 The Orpheus Youth Group turned in another top-notch
performance at the Sts. Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church Millennium Glendi. The
family-oriented affair was held on February 19 in the church's community center, and drew
a capacity crowd of families and children. Along with their instructors, the Youth
Group members from both the Chicago and Glenview branches gathered together for their
second performance of the year and performed a mixed set of mainland and island dances to
a very appreciative audience! The dressing rooms were a flurry of activity as the
instructors and some of the Youth Group parents helped the close to 30 dancers dress in
costume, making sure all skirts were straight, belts were correctly tied in place and
headpieces were securely fastened. A brief practice session was held to put final touches
on the program, and the kids were ready to go!
The dance suite began with Arhontogios, a syrtos from the island of Thassos, and
continued with Palamakia from Epirus, Issios from the island of Kalymnos, and Pyrgousikos,
a lively dance from the island of Chios, performed in sets of three dancers. The Youth
Group boys also performed the Tsamikos, (to the delight of the crowd), and the evening
ended with Zonarathikos, a popular dance from Thrace.
After the performance, the Youth Group received many compliments and words of praise
from members of the audience, who were surprised and very enthusiastic to see this group
of young people performing a variety of Greek folk dances in authentic costumes with such
poise and presence! Congratulations to the members of the Youth Group for a job well done!
The OHFS strives to expose its Youth Group to a comprehensive repertoire of dances from
both the Greek mainland and the islands to give the young people a broad range of
experience in dances from the various regions of Greece, and provide them with quality
instruction on the different dance styles inherent in each particular region.
Many thanks to the Sts. Peter & Paul community for their assistance behind the
scenes and cooperation with the OHFS in making the evening's performance a big success! |
The last ten days
of March was a very busy but exciting period for the Orpheus Dance Troupe, which
participated in four community events commemorating Greek Independence Day in Chicago. The
first took place at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Des Plaines and was
sponsored by the Hellenic Link, HPSI and other Greek American organizations. The Troupe
performed a suite of dances from the Greek islands, and this marked the tenth consecutive
year that Orpheus has participated in this annual event!
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The village of Pyrgi on the island of Chios has a long and rich history
which dates back to the year 1392. Today, the journey from the city of Chios to the
village of Pyrgi is an exciting one to behold. Following the main road as one leaves the
main city and its urban environment, one sees a sight that energizes him but at the same
time has a calming effect. And indeed, the sight is striking! Along a narrow field,
mountaintops that reach the sky create a harmonious and magical composition of colors.
