpheus has become. 
Again, my heartfelt congratulations and many thanks from the whole family.

Eve Monzingo
The show was so great by the way, our friends loved it. George and I played for a Greek wedding on Sunday and the photographer recognized us, he said he filmed the show Saturday, his name was Dimitris.  He talked about the show all night! He loved it and said it reminded him of when his daughters were in the troupe and how proud he felt to see them. It gave me a little insight on the parents and grandparents, and how strange it must be to see your children grow up in another country. Thanks for inviting us to be a part of you group, it's been an incredible experience.

Pantelis Pandis
Words are not enough to describe the success of this event! All guests that attended were very impressed. Congratulations to all the participants!

Anonymous - Survey
This was by far the most wonderful performance I have seen.  Great job.

Georgia Makris
Hi Yianni!! On behalf of my family and I we wanted to say sixaritiria for such a great event!! Thanks again for all of your hard work!!!

Elpida Rallis
I just wanted to congratulate you and the entire Orpheus group on such a FANTASTIC performance on Saturday evening!  I so enjoyed it - it was wonderful! Much different to sit in the seats - the video was fun, the kids were awesome, the Kalymnos dances really looked great, and having the guest performers were AMAZING!  Again, thanks for providing the Chicago community with such wonderful cultural experiences.   

Stephanie Acosta (Production Manager)
To all of you @ OHFS I want to send my deepest thanks and congratulations on a very successful project!
As the days have passed I've had little time to think about the completion as I dive head first into new work but I wanted to take the time to thank you ALL for your wonderful work and for including me in such an important event for your groups growth.  Watching  Anna, Beth, John & Panayotis play and sing as everyone dances at Yannis' house I realized I had been welcomed into a new community not just a job and it was a real pleasure. 
The real thing I take away from this is a reminder of what the purpose of all dance, song, theatre is really about and that is community building and connection and Orpheus really embodies that.  For someone working in the 'professional' sphere it's great to have those reminders that bring us back to the truth and power of these elements of our culture.  Thank you for giving that back to me. 
I hope you will keep me posted on any work to come and that you all enjoy a well deserved break!  You won't be rid of me easily and I look forward to seeing you all again soon. 

Fany Karahalios
The performance was great, all the kids did beautifully!   

Margarita Denekos
The event last Saturday was fabulous!!! No words to describe what we field. Congratulations to all of you !!! Thank you, and one more time congratulations. 

Beth Cohen
Hi Yanni,  I hope you're recovering well from that great effort.......It was well worth it - the performance was wonderful - so many facets to it...As I told you over the weekend, I was so impressed by the many musicians of all ages!  I've never seen that anywhere else.....It was fantastic to perform with Anna and Panayotis and John, and playing for your group was very exciting - the mutual energy exchange was very inspiring.  And of course all of the kindness and generosity shown to us was very wonderful.  So thank all of you for so much. Please say hi to everyone from me and thanks again. 

Kenneth
A very excellent performance.

Anonymous - Survey
The performance was fantastic!  All the performers, musicians, etc. were very professional and well trained.  The videos intertwined into the performance gave a great insight into the history of Orpheus and some of the highlights.  It worked very well together.

Kelly Apostolopoulos
I did want to see you all afterwards and congratulate everyone on a fantastic event.  It brought back lots of memories and tears to my eyes.  I was overwhelmed with emotion at one point (at many points, actually) that I thought I was the only one clapping the loudest and moving with the beat.  Everything from the chorus to the kids playing all the instruments, the youth and adult dancers it was just incredible!!!  It was a great event Yanni, congratulations to all of you!  You don't know how proud I am of everyone there at Orpheus.  Bravo, and here's to another 20 years!!!

Angie Georginas
Stacy and I enjoyed the performance sooooo much last Saturday. We both got very emotional and it made us want to hop a plane for Greece. 

Veni Friga
You already know how much I value Orpheus work. I knew also that there was some "singing" and some instruments, but I could have never imagined that level of quality and repertoire. The performance was absolutely stunning. The number of young kids that joined the group! Unbelievable! Congratulations! Along with the congratulations, at this point, I do have a question for Orpheus: what's next?
My best wishes to the group.

Anna Mavrou
Σας ευχαριστώ όλους πάρα πολύ για την υπέροχη και ζεστή φιλοξενία,και την τιμή που μου κάνατε να πάρω μέρος στην καταπληκτική σας παράσταση. Η δουλειά που κάνετε στο Σικάγο είναι τρομερά αξιόλογη και άπειρα τα οφέλη της ελλην. κοινότητας που έχει άτομα σαν εσάς. 

Voula Nicholson
Well done! Last week's program was absolutely wonderful. Grandparents and parents alike shed tears of joy watching the performances! In our case, some of those tears were shed wishing the kids' great grandparents were there to see it as well! 

Christina Pagones
Just want to tell you the benefit was a wonderful event!!  You could tell a lot of work went into the stage direction and my family and others I talked to expressed the same thoughts about the professionalism and creativity of the program.  A couple shout-outs to:

1)     Alex for the rocking video

2)     the shoe display committee  -- the presentation was really creative and artistic

3)     I know we talked about someone emceeing or doing an introduction to the program, but I thought the singers beginning the program with Xpistos Anesti without any intro was very dramatic � nicely done!

4)     the musical ensemble � such talent!

 Mingling with the crowd after the performance, I found out that a number of my old friends from school and other activities have their kids in the youth group and all are enjoying it and had great things to say about OHFS. hought you�d want to know.  The night was another OHFS success! 

Sophia Moraris
The show was great! You did a fantastic job! Coming to the show made me realize how much I miss dancing! 

Pirpiris Family
Happy 20th Year anniversary to Orpheus! Congratulations for a fabulous show. We consider it an honor to be part of the Orpheus family! 

Christine Sampras
The performance was excellent! Maybe a �mourning� song may not have been suitable for a 20th Year anniversary celebration. The musicians seem to need more work as a group. The teachers and the organizers of this event need to be commended for their fantastic job!

Anonymous - Survey
Everything was absolutely fabulous. Congratulations on a remarkable event.

Vickie Plevritis
The performance was memorable, everyone did great -- but I was especially impressed with the 10 year old group who I thought stole the show (not that I am biased or anything).

Gina Mitrousias
Also wanted (not sure if I mentioned it to you) to let you know what an incredible night the 20th anniversary was. We as well as our guests really enjoyed it all. Our only complaint was that it was too short. It was a seamless, flowing, nostalgic event that poured out energy, fun and longevity. Bravo sas! It was tremendous to see everyone�s growth and we are very proud to be a part of this highly talented and passionate group of people. It will be awhile before the buzz quiets about the 20th anniversary extravaganza....what a beautiful evening with no detailed left overlooked. Bravo.

Voula Nicholson
Thanks for all of your hard work...it really showed. More importantly, Group II -- especially the boys (but I'm biased!) -- really seemed to be enjoying themselves during their performance! What more can you hope for?

Angela Kosmas
Congratulations to all of you for such an awesome performance last month!  It was such a pleasure to watch from beginning to end!  Kudos to everyone.

Margie Beniaris
I hope all is well! Thank you for the great job you do with the students. Your team is superior. We as parents are proud and happy to see our children continue our culture and customs. We owe this to you and your staff. Keep up the superior job!

 Patty Angelos
I want so say again how much I enjoyed the 20th Anniversary Celebration.  I am so proud of the extent Orpheus has progressed since I left the States.  Way to go!!!

Angie Meletsis-Harris
Thank you very much for putting a program together that looked like it took years to pur together. We were so proud to be part of this organization. 

Nancy DeDakis
We took my 88-year old mom, and she just loved it. We would like to keep in touch and will attend future performances.

Last revised:
16 August 2023 09:10 AM