Hellenic Dance

About

This ministry is where Faith, Folklore, Fellowship and Fun collide. The Hellenic Dance Ministry’s goal is to teach the religious, historical and cultural significance of Greek Folk Dances in the Marietta Community. We learn how our Orthodox faith has shaped our Hellenic Culture and vise-versa. We teach the customs and traditions of each region of Greece as well as the religious celebrations through Greek folk dance. We educate our youth on the significance of the traditional Greek folk dressing and strive to preserve a collection of authentic Greek costumes. We teach the authentic steps of folk dances and use these dances in combinations for the more modern and contemporary dance show pieces. We teach the spirit of stewardship to our children, as they learn not only to give their time and talent to their parish here in Marietta, but to other parishes in our region and the outside community at large. We create a Christian wholesome environment and team atmosphere for our youth to come together in fellowship.

Our dancers begin in Pre-K at age 3, and our young adults are still dancing in their early 30’s. A total of 7 dance groups perform for functions at our parish, such as the Marietta Greek Festival. We also have a group of dancers called the “Travel Troupe” from grades 6-12 that perform at cultural events in the local community and various events in the nearby cities. Our dancers have performed in the following cities for their Greek Festivals: Anderson SC, Asheville NC, Augusta GA, Chattanooga TN, Cumming GA, Macon GA, and Peachtree City GA. We have also performed at the Atlanta Serbian Festival, Cobb County International Festival, Woodstock International Festival, Perry International Festival, and numerous other events. Our dancers in grades 3-12 can also participate in the Metropolis of Atlanta’s Hellenic Dance Festival (HDF) program, a Greek folk dance competition focused on preservation of the authentic form of Greek Folk dance in a Christian worship and fellowship and a manner of friendly competition. Our Marietta dance groups have won the following awards: 2000 – Gold for high school group, 2005 – Bronze for high School group, 2006 – Bronze for middle school group, 2011 – Bronze for high school group, 2015 – Bronze for young adult group, 2017 – Bronze for middle school group, 2018 – Costume Award for middle school group, 2019 – Bronze and Costume Award for Elementary school group, 2022 – Bronze for middle and high school combined group, 2023 – Silver, Costume Award, and Folk Expression Award for high school and middle school combined group.

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