Tulsa Greek Festival

Ancient traditions will come to life on stage, as dancers in authentic ethnic
costumes, age 5 to 55, perform dances that are hundreds of years old and that
tell stories of harvest, wars, love, and passion for Greece.

Mikroulia (mee-krou-lee-ah, “little ones”)–Kindergarten and first graders

Costumes

The boys are wearing the “evzonne” uniform of the Greek presidential guard.
The girls are wearing the festive costume from Megara, a town between Athens and
the Gulf of Corinth.

Dances

• Kato Sto Yialo (kah-to stoh yia-low, a playful song-dance from the island of
  Chios in the Aegean),
• Dondia Pikna (thon-dia peek-nah, from the northwestern mainland region of
  Epiros),
• Hromatista Tsourapia (hroh-mah-tee-stah tsoo-rah-pee-ah, “colorful
  stockings”; from Makedonia, in northern Greece),
• Syrtos dance (from Thessaly, in the center of mainland Greece)

Song

Vgeni I Varkoula (vey-nee eee var-koo lah)–a children’s song about a
fisherman on his boat at night.

Ellinopoula (eh-lee-noh-poo-lah, “young Greeks”)–Second and third graders

Costumes

The girls are wearing a very colorful, richly-decorated
costume from Karpathos Island, southwest of Rhodes. The boys are wearing a
costume from Cyprus, an island nation in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Dances

• The Ellinopoula are on an island tour of Greece. They begin in the
  Dodecanese, where they dance Kamares (kah-mah-res, a wedding song/dance from the
  island of Tilos) and Pera Stous Pera Kambous (peh-rah stoos peh-rah kam-bos,”in
  the faraway plains”; from Rhodes)
• They stop in the Cyclades chain to do the Arapina (ah-rah-pee-nah) dance
  from Amorgos Island
• The final stop is the Ionian Sea Islands, the west coast of Greece, where
  they dance Karavakia (kah-rah-vah-kee-ah, “small boats”; from island of Lefkada)
  and
• Rouga (roo-gah, a flirtatious promenade-like dance from Corfu for young
  women)

Song

Varka Sto Yialo (vahr-kah stoh yia-low)–a simple traditional Greek song of
the sea, arranged by Mikis Theodorakis (the classic composer who also scored the
film Zorba The Greek).

Asteria (ah-stair-eee-ah, “stars”)–Fourth to sixth graders

Costumes

The boys are wearing an unusual, tunic-style costume from Pyrghi–a village
in the eastern Aegean island of Chios. The girls are wearing a festive costume
from Trikeri, near the coastal port city of Volos in central Greece.

Dances

The Asteria present a suite of dances from the Ionian islands:
• Mermigas (mehr-mee-ghas) from Lefkada;
• Divaratikos (dee-vah-rah-tee-kos) and
• Stavrotos (stah-vroh-tos) from Kefalonia;
• Tsirigotikos (tsee-ree-goh-tee-kos)from Kythira.
• Ni Ke Dre (knee-keh-dree) is from Cycladic island of Amorgos.
• The Karsilamas (car-see-lah-mas) is danced to the romantic Pou’ne Ta Hronia
  a contemporary song sung by George Dalaras, one of Greece’s most beloved
  singers.

Young Olympians–Seventh grade to high school

Costumes

The young women and men are wearing costumes from Makedonia (in northern
Greece), birthplace of Alexander the Great. The young women are wearing the
formal dress of Kastoria, in western Makedonia. The young men are wearing a
costume is from Episkopi, in northern Makedonia.

Dances

• Zonaradikos (zoh-nah-rah-thee-kos) is from Thrace, in northeastern Greece.
• Partalos (par-tah-los), Kori Eleni (koh-ree el-eh-nee, “daughter Helen”) and
  Pousnitsa (poos-nee-tsah) are from Makedonia.
• Pendozali (pen-do-zah-lee) dance is from Crete
• Hasapiko (hah-sah-pee-ko, also known as the “sailor’s dance” or the “Zorba
  dance”) is originally from Asia Minor.
• Zeibekiko (zeh-beh-kee-ko) is an urban improvisational dance originating
  from the Zeybek warriors of Anatolia and was partly introduced in Greece after
  the 1923 population exchanges following the Treaty of Lausanne.

Paradosi (pah-rah-tho-see, “tradition”)–University students and young adults

Dances

• Zervodexos (zer-voh-thex-os),
• Kritiko Syrtos (kree-tee-ko seer-tos),
• Maleviziotikos (mah-leh-vee-see-oh-tee-kos),
• Lazotis (lah-zoh-tees), and
• Pendozali (pen-do-zah-lee) are all from Crete
• Laziko (lah-zee-ko) is a modern twist on a dance from Pontus in the Black
  Sea that evolved among some communities of second and third-generation Greeks in
  the United States.

Alpha Omega–Adults

Costumes

The men and women are wearing costumes from a cross section of Greece. In
this group, volunteers work in other areas of Greek Festival, gather to perform
their dances, then return to their volunteer duties until the next dance set

Dances

• Koftos (kof-tos “cut”) refers to the abrupt stops in this dance from Epiros,
  in the northwestern Greek mainland)
• Kavodoritikos (kah-vo-tho-ree-tee-kos) a sytos type dance from an area in
  the sea near Evia (the second largest Greek island) known as “Cavo Doro” –
  where a strange vortex of currents occur that flow in one direction for several
  hours and will then ‘swirl’ and flow in the opposite direction.
• Sousta (sous-tah) a springy-stepped dance from the Aegean Islands.
• Pidikto (pee-thee-koh) style dance.
• Hasapiko (hah-sah-pee-koh) also called the Makellarikos (mah-keh-la-ree-os
  “butcher”) during Byzantine days, because it was adopted by the butchers’ guild
  in Constantinople,Turkey.

Greek Odyssey – Adults

This dance group has the most years of combined experience having danced
together since toddlers at various formal and family functions and throughout
our past thirty to forty festivals. While they don’t often dance together now
other than family gatherings, you’ll recognize their love of Greek dancing and
joy of song in each step.